Szymon Kataszek (1898–1943) (born Boruch Szymon Kataszek), was a Polish-Jewish composer, bandleader, pianist, a pioneer of Polish jazz. Born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

1898; studied piano at the Warsaw Music Institute and Rome's

St. Cecilia Academy St. Cecilia Academy is a historic religious building in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.. History The building was built on a mansion designed in the Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival architectural style for John F. Erwin and his wife Lavinia R ...

. He returned to Poland and first worked as an organist in St. Trinity Church, while also playing piano in nightclubs.

Life and work

In 1920 he joined the Polish Army and fought in the Polish-Bolshevik War. In 1921 he played in dance orchestras in

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, then returned to Warsaw and established a jazz quintet with his friend Zygmunt Karasiński; they played at the nightclub ''Oaza''. In 1924 the Krasiński & Kataszek Band recorded for ''Syrena'' and toured. Kataszek composed dozens of Polish foxtrots, black-bottoms, shimmies, and Charlestons often performed at the small night spots of Warsaw: ''Qui Pro Quo, Perskie Oko,'' and ''Rex'' - they included ''A ile mi dasz? (What Can I Get From You?), To Zula W futerko się otula (Here's Zula, Wrapped In Furs)'' written for the Charleston pioneer and ''Qui Pro Quo'' singer,

Zula Pogorzelska Zula Pogorzelska (1896 – 10 February 1936) born Zofia Pogorzelska, was a Polish cabaret and film actress. She was the first Polish performer to introduce the Charleston on stage of the Cabaret ''Pod sukienką'' in 1926. Pogorzelska was the wi ...

, and ''Abram, ja ci zagram! (I'll Play It For You, Abram!)''. His tango ''Czemuś o mnie zapomniał? (Why Have You Forgotten Me?)'' received the 1932 Tango Competition Grand Prix. In 1933 he and Karasiński wrote two " schlagers" (hits) for the comedy film ''Każdemu wolno kochać'': the rumba ''Chcesz to mnie bierz" (Take Me, If You Feel Like It)'' and the ''Każdemu wolno kochać (Everybody Has A Right To Love)''. Kataszek was chairman of the "Society For Workless Musicians" instituting a rule forcing all artists' unions in Poland to earmark 20% of radio performance income for unemployed musicians. When World War II began, Kataszek left Warsaw for

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

, which was under Soviet occupation; when in June 1941 the Soviet-German war erupted, he returned to Warsaw and entered the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (german: Warschauer Ghetto, officially , "Jewish Residential District in Warsaw"; pl, getto warszawskie) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the G ...

. He led the

Jewish Ghetto Police The Jewish Ghetto Police or Jewish Police Service (german: Jüdische Ghetto-Polizei or ''Jüdischer Ordnungsdienst''), also called the Jewish Police by Jews, were auxiliary police units organized within the Nazi ghettos by local ''Judenrat'' ( ...

Orchestra. When deportations to

Treblinka Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The camp ...

and Bełżec started, he escaped to the "Aryan" side of the wall and went back to Lviv. He went back to bandleading but was recognised by an SS officer, arrested, sent to

Pawiak Pawiak () was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Congress Poland. During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia. During the World War II German occupation of ...

prison in the Warsaw Ghetto, and shot on 22 May 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kataszek, Szymon 1898 births 1943 deaths Jewish cabaret performers Musicians from Warsaw People from Warsaw Governorate Jews from the Russian Empire Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War 19th-century Polish Jews 20th-century Polish Jews Jazz bandleaders Polish jazz pianists Polish jazz composers Male jazz composers Polish cabaret performers Jewish composers Jewish songwriters People who died in the Warsaw Ghetto Polish civilians killed in World War II 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century pianists Male pianists 20th-century comedians 20th-century male musicians