Jacek Marcin Kaczmarski (22 March 1957 – 10 April 2004) was a Polish singer, songwriter, poet and author.

Life

He was the son of painter Anna Trojanowska-Kaczmarska, a Pole of Jewish background, and the artist Janusz Kaczmarski. Kaczmarski was a voice of the

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

trade union movement in 1980s Poland. His songs criticized the ruling communist regime and appealed to the tradition of patriotic resistance within Poles. He remains best known for his protest songs on social and political subjects (" Mury" (''Walls'') based on " L'Estaca" by Lluís Llach, "Obława" (''Wolf hunt (lit. Raid)'')). However, his commentary was not restricted to contemporary politics, and his texts' themes have retained their relevance in Polish culture beyond the collapse of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and its

communist bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

. He made his debut in 1977 at the Student Song Festival, where he was awarded first prize for his work "Obława" based on the song "Охота на волков" by Vladimir Vysotsky. In 1980 he won second prize at the Opole Song Festival for "Epitafium dla Włodzimierza Wysockiego" (''Epitaph for'' Vladimir Vysotsky). Kaczmarski was on tour in France when the

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

was declared in Poland in December 1981. He lived in exile until 1990. During these years he gave concerts in Western Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Israel. From 1982 on, he worked as an editor and journalist with

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

and hosted his own radio program, "Kwadrans Jacka Kaczmarskiego" (''Fifteen Minutes with Jacek Kaczmarski''). After his return to Poland (following the

Round Table The Round Table (; ; ; ) is King Arthur's famed table (furniture), table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status, unlike co ...

negotiations that brought an end to communist rule) he toured the country with his friend, artist Zbigniew Łapiński. The tour was recorded and released as ''Live'', and it achieved Gold album status in 2001. His other albums included "Mury" (''Walls''), "Nasza klasa" (''Our Class''), "Raj" (''Paradise''), "Muzeum" (''Museum''), "Pochwała łotrostwa" (''In Praise of Villainy''), "Wojna postu z karnawałem" (''The War between Carnival and Lent''). However, Kaczmarski was soon disillusioned by the developments in Poland after 1989 and eventually emigrated to Australia. Kaczmarski was known not only for his politically motivated lyrics but also for his characteristically dynamic – even aggressive – classical guitar playing, and expressive performance style. His deep knowledge of not only his nation's history but also of classical literature gave his songs a particularly deep and multi-layered resonance (e.g. "Powtórka z Odysei," recalled Homer's

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

, while the ballad " Lalka" masterfully retells Boleslaw Prus's second novel of the same name, ''The Doll''.). He often performed before contrastingly different audiences: groups of friends in their homes, campus venues, and large concert halls in Poland, the rest of Europe, and America. Kaczmarski was diagnosed with

laryngeal cancer Laryngeal cancer is a kind of cancer that can develop in any part of the larynx (voice box). It is typically a squamous-cell carcinoma, reflecting its origin from the epithelium of the larynx. The prognosis is affected by the location of the tumo ...

in 2002. He died in a hospital in Gdańsk in 2004. Jacek Kaczmarski suffered from severe alcoholism, which often led to domestic violence. His wife and daughter have revealed that Kaczmarski often vented his frustration by beating them.

Discography

* Mury, 1979 * Raj, 1980 * Muzeum, 1981 * Krzyk, 1981 * Strącanie aniołów, 1982 * Carmagnole, 1982 * Chicago – Live, 1983 * Litania, 1987 * Kosmopolak, 1987 * Dzieci Hioba, 1989 * Głupi Jasio, 1990 * Live, 1990 * Mury w Muzeum Raju, 1991 * Bankiet, 1992 * Wojna postu z karnawałem, 1992 * Sarmatia, 1993 * Szukamy stajenki, 1993 * Pochwała łotrostwa, 1995 * Między nami, 1997 * Koncert '97, 1997 * Dwie Skały, 1999 POL No. 37 * Dwadzieścia (5) lat później, 2000 POL #26 * Mimochodem, 2001 POL #18 *Złota kolekcja: Jacek Kaczmarski – Źródło, 2003 POL #8 * Syn marnotrawny, 2004 (Box set) POL #15 * Świadectwo, 2005 POL #25 * , 2006 (Box set) POL #47 * Mała Arka Noego, 2007 (Box set) * Arka Noego, 2007 (Box set) * Scena to dziwna, 2008 (Box set) * In Memoriam, 2014 POL #9

References

External links

Kaczmarski.art.pl – Fanpage

A Musical Journey through Polish History

Find A Grave

Discography at Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaczmarski, Jacek 1957 births 2004 deaths Sung poetry of Poland Musicians from Warsaw Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people Burials at Powązki Military Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Poland Deaths from laryngeal cancer Polish people of Jewish descent Polish atheists 20th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish male singers Polish political music artists

Life

Discography

See also

References

External links