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Chopin and Jazz PDF
Chopin and Jazz PDF
[Pragmatic aesthetics. Living beauty and reflection on art] (Wrocław, 1998), 267.
2 ‘L’ homme armé’, in Andrzej Chodkowski (ed.), Encyklopedia Muzyki [The Encyclo-
muzyka z muzyki. Prawie nic nie powstaje z natury, prawie wszystko z istniejącej kultury.
Czy się nam to podoba, czy nie, żyjemy od pewnego czasu w epoce postmodernizmu, którą
jedni ignorują, inni się pod nią podpisują. Należę do tych ostatnich, nerwicowo reagując na
pojęcia postmodernizmu banalizowanie do cross-over jako ideologii i techniki samplerów,
jako cywilizacyjnego, jedynego wyboru.”Andrzej Chłopecki, in Tomasz Szachowski, ‘Chopin
i jazz’ [Chopin and jazz], Jazz forum 12 (1999), 49.
4 Recorded on the initiative of Polonia Records the album Chopin was recognized by the
readers of the magazine Jazz Forum: The record of the year 1994, received the Polish Mu-
374 Patrycja Madeła
sic Industry Award – Fryderyk 94, and has also been given awards by the Third Pro-
gramme of Polish Radio and the Ontario Association of Jazz Music Lovers.
5 The Jagodziński Trio’s Chopin discography contains the following other albums: Cho-
pin – Live at the National Philharmonic, Polonia CD 076, 1995; Once more Chopin, ZPR
Records, 1999; Metamorphoses, Opus 111 OPS 30-285, 1999, and the latest album Sonata
b-moll, Agora JO404-RPK, 2009. Other pianists applying jazz modifications to Chopin’s
compositions are: Leszek Możdżer (Chopin – impresje, Polonia CD 029, 1994 and Impres-
sions on Chopin, Opus 111 OPS 30-263, 1999), Krzysztof Herdzin (Chopin, Polonia CD 056,
1996), Włodzimierz Nahorny (Fantazja Polska: Nahorny – Chopin, Polskie Radio PRCD
228, 2000), Adam Makowicz (Reflections on Chopin, Musician Showcase MS 1027, 2000)
and Kuba Stankiewicz – the only one who, together with Inga Lewandowska, recorded an
album entirely devoted to jazz arrangements of Chopin’s songs (Chopin Songbook, Accord
ACD 199, 2003). The projects of Leszek Kułakowski, Filip Wojciechowski and Piotr Kałużny
were mainly created for concert activities and only few works have been recorded on albums.
Chopin and jazz. The case of Andrzej Jagodziński’s … 375
Theme
lengthening and shortening the values. These changes are dictated by Cegiel-
ski’s individual interpretation and they receive a different form in each per-
formance. The distribution of accents in the bar undergoes a constant trans-
formation, which is directly affected by the specificity of the bossa nova. That
is why the original alla breve was replaced by common time (therefore the
number of bars in the composition increases to 48). The formal structure of
the theme is entirely consistent with the original version and, using the whole
structure of the pattern, closes within two 24-bar sections AA'.
Example 2.
378 Patrycja Madeła
Example 3.
Piano improvisation
The thematic material serves as the base and a source of creativity
for the piano improvisation. The melodic structures originate from the har-
mony which was taken from the first phase of the composition and whose
modifications are limited to reordering or adding some extensions to the
chord and applying alteration. The harmonic basis appears in the bass line,
while the chords derived from the original are performed by the piano, and
thus the texture of the composition receives a different shape (it is trans-
formed from a 2- to 3-dimensional composition).
In his improvisation Jagodziński avoids the extreme registers of the in-
strument, he moves in the middle register (from f sharp to d3). The improvisa-
tion takes the linear shape, sometimes enriched with double-stops, strongly
referring to the primary model by oscillation of the melody around the basic
sounds of the theme. Its characteristic feature is a large number of acciaccatu-
Chopin and jazz. The case of Andrzej Jagodziński’s … 379
ras, and there are also passage-works. Jagodziński uses the following scales:
dorian (bar 16), chromatic (bar 55-56), altered (bar 16-17), and pentatonic
(bar 25-26).
Example 4.
380 Patrycja Madeła
The whole improvisation takes the form of two 48-bar Choruses, and each
of them is closed with the final thematic fragment :
Example 5. Chorus I
Example 6. Chorus II
This phase of the composition is followed by two further ones which con-
sist of double bass improvisation (48-bar chorus) and a return to the theme,
this time shown in the piano part. Here, as before, the transformations of the
main melodic line are just nuances. The Prelude finishes with three static
chords, identical with the original.
Jagodziński formulates the original thematic material of Prelude in E mi-
nor in the classical form of a jazz standard, with a skilful balance between the
language of jazz and Chopin’s musical model. The confrontation of these two
such widely different worlds of sounds, in the case of Jagodziński’s arrange-
ment, demonstrates the existence of a discourse between romantic music and
jazz.
Chopin’s compositions were and still are the subject of all sorts of ar-
rangements, including various ways of transforming the pattern, which
ranges from transcription, through instrumentations and arrangements, to
paraphrases, resulting from the author’s inspiration found in a particular
piece or just its main theme. The interest in Chopin’s music is, to some extent,
historically justified. One has to realize the position Chopin holds in the his-
tory of music. He was the innovator, being ahead of Wagner’s achievements in
the field of harmony and heralding the coming of Debussy; Chopin’s use of
folk scales and modes significantly anticipated Ravel’s or even Bartok’s
achievements. Above all, however, it is Chopin’s contribution to the develop-
ment of piano technique and texture that is most significant. Therefore, the
Chopin and jazz. The case of Andrzej Jagodziński’s … 381
dano, że Chopin na podany temat będzie improwizował. W sali starego teatru na placu
Krasińskich, przepełnionej publicznością, po odczytaniu sztuk objętych programem wycho-
dzi Elsner, ówczesny dyrektor Konserwatorium, wręcza nam zwitek papieru i prosi, abyśmy
napisawszy temat do improwizacji, przez orkiestrę podali na scenę. Fryderyk odebrawszy
kartkę, uśmiechnął się – siada do fortepianu i zaczyna grać tj. improwizować na zadany
382 Patrycja Madeła
temat. Radość i wesołość przebiega po całej sali, bo tematem tym była znana piosenka: Oj
gdybyś ty chmielu na te tyczki nie lazł […]. Już z tego tematu rozwinął radosną melodię, w
której co chwila powracała zadana nuta, zapał publiczności przeszedł wszelkie granice.
Teatr trząsł się od oklasków i grzmiących okrzyków. Improwizował jeszcze na inne podane
tematy, a oklaskom nie było końca. Wyszliśmy z teatru śpiewając grane przez Fryderyka
melodie.” Krystyna Kobylańska, ‘Improwizacje Fryderyka Chopina’ [Fryderyk Chopin’s
improvisations], Rocznik Chopinowski 19 (1990), 69.
10 “To, co robimy, jest odbierane przez sporą grupę klasycznych melomanów, zwłaszcza