Zbigniew Seifert (7 June 1946 – 15 February 1979) was a Polish

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. Seifert was born in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

, Poland. He played alto

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

early in his career and was influenced by

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and rai ...

. He devoted himself to jazz violin when he began performing with the

Tomasz Stańko Tomasz Ludwik Stańko (11 July 1942 – 29 July 2018) was a Polish trumpeter and composer. Stańko was associated with free jazz and the avant-garde. In 1962, Tomasz Stańko formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with saxophonist Janusz Muni ...

Quintet in 1970, and became one of the leading modern jazz violinists. Seifert relocated to Germany in 1973, and worked with Hans Koller's Free Sound between 1974 and 1975. The following year, he performed alongside

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashvill ...

at the

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 annual ...

. Seifert later recorded with

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. He died of cancer at the age of 32, and is buried at

Rakowicki Cemetery Rakowicki Cemetery (English: ; pl, Cmentarz Rakowicki) is a historic necropolis and a cultural heritage monument located on 26 Rakowicka Street in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It lies within the Administrative District No. 1 ''Stare Miasto'' ...

in Krakow.

Discography

As leader

* ''Zbigniew Seifert'' (Capitol, 1977) * ''Man of the Light'' (MPS, 1977) * ''Solo Violin'' (EMI Electrola, 1978) * ''Passion'' (Capitol, 1979) * ''Kilimanjaro'' (PolJazz, 1979) * ''We'll Remember Zbiggy'' (Mood, 1979) * ''We'll Remember Komeda'' (Polonia, 1998) * ''Live in Hamburg 1978'' (Milo, 2006) * ''Nora'' (GAD, 2010) * ''Live in Solothurn '' (2017)

As sideman

With

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 ...

* ''Music for K'' (Polskie Nagrania, 1970) * ''Jazzmessage from Poland'' (B.Free, 1972) * ''Purple Sun'' (Calig, 1973) * ''W Pałacu Prymasowskim'' (PolJazz, 1983) With others * Boogie Pimps, ''The Music in Me'' (Superstar, 2005) * Hans Koller, ''Kunstkopfindianer'' (MPS/BASF, 1974) * Hans Koller, ''Nome'' (B.Free, 2017) *

Volker Kriegel Volker Kriegel (24 December 1943 – 15 June 2003) was a German jazz guitarist and composer who also an author and drew cartoons. He was a founding member of the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble. Biography Kriegel was born in Darmstadt on 24 Decem ...

, ''Lift!'' (MPS/BASF, 1973) *

Joachim Kühn Joachim Kurt Kühn (born 15 March 1944) is a German jazz pianist. Biography He was born in Leipzig, Germany. Kühn was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition, with Arthur Schmid ...

, ''Cinemascope'' (MPS/BASF, 1974) *

, ''Springfever'' (Atlantic, 1976) *

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

, ''Helen 12 Trees'' (MPS/BASF, 1976) *

Glen Moore Glen Moore (born October 28, 1941) is an American jazz bassist, who occasionally performs on piano, flute and violin. Moore was born in Portland, Oregon, United States. His performing career began at age 14 with the Young Oregonians in Portla ...

, ''Introducing'' (Elektra, 1979) *

, ''Violin'' (Vanguard, 1978) * Jiří Stivín, ''5 Ran Do Cepice'' (Supraphon, 1972) *

Jasper van 't Hof Jasper van 't Hof (born 30 June 1947) is a Dutch jazz pianist and keyboard player. Van 't Hof was born in Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands, and began studying piano at the age of five. He played in jazz bands at school, and by the age of 19 wa ...

, ''Eye Ball'' (Keytone, 1974) * Jan "Ptaszyn" Wróblewski, ''Sprzedawcy Glonow'' (Polskie Nagrania, 1973)

References

External links

Passion - The Zbigniew Seifert Documentary
* * 1946 births 1979 deaths 20th-century jazz composers 20th-century male musicians 20th-century Polish musicians Avant-garde jazz musicians Jazz alto saxophonists Male jazz composers Male violinists Musicians from Kraków Polish jazz composers Polish jazz violinists Polish saxophonists 20th-century violinists 20th-century saxophonists {{violinist-stub