Zbigniew Seifert (7
June 1946 – 15 February 1979)
was a Polish
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
ist.
Seifert was born in
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 ...
, Poland.
He played alto
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
early in his career and was influenced by
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
.
He devoted himself to jazz violin when he began performing with the
Tomasz Stańko
Tomasz Ludwik Stańko (11 July 1942 – 29 July 2018) was a Polish trumpeter and composer. Stańko was associated with free jazz and the avant-garde.
In 1962, Tomasz Stańko formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with saxophonist Janusz Munia ...
Quintet in 1970,
and became one of the leading modern jazz violinists. Seifert relocated to Germany in 1973, and worked with
Hans Koller
Antonio Hans Cyrill Koller (12 February 1921 in Vienna – 21 December 2003 in Vienna) was an Austrian jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader.
Koller attended the University of Vienna from 1936 to 1939 and served in the armed forces from 1940 to 1 ...
's Free Sound between 1974 and 1975.
The following year, he performed alongside
John Lewis
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
at the
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...
.
Seifert later recorded with
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
.
He died of cancer at the age of 32,
and is buried at
Rakowicki Cemetery
Rakowicki Cemetery (English: ; pl, Cmentarz Rakowicki) is a historic necropolis and a cultural heritage monument located on 26 Rakowicka Street in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It lies within the Administrative District No. 1 ''Stare Miasto'' ...
in Krakow.
Discography
As leader
* ''Zbigniew Seifert'' (Capitol, 1977)
* ''Man of the Light'' (MPS, 1977)
* ''Solo Violin'' (EMI Electrola, 1978)
* ''Passion'' (Capitol, 1979)
* ''Kilimanjaro'' (PolJazz, 1979)
* ''We'll Remember Zbiggy'' (Mood, 1979)
* ''We'll Remember Komeda'' (Polonia, 1998)
* ''Live in Hamburg 1978'' (Milo, 2006)
* ''Nora'' (GAD, 2010)
* ''Live in Solothurn '' (2017)
As sideman
With
Tomasz Stanko Tomasz is a Polish given name, the equivalent of Thomas in English.
Notable people with the given name include:
*Tomasz Adamek (born 1976), Polish heavyweight boxer
*Tomasz Arciszewski (1877–1955), Polish socialist politician and Prime Minist ...
* ''Music for K'' (Polskie Nagrania, 1970)
* ''Jazzmessage from Poland'' (B.Free, 1972)
* ''Purple Sun'' (Calig, 1973)
* ''W Pałacu Prymasowskim'' (PolJazz, 1983)
With others
*
Boogie Pimps, ''The Music in Me'' (Superstar, 2005)
*
Hans Koller
Antonio Hans Cyrill Koller (12 February 1921 in Vienna – 21 December 2003 in Vienna) was an Austrian jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader.
Koller attended the University of Vienna from 1936 to 1939 and served in the armed forces from 1940 to 1 ...
, ''Kunstkopfindianer'' (MPS/BASF, 1974)
*
Hans Koller
Antonio Hans Cyrill Koller (12 February 1921 in Vienna – 21 December 2003 in Vienna) was an Austrian jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader.
Koller attended the University of Vienna from 1936 to 1939 and served in the armed forces from 1940 to 1 ...
, ''Nome'' (B.Free, 2017)
*
Volker Kriegel
Volker Kriegel (24 December 1943 – 15 June 2003) was a German jazz guitarist and composer who also an author and drew cartoons. He was a founding member of the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble.
Biography
Kriegel was born in Darmstadt on 24 Decem ...
, ''Lift!'' (MPS/BASF, 1973)
*
Joachim Kühn
Joachim Kurt Kühn (born 15 March 1944) is a German jazz pianist.
Biography
He was born in Leipzig, Germany. Kühn was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition, with Arthur Schmid ...
, ''Cinemascope'' (MPS/BASF, 1974)
*
Joachim Kühn
Joachim Kurt Kühn (born 15 March 1944) is a German jazz pianist.
Biography
He was born in Leipzig, Germany. Kühn was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition, with Arthur Schmid ...
, ''Springfever'' (Atlantic, 1976)
*
Charlie Mariano
Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well.
Biography
Mariano was born in ...
, ''Helen 12 Trees'' (MPS/BASF, 1976)
*
Glen Moore
Glen Moore (born October 28, 1941) is an American jazz bassist, who occasionally performs on piano, flute and violin.
Moore was born in Portland, Oregon, United States. His performing career began at age 14 with the Young Oregonians in Portlan ...
, ''Introducing'' (Elektra, 1979)
*
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, ''Violin'' (Vanguard, 1978)
*
Jiří Stivín
Jiří Stivín (born 23 November 1942 in Prague) is a Czech flute player and composer.
Biography
He graduated from the Film Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). He also studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music ...
, ''5 Ran Do Cepice'' (Supraphon, 1972)
*
Jasper van 't Hof
Jasper van 't Hof (born 30 June 1947) is a Dutch jazz pianist and keyboard player.
Van 't Hof was born in Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands, and began studying piano at the age of five. He played in jazz bands at school, and by the age of 19 wa ...
, ''Eye Ball'' (Keytone, 1974)
*
Jan "Ptaszyn" Wróblewski, ''Sprzedawcy Glonow'' (Polskie Nagrania, 1973)
References
External links
Passion - The Zbigniew Seifert Documentary*
*
1946 births
1979 deaths
20th-century jazz composers
20th-century male musicians
20th-century Polish musicians
Avant-garde jazz musicians
Jazz alto saxophonists
Male jazz composers
Male violinists
Musicians from Kraków
Polish jazz composers
Polish jazz violinists
Polish saxophonists
20th-century violinists
20th-century saxophonists
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