Janusz Szprot - Na tureckim dywanie [On The Turkish Carpet]

Janusz Szprot - keyboards, Hohner melodica ( #1,4), Fender Rhodes piano (#5);
Tomasz Szukalski - tenor sax (on # 1-3, 6-9);
Tuna Ötenel - keyboards: Fender Rhodes piano ( # 1,4) alto sax ( # 6);
Sibel Köse - vocal (# 7-9);
Kamil Erdem - bass guitar (# 4,5);
Adam Kowalewski - bass guitar (# 1-3, 6-9);
Krzysztof Dziedzic - drums;


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01.Na tureckim dywanie (Polonezkoy) [On The Turkish Carpet] [07:20]
02.Sanktuarium w Adampolu [The Adampol Sanctuary] [06:43]
03.Solilokwia [Soliloquies] [04:11]
04.Jarek w ogrodzie [Jareczek's Garden] [08:53]
05.Slodkie polskie sny [Sweet Polish Dreams] [08:30]
06.Bilkent Blues [06:12]
07.Velvet Mist [05:54]
08.Bossa at Sundown [04:18]
09.Lonely Avenue [05:11]

Recorded at Ankara Sound Centre on November 2000.
Selles SNFP 0013 (2001)

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Janusz Szprot – pianist, composer, arranger, musicologist, and educator – is an experienced musician who shared a rich background as a professional jazz pianist, soloist, sideman and the leader with various ensembles. He grew up and was educated in Warsaw, Poland, where he received a Masters Degree in Musicology. While completing his studying in 1972, Janusz began to play jazz and earned his living as a musical practitioner but also as a jazz critic and educator as well. He is well known to European audiences as a pianist and arranger for an ensemble called SAMI SWOI. During his stints with this little big band he performed with numerous jazz giants such as Wild Bill Davison, Budd Johnson, Beryl Bryden, Maxine Howard, Big Bill Ramsey, Simeon Szterev, Birger Sulsbruck, Ethiopian Mulatu Astatke, and some American blues singers. He has made successful appearances at the PORI (1982), NORTH SEA (1983) and many other international jazz festivals; toured Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, and his native Poland. In addition, Janusz Szprot led a sextet called AMALGAMAT, which recorded for the Polish Radio and POLJAZZ recording company. In January 1986 he founded the BLUES DUO “SZ – SZ” (together with the top Polish reedman, Tomasz Szukalski), which became sensation on the Polish jazz scene and performed worldwide. Since 1990, when he began working at Bilkent University, Ankara, he is maintaining a busy schedule, performing concerts either in accompanying role with numerous jazz vocalists (including Sibel Kose, Liliana Rodriguez and American jazz star Joe Lee Wilson) or as a leader of his various jazz and blues ensembles. In June 1983 he founded the POLISH-TURKISH JAZZ FORMATION, a super group composed of the best Polish and Turkish musicians, which performed to enthusiastic audience response both in Ankara and at the 21st International Istanbul Festival. He has been for in partnership with Turkish musicians for many years. His longtime musical friends are Sibel Kose, Kamil Erdem, Tuna Otenel, to name but a few. The number of his students is also impressive and is still growing. As a pianist Janusz Szprot is conversant with many styles of jazz piano. His flexibility and versatility are clearly in evidence in his discography which consist of over 15 records. His last CD “POLONEZKOY”/ “NA TURECKIM DYWANIE” has been released in 2001 by ADA MUZIK (Istanbul) and SELLES RECORDS (Poland). Janusz is still very active as a composer, arranger, Hohner melodica virtuoso, musicologist, adjudicator, and educator. At present he serves as Director of Jazz Studies at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. (http://szprot.org/janusz/?page_id=4)

Preview:

http://www.myspace.com/januszszprotquartet

#8. Bossa at Sundown -live: Sibel Köse & Dante Luciani & Janusz Szprot Group

http://www.theguideistanbul.com/agenda/detail/227889/Sibel-Kose-Dante-Luciani-Janusz-Szprot-Group

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Tomasz Szukalski is one of the most important but probably most under appreciated Jazz musician in the history of Polish Jazz. He is multi-talented artist who has contributed to the numbers of most important milestones of Polish and European Jazz, including albums by leaders like Zbigniew Namysłowski, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski and Tomasz Stańko. His charisma on those recordings is always very distinct and always present, in many cases he almost “steals” the record from the leader (just listen to Szukalski on Edward Vesala’s “Satu”)

Tomasz was playing with Arild Andersen, Albert Mangelsdorff, Palle Danielsson, Rashied Ali, Terje Rypdal, Palle Mikkelborg, Tomasz Stańko, Edward Vesala, Dave Holland, Michał Urbaniak, John Surman, to name but a few, and was recording for the famous ECM label as well. In the late 70’s together with Sławomir Kulpowicz, Janusz Stefański and Paweł Jarzębski he founded The Quartet - one of the best european jazz bands.

Szukalski is a graduate of Warsaw Music College PWSM, where clarinet was his main instrument. Performing musician since his high school days, he self-taught himself to play tenor and soprano saxophones. After early collaborations with pop group Partita, Big Band Stodoła and bands of the leaders like Janusz Muniak, and Tomasz Ochalski; in 1972 he joined Zbigniew Namyslowski group with whom he extensively toured and recorded legendary albums “Winobranie” and “Kujaviak Goes Funky”. He quickly established himself on Jazz scene in Poland and collaborated with Włodzimierz Nahorny, Tomasz Stańko (“Balladyna”, “TWET”, “Almost Green”, “Live at Remont”), and Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski (“Sprzedawcy Glonów”).

In 1977, Szukalski joined probably the most important band in Polish Jazz of 1980s - The Quartet. In 1984 along with Czesław Bartkowski (drums) and Wojciech Karolak (keyboards), Szukalski co-leaded another “band without a leader” - Time Killers. The group recorded only one self-titled album but it marked the history of Polish Jazz. Jazz Forum’s critics survey in 1990s found “Time Killers” to be the Best Polish Jazz Record of 1980’s, and in many critics opinion probably the best example of exciting adaptation of Weather Report’s language into Polish Jazz idiom.

During the rest of the 80s, 90s and to the present time Szukalski has remained active and productive on Polish Jazz scene. He is continuing many fruitful collaborations with old musical friends (Stańko, Namysłowski) as well as with many new ones: Janusz Szprot, , Józef Skrzek, Piotr Wojtasik, Apostolis Anthimos, Jarek Śmietana ( http://superfm.com.pl/biography/Tomasz-Szukalski/)

Tomasz Szukalski Quartet - Body & Soul:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-xNmPBZ-BI