Kroke is a Polish
instrumental ensemble of
world music. The band's name refers to the
Yiddish language
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
name for
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
(, ).
The band was founded in 1992 by three friends and graduates of the
Academy of Music in Kraków
The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie) is a conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the '' alma mater'' of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krz ...
. Initially, they were associated with
klezmer music
Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...
with strong Balkan influences. Currently, their work draws inspiration from a variety of ethnic music and sounds of the
Orient (especially on the album Seventh Trip), combining these with jazz to create their own distinctive style.
In addition to their own projects, Kroke have recorded albums with artists such as
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist.
His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres.
Early life and background
Kenn ...
,
Edyta Geppert
Edyta Geppert (born 27 November 1953 in Nowa Ruda, Poland) is a popular Polish singer.
Geppert was born to a Polish father and Hungarian mother. She is married to Piotr Loretz. They have one son Mieczysław (born in 1988).
Awards
*1984 – Gr ...
, and
Urna
In Buddhist art and culture, the Urna (more correctly ūrṇā or ūrṇākośa (Pāli uṇṇa), and known as in Chinese) is a spiral or circular dot placed on the forehead of Buddhist images as an auspicious mark. It symbolizes a third eye, ...
.
One of their songs, "The Secret of the Life Tree", features on the soundtrack of
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
's 2006 film ''
Inland Empire''.
History
The first official release from KROKE was the 1993 cassette “Klezmer Acoustic Music”. During a promotional concert for the album, the band met
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
, who invited them to perform at the “Survivors Reunion” concert in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and during the Polish premier of the film ''
Schindler’s List
''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film fo ...
''.
In 1996, the band signed with the German record label
Oriente Musik. The first album of material, released the same year, through this collaboration was ''Trio''.
Upon the invitation of
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
, KROKE made their first appearance at the
WOMAD
WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance.
History
WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, ...
festival in July 1997. As a result, joint recording sessions at
Real World Studios
Real World Studios is a residential recording studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel and situated in the village of Box, Wiltshire, England, near to the city of Bath. It is closely associated with the Real World Records record label, Real ...
with other musicians led to material from the band being subsequently used by Peter Gabriel on his album ''
Long Walk Home''- music from the ''
Rabbit-Proof Fence
The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from th ...
'', the soundtrack to the film of the same name. In the same year, KROKE released their second full-length album – ''Eden''.
The following years saw the band constantly touring, during which time they participated in such music festivals as: Umea Folk Music Festival (Sweden); City of London Festival (UK); Førde Folk Music Festival (Norway); North Sea Jazz Festival (the Netherlands) as well as many others. During this time, the albums ''Live at the Pit'' (1998 – nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award -
Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik
The Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik ("German Record Critics' Award") was established in Germany in 1963 by publisher Richard Kaselowsky with the aim of setting the "most rigorous standards for supreme achievement and quality" in the field ...
in 1999) and ''The Sounds of the Vanishing Wold'' (1999 – winner of the German Record Critics’ Award in 2000) were released.
In 2001, KROKE began collaborating with
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist.
His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres.
Early life and background
Kenn ...
, the result of which was the album ''
East Meets East'', released in 2003. During the same year, the band released ''Ten Pieces to Save the World'' as a trio. This album went on to rank number two in the
World Music Charts Europe.
Along with Nigel Kennedy, the band once again performed at the WOMAD festival in 2004. The same year, KROKE received a nomination in the World Music category from
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
for the album ''Quartet – Live at Home'' (with Tomasz Grochot on drums, who went on to tour with the band over the next few years) as well as working with
Edyta Geppert
Edyta Geppert (born 27 November 1953 in Nowa Ruda, Poland) is a popular Polish singer.
Geppert was born to a Polish father and Hungarian mother. She is married to Piotr Loretz. They have one son Mieczysław (born in 1988).
Awards
*1984 – Gr ...
, which would later bring about the joint release ''Śpiewam życie'' (2006). At the same time, a project was begun with the
Sinfonia Baltica orchestra, entitled “KROKE – symfonicznie”, conducted and arranged by
Bohdan Jarmołowicz.
In 2006, KROKE's song “The Secret of the Life Tree” appeared on the soundtrack to
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
's film ''
Inland Empire''.
Another original album entitled ''Seventh Trip'' was released in 2007.
2008 was filled with concerts in Poland and throughout Europe as well as work on an "intimate project” arranged by
Krzysztof Herdzin, which premiered in Spain with the
Sinfonica de Burgos orchestra conducted by Javier Castro. Performances of this project played in Kraków and St. Petersburg in Russia with the accompaniment of
Sinfonietta Cracovia conducted by
Robert Kabara.
Released in 2009, the album ''Out of Sight'' was a kind of return to roots for the band. The musicians returned to working as a trio and their concerts took on a more intimate nature.
In 2010, they began work on a collection of Greek songs with
Maja Sikorowska as well as performing concerts together with the Norwegian band
Tindra and Spanish violinist
Diego Galaz. Other special events that year included the recording of music for the film ''Streetcar Memories'', directed by
Łukasz Czuj (the film played at the opening of the
Schindler Factory Museum in Kraków), and participation in the
Kennedy's Polish Weekend at the Southbank Centre in London alongside Nigel Kennedy. In the same year, KROKE performed at the
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival is a classical music festival held each summer throughout the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany.
History
The festival was founded in 1986 by German concert pianist Justus Frantz.
In 2006, the 2 ...
in Germany and took part in the concert “Your Angel's Name is Liberty”, directed by
Robert Wilson, on occasion of the 30th anniversary of
Solidarity in Gdańsk.
In January 2011, the collaboration album ''Śpiewam Życie'' with Edyta Geppert was certified “gold”. That same month, KROKE along with Maja Sikorowska completed work on the album ''Avra'', which contains 12 Greek songs. This project also involved guest percussionist
Sławomir Berny.
In the same year Kroke & Tindra released album ''Live in Førde'' - the recordings were made in the auditorium at Førdehuset on July 10, 2010 for
NRK
NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...
's radio P2.
Group members
File:Kroke, Jerzy Bawol, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, España, 2015 11.JPG, Jerzy Bawoł
File:Gdansk Tindra Kroke koncert 12.jpg, Tomasz Lato
File:Kroke, Tomasz Kukurba, en escena, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid, España, 2015 10.JPG, Tomasz Kukurba
File:Tomasz Kukurba.jpg, Tomasz Kukurba
File:Jerzy Bawoł.png, Jerzy Bawoł
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Collaborative albums
See also
*
Culture of Kraków
Kraków is considered by many to be the Culture of Poland, cultural capital of Poland. It was named the European Capital of Culture by the European Union for the year 2000. The city has some of the best museums in the country and several famous the ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Klezmer groups
Musical groups established in 1992
Polish musical groups