Vitold Rek
Encyclopedia
Vitold Rek is a double bass
ist, composer
and educator. He studied classical double bass at the Academy of Music in Kraków
when Krzysztof Penderecki
was rector there. His playing "unites jazz
influences with classical
and East European folk
elements", with a focus on live performance and composition.
, London Jazz Festival
, North Sea Jazz (Den Haag), Willisau Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, ISB Double Bass Convention USA, Mexico Jazz Festival, Banlieus Bleues Festival in Paris
and the Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw
among many others. Concerts have taken him also to Mozambique
, Cuba
and Mexico
. He has performed in the Purcell Room
in London
and in the Paris Olympia
.
Charlie Mariano
, John Tchicai
, Albert Mangelsdorff
, Karl Berger
, Tomasz Stanko
, Günter Baby Sommer, Dom Um Romao
, Peter Giger
, Emil Mangelsdorff
, Gerd Dudek
, Heinz Sauer, Ralf Hübner, Bob Degen
, Christof Lauer
, Makaya Ntshoko
and Shlomo Carlebach
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
with his own solo performance. He works closely with the poet Johann P. Tammen and other partners have included Volker Braun
, Oskar Ansull, Sarah Kirsch
and Kito Lorenc
.
He teaches jazz double bass and coaches ensembles at both the Hochschule für Musik, Mainz
and the Hochschule für Musik
, Frankfurt
.
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
(soloist Jadwiga Kotnowska
) and symphony orchestra
during the Polish Chamber Music Festival in Warsaw.
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
ist, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and educator. He studied classical double bass at the Academy of Music in Kraków
Academy of Music in Kraków
The Academy of Music in Kraków is a conservatory located in downtown Kraków, Poland.-History:The Academy, until 1945 as a conservatory under the name Cracow Conservatory or Conservatory of the Music Society, was founded in 1888 by the eminent Polish composer Władysław Żeleński thanks to artistic...
when Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Penderecki , born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor. His 1960 avant-garde Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra brought him to international attention, and this success was followed by acclaim for his choral St. Luke Passion. Both these...
was rector there. His playing "unites jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
influences with classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and East European folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
elements", with a focus on live performance and composition.
Career
Rek's festival appearances include Montreux Jazz FestivalMontreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
, London Jazz Festival
London Jazz Festival
The London Jazz Festival is a London-wide music festival held every November. It takes place in a variety of London venues, including larger concert halls—such as the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall—and smaller jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's and Vortex...
, North Sea Jazz (Den Haag), Willisau Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, ISB Double Bass Convention USA, Mexico Jazz Festival, Banlieus Bleues Festival in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and the Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
among many others. Concerts have taken him also to Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He has performed in the Purcell Room
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....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and in the Paris Olympia
Paris Olympia
The Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....
.
Charlie Mariano
Charlie Mariano
Carmine Ugo Mariano was an American jazz alto saxophonist. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Cologne, Germany.-Biography:Mariano was the son of Italian immigrants....
, John Tchicai
John Tchicai
John Martin Tchicai is a Danish jazz saxophonist. He was one of the earliest European free jazz musicians. He is of Danish and Congolese descent....
, Albert Mangelsdorff
Albert Mangelsdorff
Albert Mangelsdorff was one of the most accredited and innovative trombonists of modern jazz who became famous for his distinctive technique of playing multiphonics.-Biography:...
, Karl Berger
Karl Berger
Karl Hanns Berger is a musicologist with a PhD in Music Sociology, jazz composer, jazz vibraphone and piano player.-Biography:...
, Tomasz Stanko
Tomasz Stanko
Tomasz Stańko is a Polish trumpeter, composer and improviser. Often recording for ECM, Stańko is strongly associated with free jazz and the avant-garde....
, Günter Baby Sommer, Dom Um Romao
Dom Um Romão
Dom Um Romão was a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist. Noted for his expressive stylings with the fusion band Weather Report, Romão recorded with varied artists such as Cannonball Adderley, Paul Simon, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 and Tony Bennett...
, Peter Giger
Peter Giger
Peter Giger is a Swiss percussionist and bandleader.-----His musical CV:1958 professional musician, tours in Europe with the Tremble Kids, Oskar Klein, Albert Nicholas, Bill Coleman, Joe Turner, Wild Bill Davison, Peanuts Holland1960 after short guest performance with Armand Gordons Ragtime Band,...
, Emil Mangelsdorff
Emil Mangelsdorff
Emil Mangelsdorff is a jazz musician who plays alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet and flute.In 1942 and 1943 Mangelsdorff studied clarinet at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. As a member of the Frankfurt Hot Club his performing of jazz lead him to being imprisoned by the Gestapo...
, Gerd Dudek
Gerd Dudek
Gerd Dudek is a German jazz tenor saxophonist, soprano saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist.Dudek studied clarinet privately and attended music school in the 1950s before joining a big band led by his brother Ossi until 1958...
, Heinz Sauer, Ralf Hübner, Bob Degen
Bob Degen
Bob Degen Jr is an American jazz pianist. Much of his work has been in the trio format.Degen attended Berklee College of Music in the 1960s and played locally in Boston while there. In the mid-1960s he played in Europe with Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Carmell Jones, and Albert Mangelsdorff, and...
, Christof Lauer
Christof Lauer
Christof Lauer 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, Michel Godard, Volker Kriegel, Michel Portal, Maria Joao, Anthony Cox, Gary Husband,...
, Makaya Ntshoko
Makaya Ntshoko
Makaya or Makhaya Ntshoko is a South African drummer.Ntshoko played with Dollar Brand's trio in 1958, and recorded in a sextet with Hugh Masekela and John Mehegan in 1959. Ntshoko plays on the Jazz Epistles album Jazz Epistle: Verse 1, one of the most prominent examples of South African hard bop...
and Shlomo Carlebach
Shlomo Carlebach
Shlomo Carlebach , known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a Jewish rabbi, religious teacher, composer, and singer who was known as "The Singing Rabbi" during his lifetime...
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
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
with his own solo performance. He works closely with the poet Johann P. Tammen and other partners have included Volker Braun
Volker Braun
Volker Braun is a German writer. His works include Provokation für mich -- a collection of poems written between 1959 and 1964 and published in 1965, a play, Die Kipper , and Das ungezwungne Leben Kasts .-Life:Volker Braun, who worked in...
, Oskar Ansull, Sarah Kirsch
Sarah Kirsch
Sarah Kirsch is a German poet.She was born Ingrid Bernstein in Limlingerode, Prussian Saxony. She changed her first name to Sarah in order to protest against her father's anti-semitism. She studied biology in Halle and literature at the Johannes R. Becher Institute for Literature in Leipzig. In...
and Kito Lorenc
Kito Lorenc
Kito Lorenc , grandson of the Sorbian writer Jakub Lorenc-Zalěski, is a Sorbian-German writer, lyric poet and translator....
.
He teaches jazz double bass and coaches ensembles at both the Hochschule für Musik, Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
and the Hochschule für Musik
Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts
The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts is a state Hochschule for Music, Theater and Dance in Frankfurt and is the only one of its kind in the Federal State of Hesse. It was founded in 1938....
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
.
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
Piotr Wróbel
Piotr Jan Wróbel is a Polish-Canadian historian, an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the Faculty of Arts and Science of the University of Toronto, as well as member of the Faculty at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Trinity College in the University of...
) for double bass, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
(soloist Jadwiga Kotnowska
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...
) and symphony orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
during the Polish Chamber Music Festival 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 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 Gerd DudekGerd DudekGerd Dudek is a German jazz tenor saxophonist, soprano saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist.Dudek studied clarinet privately and attended music school in the 1950s before joining a big band led by his brother Ossi until 1958...
B+W 029 GB); 1993 - Mozambique Meets Europe - Family of Percussion & Friends (B+W031 GB); 1993
- Elvira Plenar-Vitold Rek - with Elvira Plenar (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 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 (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)