Vitold Rek (* October 18, 1955 in

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

, Poland as Witold E. Szczurek) is a

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

ist, composer and music educator. He studied classical double bass at the

Academy of Music in Kraków The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków () is a music school, conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the ''alma mater'' of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krzysztof Penderecki, who was also its rector for 15 ...

when

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

was rector there. His playing "unites

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

influences with classical and East European

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

elements", with a focus on live performance and composition.

Career

Rek's festival appearances include

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

London Jazz Festival The London Jazz Festival is a music festival held every November. It takes place in London venues such as the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall and in smaller jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's and the Vortex Jazz Club. It is produced by Se ...

North Sea Jazz The North Sea Jazz Festival is a festival held annually on the second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. The festival moved to Rotterdam in 2006 after the demolition of the Statenhal in The Hague where it was originally held. ...

(

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

), Willisau Jazz Festival,

Berlin Jazz Festival JazzFest Berlin (also known as the Berlin Jazz Festival) is a jazz festival in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" (''Berlin Jazz Days''), it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. Venues included B ...

, ISB Double Bass Convention USA, Mexico Jazz Festival, Banlieus Bleues Festival in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and the Jazz Jamboree in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

among many others. Concerts have taken him also to

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He has performed in the

Purcell Room The Purcell Room is a concert and performance venue which forms part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London's leading cultural complexes. It is named after the 17th century English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats. The Purcell Ro ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and in the

Paris Olympia The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra ...

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophone, saxophonist who focused on the alto saxophone, alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biogra ...

John Tchicai John Martin Tchicai ( ; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Tchicai was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Congolese father. The family moved to Aarhus, where he s ...

Albert Mangelsdorff Albert Mangelsdorff (September 5, 1928 – July 25, 2005) was a German jazz trombonist. Working mainly in free jazz, he was an innovator in multiphonics. Early life Mangelsdorff was born in Frankfurt on September 5, 1928, as the son of the book ...

Karl Berger Karl Hans Berger (March 30, 1935 – April 9, 2023) was a German-American jazz pianist, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. He was a leading figure in jazz improvisation from the 1960s when he settled in the United States for life. He founde ...

Vladislav Sendecki Vladyslav Sendecki, known as Vladislav Sendecki, (born 1955 in Gorlice) is a Polish jazz pianist. In Polish, his name is spelled Władysław Sendecki. Since 1996 he has been permanently associated with the NDR Big Band as a composer and pianist. ...

Tomasz Stanko Tomasz is a Polish given name, the equivalent of Thomas in English. Notable people with the given name include: * Tomasz Adamek (born 1976), Polish heavyweight boxer * Tomasz Arciszewski (1877–1955), Polish socialist politician and Prime M ...

, Günter Baby Sommer,

Dom Um Romao Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

, Peter Giger,

Emil Mangelsdorff Emil Mangelsdorff (; 11 April 1925 – 20 January 2022) was a German jazz musician who played alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet and flute. He was a jazz pioneer under the Nazi regime which led to his imprisonment. After World War II an ...

Gerd Dudek Gerhard Rochus "Gerd" Dudek (28 September 1938 – 3 November 2022) was a German jazz Tenor saxophone, tenor and Soprano saxophone, soprano saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist. Dudek studied clarinet privately and attended music school in the ...

Heinz Sauer Heinz Sauer (born December 25, 1932, Merseburg) is a German jazz saxophonist. Sauer was an autodidact on tenor saxophone and began his career playing locally around Frankfurt in the 1950s. He played for many years in Albert Mangelsdorff's ensem ...

Ralf Hübner Ralf Rainer Hübner (born May 3, 1939, Berlin) is a German jazz percussionist. Hübner attended the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin (1958–1962), studying both double bass and drums there and playing with Benny Bailey and Nathan Davis. Upon g ...

Bob Degen Bob Degen Jr (born January 24, 1944, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American jazz pianist. Much of his work has been in the trio format. Life and career Degen was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 1944. Both of his parents we ...

Christof Lauer Christof Lauer (born 25 May 1953) is a German jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, born in Melsungen, Germany, perhaps most well known in Europe where he has done projects with various musicians, such as Palle Danielsson, Carla Bley,

Makaya Ntshoko Makaya Ntshoko (29 September 1939 – 27 August 2024) was a South African drummer. Biography Makaya Ntshoko was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 29 October 1939. He grew up in Langa, South Africa, Langa. He played with Dollar Brand's trio i ...

and

Shlomo Carlebach Shlomo Carlebach (; January 14, 1925 – October 20, 1994), known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was an American rabbi and musician nicknamed "the Singing Rabbi". Although his roots lay in traditional Orthodox yeshivot, he branched out to c ...

have featured among his key musical partners. He collaborates with the Frankfurt Radio HR Jazz Ensemble. Vitold also enjoys his work with German writers, combining spoken

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

with his own solo performance. He works closely with the poet Johann P. Tammen and other partners have included

Volker Braun Volker Braun (born 7 May 1939 in Dresden) is a German writer. His works include ''Provokation für mich'' (''Provocation for me'') – a collection of poems written between 1959 and 1964 and published in 1965, a play, ''Die Kipper'' (''The Dumpe ...

, Oskar Ansull,

Sarah Kirsch Sarah Kirsch (; 16 April 1935 – 5 May 2013) was a German poet. Biography Sarah Kirsch was originally born Ingrid Bernstein in Limlingerode, Prussian Saxony but had changed her first name to Sarah in order to protest against her father's ...

and

Kito Lorenc Kito Lorenc (4 March 1938 – 24 September 2017) was a Sorbian writer, lyric poet and translator. He was a grandson of the writer and politician Jakub Lorenc-Zalěski. Lorenc attended the Sorbian boarding high school in Cottbus from 1952 to 1956 ...

. He teaches jazz double bass and coaches ensembles at both the

Hochschule für Musik A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

and the

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. In 2008 Vitold Rek was honored twice: with Tomasz Stanko’s 5-CD album "1970-1975-1984-1986-1988" - Platinum Prize in Poland - and with Emil Mangelsdorff’s CD "Blues Forever" - Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2008 in Germany. In November 2008 Vitold Rek performed as soloist the premiere of Jazz Concerto Grosso (composed by Piotr Wrobel) for double bass,

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

(soloist

Jadwiga Kotnowska Jadwiga Kotnowska is a Polish flautist. A winner of many important international competitions, she was educated in Poland, Switzerland and France. She studied flute with Aurèle Nicolet, Alain Marion and Jean-Pierre Rampal. Today, in turn, she i ...

) and symphony

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

during the

Polish Chamber Music Festival Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

in Warsaw.

Discography

* Flyin’ Lady - Jan Pt. Wroblewski Quartet (Muza Pl.); 1978 * Live at Aquarium - Sunship ( Poljazz Pl.); 1979 * Follow us - Sunship ( Muza Pl.); 1979 * Tomasz Stanko - Tomasz Stanko (Poljazz Pl.); 1982 * Musik '81 - Tomasz Stanko (Muza Pl.); 1982 * C.O.C.X. - Tomasz Stanko (

Pronit Pronit (Zakłady Tworzyw Sztucznych Pronit-Pionki (ZTS Pronit)) is a Polish factory of plastic materials near the town of Pionki, Radom County. Among its specialties, it includes the factory of vinyl record plates, and thus is mostly known as the ...

Pl.); 1983 * Lady Go - Tomasz Stanko (Muza Pl.); 1984 * Freelectronic - Tomasz Stanko (Poljazz Pl.); 1986 * Peyotl - Tomasz Stanko (Poljazz Pl.); recorded 1986 * Freelectronic: The Montreux Performance - Tomasz Stanko (ITM 0023); 1987 * Basspace - Vitold Rek Basspace (Poljazz Pl.); 1984 * Basspace 555555 - Vitold Rek Basspace (Muza Pl.); 1985 * The Spark - Solo (Poljazz Pl.); 1986 * Condemned To Life - V.R. mit Olga Szwajgier (Muza Pl.); 1987 * Family Jewels - Family of Percussion & Friends (Jazz Network 66.667); 1988 * Acoustic - Stan Soyka (Zic-Zac PL.); 1991 * Satisfaction - John Tchicai, Vitold Rek (Enja CD 7033-2); 1991 * POPendingEYE - Alfred 23 Harth's Quasar Quartet (Free Flow Music 0493); 1993 * Art Of The Duo Vol.1 John Tchicai, Vitold Rek (Enja 8008-2); 1993 * Jazz - with Peter Giger and

B+W 029 GB); 1993 * Mozambique Meets Europe - Family of Percussion & Friends (B+W031 GB); 1993 * Elvira Plenar-Vitold Rek - with

Elvira Plenar Elvira is a female given name. It is believed to have first been recorded in medieval Spain, while other sources claim that it is likely of Germanic ( Gothic) origin. In the Balkans, Elvira is popular among Bosniaks, Croats, and Slovenes in the ...

(Bellaphon CDLR 45089); 1994 * Mondspinner - with Christof Lauer & Ralf Hübner (Free Flow Music 0796); 1996 * On Remote Patrol - with Michael Baird (SWP 004); 1996 * Das Erik Satie Projekt -

Fritz Hartschuh Fritz is a common German male name. The name originated as a German diminutive of Friedrich or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor), as well a ...

Quartet (Konnex KCD 5086); 1998 * East West Wind - Live at the St. Ingbert Jazz Festival 1997, Germany (TMP 501) * Bassifiddle alla polacca - Vitold Rek Solo - double bass, vocals (TMP 503); 1997 & 1998 * John Tchicai, Vitold Rek, Karl Berger - 2 x 2 (TMP 505; 1991, 1992 & 2000; * The Polish Folk Explosion - Kapela Resoviana feat. Albert Mangelsdorff, Charlie Mariano, John Tchicai, Vitold Rek, Gilbert Matthews (TMP 507; 2001 * Johann P. Tammen & Vitold Rek - Die Erde, das singende Brot (TMP CD 401); 2002 * Charlie Mariano & Vitold Rek - opus absolutum (TMP CD 509; 2003 * Charlie Mariano & Vitold Rek feat. Peter Reiter - Cathedral vol. 1 (TMP CD 611); 2005 * East West Wind - Home featuring Jaroslaw Bester & Ramesh Shotham (TMP CD 515); 2007 * Emil Mangelsdorff Quartet "Blues Forever" (Bellaphon CDLR 714427) * Hessischer Rundfunk Jazzensemble "Unauffällige Festansage" with Albert Mangelsdorff, Christof Lauer, Ralf Hübner,Heinz Sauer, Emil Mangelsdorff, Joki Freund (Jazzwerkstatt 2008) * Tomasz Stanko "1970-1975-1984-1986-1988" (Metal Mind Productions); 2008

Sources

* "Das Jazz Buch" Joachim Ernst Berendt/Günter Heusmann (Fischer Verlag 1953-2005, Germany) * "Jazz Lexikon"

Martin Kunzler Martin Kunzler (born 29 April 1947) is a German jazz bassist and music journalist. He gained particular fame through his ''rororo Jazz-Lexikon'' published by Rowohlt Verlag, which is now considered the standard German-language work on this music ...

(Rowohlt Verlag 2002, Germany) * "New Grove Dictionary of Jazz" Barry Kernfeld/Wolfram Knauer (Grove, England 2001) * "Der Frankfurt Sound" Jürgen Schwab (SocietätsVerlag 2004, Germany) * "Encyklopedia Muzyki Popularnej, Jazz" D.Piatkowski (Atena 2000, Poland) * "Leksykon Polskiej Muzyki Rozrywkowej" R.Wolanski (Morex 1995, Poland) * "Encyklopedia Rzeszowa" (RS Druk, 2004, Poland)

References

External links

Vitold Reks Taso Music Production

Polish Jazz for Dummies: 60 Years of Jazz from Poland by Cezary Lerski

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rek, Vitold 1955 births Living people Polish jazz double-bassists Polish jazz composers Polish jazz musicians Male double-bassists 21st-century Polish double-bassists 21st-century Polish male musicians Polish male jazz musicians Polish music educators