Musically refined pieces interpreted by young jazz musicians made it possible to view Kaczmarski’s songs as poetry, rather than merely protest songs. The poet’s meaningful lyrics were combined with the excellent playing of Paweł Tomaszewski, his ensemble Andrzej Święs and Krzysztof Gradziuk, as well as the exceptional voices of three jazz vocalists: Maria Sadowska, Anna Serafińska and Janusz Szroma.
Jacek Kaczmarski created poetry with his own philosophy, like Okudzhava, Brel, Nohavica and Dylan. He always stood on the side of life, truth, goodness and freedom. He did not sing only about the wronged and oppressed. At the concert, in addition to “The Chase,” they performed the song “Postmodernism”—a satirical piece (intended to mock communism), whose lyrics remain relevant today: “Do not set yourself tasks—Those who have not climbed do not fall, And whoever longs to be at the summit—Will be falling all their life.” There was also a rather poor little ditty about the Pole’s Europeanness, the bitter and nostalgic song “Our Class,” and “Motivation,” sung a cappella.
The song “Walls,” which for many is the anthem of young Solidarity, was performed as an interlude in the concert programme. Listening to this song still evokes powerful emotions. Especially since the real wall has disappeared today. Only the mental one remains—the one Kaczmarski wrote about in “A Stroll with Orpheus,” also performed at the concert.
Tread carefully
For within you lies your Hades
And within you, a deep shadow
And chaos together with order
I know well how hard it is for you
Not to share your pain with anyone
And to return along a dead path
Without a living Eurydice
She will not move from here
And silence will bury her
Play on, Orpheus
To convince yourself
The concert was superb and delighted fans of jazz and Jacek Kaczmarski. The audience applauded for a second encore, and the artists invited one of the spectators onto the stage, where he demonstrated his vocal abilities in the song “Catherine II’s Dream.”
(information: Grażyna Hanaf)