JazzKLUB / Jazz Studio Orchestra of the Polish Radio / The Revival of a Legendary Ensemble - NOSPR

Founded in 1968 by Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, the Jazz Studio Orchestra of the Polish Radio (in Polish, Studio Jazzowe Polskiego Radia, also called Studio or abbreviated as SJPR) was for many years an institution of inestimable importance to the history of jazz in Poland. It functioned as a laboratory for compositional and arrangement ideas as well as a platform of dialogue between musicians representing different generations and aesthetic sensibilities. In 2023, the Studio’s musical and communal legacy was revived in a concert for Dwójka, i.e. the Polish Radio Channel Two, when the crème de la crème of the then Polish jazz scene was brought together by the one musician uniquely suited to the task, Nikola Kołodziejczyk. The revival struck a chord – it turned out not only remarkably successful but also profoundly necessary – and the project soon began to develop a life of its own. Nowadays, alongside original works written for SJPR by such figures as Nahorny or Stańko (some of which were performed only once, 50 years ago!), the orchestra’s repertoire has been expanded to include contemporary compositions written by its members and invited soloists.

Tomasz Gregorczyk