Jan A. Byrczek (15 June 1936 – 10 November 2019) was a jazz musician ( double bass), jazz critic, and jazz magazine editor. He was born in Chelmek, and until the age of 41, worked as a musician in Poland, performing with artists that include the Trio Komeda Quartet Kurylewicz. Due to illness, Byrczek stopped playing. He then managed the Kraków Jazz Club and Polish Jazz Federation. He was a co-founder of the European Jazz Federation in 1956 and founded '' Jazz Forum'' in 1964. In 1977, he moved to the United States and was granted citizenship in 1987.

Selected discography

* ''Andrzej Trzaskowski Trio, Concert in Warsaw'',

Muza Records Muza may refer to: Places * Muza, Pomeranian Voivodeship, a village Poland * Mawza District or Muza, a district of the Taiz Governorate, Yemen * Muza Emporion, an ancient emporion on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea in modern Yemen * MUŻA, an a ...

L0291 : Recorded 8 June 1959 :

Andrzej Trzaskowski Andrzej Trzaskowski (23 March 1933 – 16 September 1998) was a Polish jazz composer and musicologist. From the mid-1950s onward, he was regarded as an authority on syncopated music. Biography Early life and education Andrzej Trzaskowski ...

(piano), Jan Byrczek (bass), :pl:Jan Zylber (drums) # "Metamorphosis" * ''Somnabulists,'' Andrzej Kurylewicz Trio with Wanda Warska,

L0348 : Recorded in Warsaw, 23 February 1961 :

Wanda Warska Wanda Małolepsza (28 April 1930 – 6 July 2019), known professionally as Wanda Warska, was a Polish jazz singer and composer who worked with her husband Andrzej Kurylewicz and was nicknamed the "First Lady of Polish Jazz". Biography Early life ...

(vocal),

Andrzej Kurylewicz Andrzej Roman Kurylewicz (Polish pronunciation: ; 24 November 1932 – 12 April 2007), was a Polish composer, pianist, trombonist, trumpet player and conductor. His works range from serious music, including both chamber and orchestral music, to ...

(piano), Jan Byrczek (bass), Andrzej Dąbrowski (drums) # "Moonray" # "Somnambulicy" # " Stompin' at the Savoy" # "

Lover Man "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" (often called simply "Lover Man") is a 1941 popular song written by Jimmy Davis, Roger ("Ram") Ramirez, and James Sherman. It is particularly associated with Billie Holiday, for whom it was written, and her ...

" : Recorded in Warsaw, 24 February 1961 : Add Roman Kurylewicz (trumpet), Wojciech Karolak replaces

(piano) #

" You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To"

# " But Not For Me" # "Ballada o straconej gazy" # "Tubby" * ''Zbigniew Namyslowski Sextet,''

N0286 : Recorded in Warsaw, 9 December 1963 : Zbigniew Namyslowski (alto sax), Michal Urbaniak (tenor sax), Wlodzimierz Gulgowski (piano), Jan Byrczek (bass), Czeslaw Bartkowski (drums), Brigitte Petry (vocal) # "What you gonna do" # "I'll try to sing the blues" # "Blues for me" # "O what a wonderful feeling" * ''Zbigniew Namyslowski Quintet,''

N0307 : Recorded in Warsaw, 4 April 1964 : Piotr Pulawski (guitar), added, :pl:Marek Tarnowski (vocal), replaces Brigitte Petry # "Powiedz jej tak" # "Tramwaj 24" # "Lubie deszcz" # " Gee baby, ain't I good to you?"

Selected publications

* ''Jazzman's reference Book,'' by Jan Byrczek, Vienna: International Jazz Federation, Inc. : ''Volume 1'' (1974) : ''Volume 2'' (1976) : ''Volume 3'' (1979) : ''Volume 4'' (1982) : ''Volume 5'' (1983) : ''Volume 6'' (1998)

Affiliations

* Byrczek founded the Polish Jazz Society in 1963 and served as its president until 1973. During his tenure, the Society grew into the largest jazz organization of Europe with branch offices in various parts of Poland. * Byrczek co-founded the first non-governmental Concert Bureau Agency in 1965 under the auspices of the Polish Jazz Society. The Agency organized and produced thousands of concerts in Poland, East Europe, and what then was the Soviet Union. From 1963 to 1972, he developed the Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw into a world-renowned annual event. * Byrczek founded '' Jazz Forum'' (magazine) in 1963 and served as its editor-in-chief until 1981. * Byrczek initiated the European Jazz Federation in 1965, later renamed the International Jazz Federation, and served as its Secretary General in Vienna, Austria, headquarters from 1972 until 1981. Upon moving to New York City in 1977, he founded the U.S. branch of IJF that same year. * From 1972 till 1985, Byrczek was the publisher of various jazz magazines (including ''Jazz World'') and directories. In 1985 he established and still manages the American Music Database and Jazz World Database. * In 1987. Byrczek initiated the Polish American Resources Corporation (PARC), which, in 1989, created the first private bank with foreign capital in Poland: The American Bank in Poland (AmerBank). Serving as the Deputy Chairman of Board of Directors, and residing in Warsaw in 1990 and 1991. Byrczek was instrumental in the development of the bank. In 1992, after fulfilling his contract with Bankers Trust to run the AmerBank, Byrczek returned to USA and is developing computer and internet related database publishing business and other US-Poland ventures.

Growing up

From 1952 to 1961, Byrczek studied music at Fryderyk Chopin High School and the Academy of Music in Kraków. From 1955 to 1963, he was a jazz

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

with bands that toured extensively throughout Poland and Europe.

Audio and visual

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrczek, Jan Polish jazz musicians Polish male jazz musicians 1936 births 2019 deaths Polish magazine founders