Damian Westfal, Interia Muzyka: Mr. Krzysztof, an extremely inspiring autumn lies ahead of us – the 16th edition of the Palm Jazz festival. Fourteen days of music, four cities. Sounds impressive.
Krzysztof Kobyliński: Indeed – it’s almost a whole month filled with concerts. We start on October 29 with a concert Marcin Krzyżanowski and Leszek Żądło. He will perform later JamesBrandonLewis – he had visited us before, but I really wanted to invite him again. He will also play in Tarnowskie Góry Ania Jopek and Dainius Pulauskas Acoustic Group – he is a Lithuanian who recorded a music album Krzysztof Komeda. Many other outstanding musicians will also play. It’s worth checking out the entire program. The icing on the cake will be two concerts Kronos Quartet to close the festival. The band will play two different programs.
Artists have complete freedom in choosing their repertoire?
– Of course. Once someone is invited, they decide what to play. I never force performers to perform my favorite song. I also don’t like it when someone tells me what to play. There is relatively a lot of freedom in jazz. This freedom is the most valuable element of this music for me. Now it’s a little worse with this genre, because there are a lot of people who play very well, you could even say that they are a bit similar to each other.
Are you saying that jazz is more difficult today?
– Yes, because if we have many great musicians who often play very similarly, there is a lack of originality. I don’t know why this happens, but it seems to me that the audience doesn’t come in such large numbers because of it.
Your music is difficult to pigeonhole. What does this mean?
– I entered music for the second time – after many years spent in business. Then I had no time for real practice, for concentration, for developing my skills. The instrument was lying somewhere on the side, so I was naturally weaker at it. And now there are still young people who have a lot of time and can play eight, ten hours a day. Well, what can I say – I have no chance against them, why should it be any different? But what saves me is my imagination. I worked on it for many years. Well, imagination is not just something you get from fate. It’s also a matter of character, experience, various things that can later be useful – not only in music. For me, the greatest fun is inventing something new. This gives me the most pleasure.
Was it a difficult decision? About leaving a stable job to become an artist?
– Business was just an episode. I did what I needed to do, I earned some money – and you know, it’s better to have it than not (laughter), but I lacked depth. In business, we are constantly racing – who has more, who does something faster. At some point I asked myself: why? Music was my childhood dream, so I came back. It was difficult to move from the position of someone with a back office and secretaries to the role of someone who was just learning. Fortunately, I met great musicians and thanks to them I learned a lot. You have to learn from the best and then go your own way.
This year’s edition of PalmJazz is truly world class. How do you manage to gather so many great artists from several countries at one event?
– This is the result of many years of work and trust. You need to have contacts, good relationships with agencies and take care of the artists. Musicians must know that when they come to, for example, Gliwice, they will have great conditions.
How long did the preparations take?
– We usually start a year earlier. And believe me – the plan often changes several times. The original artist list rarely remains in its entirety, but that’s normal. The festival relies on the stars – without them there is no festival. I try to provide them with the best possible conditions. I even built my own concert hall – “Jazovia” – for 200 seats, where most of PalmJazz’s concerts will be held. It has perfect acoustics and full facilities. Musicians have everything they need there.
Were there any unusual technical requirements?
– Of course. One of the teams wanted to be insured for $5 million! (laughter) Finally, we insured it for PLN 100,000 and they were also satisfied. I also remember the story from Keith Jarrett during one of the editions of the Jazz Jamboree Festival. The artist wanted to have a tuner at the piano throughout the concert, and he had to stand on the carpet. It seemed strange at the time, and he was right – the piano was out of tune and the carpet muffled the creaking of the stage. Since then, I have known that an experienced musician knows what he needs. And if I can, I fulfill these requests.
The festival combines cultures, styles and emotions – you write. Let’s be honest: this is not a festival of just one specific genre…
– Correct. It was never intended to be a single-genre festival. When the festival was financed by the city of Gliwice, I adopted the principle that it was for educated people with above-average aesthetic needs. The music I make, I make for myself. But I do the festival for people – and that is the main difference.
Many of the artists you work with have already been to Poland. I wonder what they say about our country – especially those who come from far away. Is there anything in particular they remember after visiting here?
– You know, my best experiences come from conversations with musicians I play with or meet at festivals. I recently played one in Spain – it was organized by an Italian who has been living there for twenty years. He moved because he thought things would be better in Spain. Now he says: “It is not at all. In Spain it is the same as in Italy – maybe in forty years we will reach the Polish level.” Just imagine – it was nice to hear that. And it wasn’t about roads or infrastructure, although here, by the way, a lot has changed. Once upon a time, German roads were an example, and ours – you know. Now it’s the other way around: we have new ones, and they have more “used” ones. However, that opinion concerned something else – the situation of musicians. He said that musicians in Poland have better conditions today than in Italy or Spain.
Our musicians who still complain about how bad things are in Poland should remember this sentence well.
I know that Stanisław Soyka was supposed to appear in this year’s edition. Will there be a tribute?
– Yes, we had a concert together scheduled for November 14, it was a very important point. The day after we announced the program, Staszek died. It was a blow for me – we played together in many projects, including: with the orchestra Aukso. I didn’t organize a “tribute” concert, I’m careful about it because I didn’t want any theatricality or pathos. The memory of Staszek simply stays in the heart.
Do you remember the first edition of the festival? How has PalmJazz evolved since then?
– Well, back then we had much less money – you could say very little. He was the main star Trilok Gurtu – brilliant tablist, drummer, percussionist. He is a truly great musician, world class. And the festival itself… you know, as it happens with the first editions – we fought against various adversities, the ones that always appear when doing something for the first time.
And of course there was this classic chorus of skeptics: “It won’t work, you won’t be able to do it.” This, paradoxically, was the best motivation. Because when you hear that you won’t succeed, you immediately want to prove that you will succeed!
What’s new with you in music? Is there a new album coming?
– The album will be released in December “Catherine’s Garden” – inspired by the work of a deceased, disabled painter Katarzyna Warachim from Gliwice. I recorded 80 minutes of music, I chose 40. Everything was played “by hand”, i.e. without composition, pure improvisation. It’s a very emotional project.
Where did/did you play best?
– In terms of audience, I had the best time playing in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Recently also in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Interestingly, today also in Poland there is perfect silence at concerts. It used to be difficult. People weren’t fully concentrating – they were coughing and fidgeting. Now they listen really carefully. In Prague, a city where they really like beer, a man came up to me after the concert and said he was afraid to open the beer so as not to disturb me. This is one of the most beautiful compliments I have ever heard.