Les Blachut

The Cold War Jazz Project

 

Cold War Jazz survived the fall of Berlin Wall and is still played live around the world! (Now in South Florida...)

 

2013 excerpts from the Coral Springs Museum of Art, Live Performance: 

 

Video: Blues to Jazz

 

Audio: Reversed Swing

 

Audio: Mazurka

 

2012 excerpts from the Arts at St. John in Miami Beach: Video

 

2011 excerpts from the Hideaway Jazz Club in Lake Worth: Video

 

2010 excerpts from the America's Backyard Jazz Festival in Fort Lauderdale: Video

 

Cold War Jazz is a musical multimedia project sponsored by the Coral Springs Museum of Art along with a grant provided by the kind generosity of Chautauqua Institution. The program includes performances by the International Jazz Ensemble, discussions and artwork exhibitions of the Cold War era.

 

Les Blachut of Katowice, Poland and Zoltan Grof of Budapest, Hungary have invited some of their good friends from South America to contribute to their project. Despite their differences, South American jazz musicians share a common experience with their Eastern European counterparts in that that they too are from countries that were and in some cases still are controlled by totalitarian governments.

 

We would like to say a special welcome to internationally renowned Motivational Speaker and the Master of Ceremony Dr. Joel Stewart and his lovely wife Mrs. Theresa Stewart. We are honored and privileged by the presence of the Consul of Moldova (also a former concert pianist) and the Real Tracy Fields (host of a popular jazz broadcast at WLRN radio.)

 

The jazz movement in Eastern Europe is believed to have contributed to the fall of Communism and the increased popularity of jazz around the world. The importance of jazz in the recent history of Poland and Hungary is briefly described below.

 

The beginning of jazz in Poland is difficult to determine. As early as of the 1930s’ clubs in major Polish cities would play some jazz. American popular music associated with jazz was in great demand. Some of the traditional classical music was also arranged and performed as jazz.

 

After the Second World War and the Communist takeover of Poland, jazz was considered an art form of imperialism and therefore repressed. Although some underground jazz groups and their enthusiasts existed, jazz was officially condemned and forbidden from the radio. Musicians learned about jazz by listening to a shortwave radio broadcast of Willis Conover's Voice of America Jazz Hour or by smuggling jazz records from abroad.

 

After the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, jazz in Poland gained renewed freedom. In 1958 Dave Brubeck visited Poland and the nation's jazz scene became influenced by cool jazz. By the sixties three strands had emerged as dominant; traditional jazz, mainstream jazz, and free jazz. Krzysztof Komeda became the leader of a modern jazz movement. This new movement did not copy the American style of playing and soon followers developed their own unique style of playing.

 

During the peak of the Cold War, jazz in Poland became a symbol of resistance against the censorship and a yearning for freedom of an unrestricted artistic expression. Many Polish musicians contributed to the popularization of jazz in the world. Musicians of Polish descent have also been active for years in America. The tradition of Polish jazz continues and its future looks promising.

 

The history of jazz in Hungary is very similar to Poland as these two countries shared their fate in the hands of foreign occupation. Although Poland and Hungary no longer share common borders, the friendships developed remain unchanged.

 

As early as the 1920s Budapest thrived as the cultural capital of Europe and jazz was a vital part of its musical life. Unfortunately the Hungarian jazz clubs and concert halls soon closed their doors with the onset of the Second World War. After the war, the Communist regime branded jazz as the "music of imperialists" thereby making it illegal to listen to or play jazz music. Not surprisingly the ban on jazz backfired.

 

Suppressing jazz simply added to its appeal of mystery and caused increased popularity. When the Communists tried to stamp out self-expression and improvisation, jazz was one of the few areas of peoples’ lives where a sense of individuality could develop and flourish. Defying the ban against jazz amounted to more than just evading another ridiculous decree. For Hungarians jazz became a personal pronouncement of freedom. Today that statement of freedom can still be heard louder and more joyously than ever.

 

Performing Musicans: Brief Bio.

 

Polish vibraphonist, keyboard and steel pan player Les Blachut was born in Zabrze, Poland and studied music on elementary, high school and college level in Katowice, Poland. Les was one of the first groups of students allowed to perform jazz as an academic major. In 1989 he won a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, from which five years later he graduated with honors. In 1996, he moved to South Florida and through his involvement in different music-related projects and businesses became known as a versatile musician, educator, producer, and composer.

 

Hungarian jazz trumpet player Zoltan Grof grew up in the 1950s behind the Iron Curtain in Budapest and attended the Bela Bartok Jazz Conservatory. He landed a spot as a member of the renowned Studio 11, the top orchestra and show band heard on Hungarian radio. Along the way, he mastered American jazz as if he had been a child in post-war Manhattan. He moved to Canada in 1983 and in 1989 he made South Florida his permanent home where he became one of the “most in-demand” trumpet players.

 

The International Jazz Ensemble also includes three great South American musicians: alto saxophonist Nestor Zurita, bass player Rances Colon and drummer Rey Monroig.

 

Please visit our Facebook page for dates and locations of upcoming events.