Copyright 2009 Polish American Journal
last update 14 January 2010
|
|
The Associated Polish Home of Northeast Philadelphia will feature a Polka Party, Sunday, January 24, 2010 with music by Janet O’Such & Rhythm & Sound Band. Music will be from 2 to 6 p.m. Call: 215.626.9954.
CONSHOHOCKEN, Penn. – A Polka Dance with the Our Gang Band will take place at the Thaddeus Kosciuszko Club, East Hector and Apple Street in Conshohocken, Sunday, February 14, 2010, from 3 to 7 p.m. Call: 610.828.9352.
FLORIDA, N.Y. -Starr Records has just re-released two CDs in one, called Double Magic. The two CDs were originally released in 1990. It paid tribute to the music of Bernie Witkowski, one of the most popular polka bands of the 1950s and 60s. The CD features not only the Jimmy Stuff band but the clarinet of Joe Magnuszewski and the accordion of Gene Bartkiewicz, who both performed with Jimmy during that period. The CD features 24 songs, 17 instrumentals and 7 vocals. The CD is available from Starr Records, Box 1, Florida, NY 10921. It's definitely "Double Magic" at its best.
The Eddie Forman Orchestra, most often called E.F.O., has released Movin’ On, an 18 track CD filled with traditional, original and some classic music that is a treat for polka fans everywhere.
Forman and the group always offer a distinct musical style that is their's alone. Consistency is their trademark and it has collected a large fan base throughout the polka field. Originals like the minor key "Dark Cloud Over Brooklyn" polka and "Yardstick" oberek flavor the recording with something new while "Rain Rain" polka and Early Morning" oberek bring some great standards to the musical table. Bobby Bobin's "Tell the Boys" polka and Blazonczyk's "Happy" oberek are excellent choices here, also.
The accordion work of Eddie leads the way for Bob Frydryk, Tom Frydryk, Charlie Pajak, Carol Forman and John Cieplik, as they create a sound that makes everything come togeher. As a side note, Cieplik on drums brought about visuals of Jerry Tokarz, with that solid, consistent beat.
The recording features 18 songs and is on the EFO label. Contact: Eddie Forman, P.O. Box 148, Hadley, MA 01035 or email: eddieforman@charter.net.
Duane Malinowski is an entertainer. From those days when we first met him with Polka Jamoboree, it was obvious he was born to perform. He relates to the audience. Now, with the release of his latest CD, Through The Years, The Two Sides Of Duane Malinowski, it made me realize how much I've missed him on the polka stage.
This 23 track collection covers the span of of years from 1980 to the present with a range of songs from "Bright Star" polka to a country ballad, "I've Called To Say I Love You One More Time." From the classic Malinowski originals like "Button Box Hoedown" and "Deamland" to the dynamic standards, Green Grass" polka and "Springtime" oberek, this project certainly is a treat for polka fans that appreciate Duane's expertise and talent with that music.
Under the name Duane Michaels, he presents standard and country tunes, "Pretty Blue Eyes," "More" and "Satisfy Me and I'll Satisfy You."
This CD is being dedicated to the fight against Juvenile Diabetes and the race to find a cure. Duane's son, Duane Joseph, is a victim of Type 1 Diabetes, and a portion of the proceeds from the sales of this CD will benefit JDRF, DYS and Diabetic Rockstar; all agencies that support children and their families inflicted with this disease.
Through The Years, The Two Sides Of Duane Malinowski is a double hit, because of it's great music and for what it will do to help the battle against Juvenile Diabetes.
Contact: Duane Malinowski, 5738 Brookcliffe Rd., Toledo, OH 43614.
Stanley Bulanda, age 55, beloved husband of Diane (nee Whyte); loving father of Erica (David), Jennifer (Ken) and Tommy (Sandi); loving son of Sally and the late Stanley; dearest brother of John (Barbara) and Sally (Karl) Gleffe; dearest brother-in-law to Karen (Fred) Hudy and Susan Cuevas, also survived by uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends. Funeral Monday 9am from Ridge Funeral Home 6620 W. Archer Ave. (corner of Natoma) to St. Daniel the Prophet Church Mass 10 a.m. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. Visitation Sunday 2 to 9pm. Member of International Polka Assoc. Hall of Fame.
Visit: Obituary and Guest Book
NAPERVILLE, IL. Polkas United, a new free online forum that is designed for all aspects of polka music and the people familiar with polka music is now available on the internet at: www.polkasunited.com.
Using the basic technology of the internet, the forum is there to help those, who love polka music, unite. It is organized in a way where everyone familiar with polkas can share some of their thoughts, voice comments, and read other people's thoughts with similar interests.
Visitors can tell everyone their two cents on polkas, polka music, polka dancing, the state of the polka industry and more. They can post comments, thoughts, feelings and opinions and let their voices be heard.
Polkas United invites everyone to discuss polka music so this music genre can move forward and grow. Join with other to have a positive conversation to increase the popularity of polka music. Over 200 have become members as of June 2009.
Polkas United is not a polka club or polka organization. No one stands to profit from this endeavor. It is a place where everyone can use their computers and the internet to talk about all segments of polkas and is truly meant for everyone. All generations of polka fans, dancers, musicians, promoters, DJ’s, club owners, news writers, composers, record producers, recording studios are welcomed to join those already on the forum.
Musician Mike Stapinski is the originator and administrator of Polkas United. Email: forum@polkasunited.com
Lacon Kowalchuk of Calgary, Canada is Polish/Ukranian and recently funded a cd, recording Ukranian traditional songs, as well as three originals he wrote. Perogies and Champagne, self titled’,Dosta’,and Polka Fever. This cd was made for the public and not for profit. Kowalchuk would love the help to share our music with the world and has made it available for download at: www.jaroslav.ca. This website features the CD and cover to download for free.
Those in polka music who were active during the Glory Days can recall musicians getting together to play for the love of the music. Stas Bulanda and the Old School Review do exactly that on their new track CD, Glory Days, on the Chicago Polka label. Stas, joined by Steve Fornek, Bernie Gorak, Marty Drazek, John Furmaniak, and Tommy Bulanda gives the listener 14 tracks of old and new tunes that will take you back to those days when playing from the heart gave the music a special meaning.
Familiar songs like "Mountaineer" (Goralska) polka, "At the Mill" (Kolo Mlyna) polka, and fabulous version of "Gypsy" (Cyganka) polka give this one that Chicago polka feel. "You'll Be Sorry (Bedziesz Zalowala) with Steve Fornek on vocal took me back to Oliver Street where a accordion provided the music and a "regular" would sing Polish directly from the heart. Fornek also treats the listener to some clarinet magic on a tune he penned, "Nimble Fingers" polka.
Polka Hall-of-Famer, Stas Bulanda, not only has the singing voice that makes the songs unique, he also has a musical pen that manages to create melodies for the polka fan with "Polka Super Star," "The Dance," and "Do-Come-Inn" featured on this collection. Track 14, the "Glory Days" medley, speaks for itself as it melds together the familiar - all done up Old School Review style.
Something worth noting here is the listing of the song titles in both English and Polish, and also adding "polka" after songs that are polkas. There has been fad with recently released polka CDs to not list "polka" in the title of the song and also to not list the Polish song title and only list the English title. We applaud Stas Bulanda and Chicago Records for listing their polkas for what they are, "Polish Polkas"
Glory Days makes you want a cold, locally brewed, beer while the guy next to you downs a shot of Corbys and the entire bar room sings along.
FLORIDA, N.Y. – Hailed as a national treasure by fans and critics alike, bandleader and entertainer Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra return to thrill listeners with a new recording entitled Polka Cola – The Music That Refreshes.
Winner of eighteen Grammy Awards, Sturr has arrived at a uniquely modern American take on polka music – a take which finds the classic joyful backbeat and accordion – driven excitement of the music’s traditional sound mixed with a wide range of influences, including elements of rock, blues and country.
Polka Cola finds multi-instrumental/bandleader Sturr returning to his roots with a more straight-ahead polka sound that puts the focus more squarely on the stellar instrumental and vocal work of the Jimmy Sturr Orchestra.
The CD is available thru many outlets online, including CD Baby. CD Baby gave the new recording their highest ratings. Quoted from CD Baby – “We love your Jimmy Sturr & Orchestra Polka Cola CD so much that we’re going to feature it on the CD Baby front page.
With more Grammys than most musicians have albums, Sturr is keeping polkas fresh, fun and evolving. After traveling the world, hosting his own musicial TV show, and raking in the awards, Sturr knows that the appeal of the polka isn’t just some nostalgia trip. Jimmy’s ability, skill and irreverent playfulness make polka sound as vital as ever.
"Jammin' Summer" a new live CD produced by the Polka Jammer Network has been released. The CD features 25 tracks from many of your favorite polka artists recorded "live." Artists include: Eddie Blazonczyk's Versatones, Polka Family, Dennis Polisky & the Maestro's Men, Connecticut Twins, The Tones, The Downtown Sound, Gennie O & The Windy Brass, Happy Louie, Marion Lush, Gene Wisniewski, Steve Adamczyk, The Dynatones, Billy Belina's Honky Band, and many more!
It is available for a donation of $35.00 to the Polka Jammer Network. All proceeds go strictly toward operating costs. Please help keep the Polka Jammer Network on the air by picking up a copy of JAMMIN' SUMMER. Vist: www.polkajammernetwork.org.
Dennis Polisky and The Maestro's Men have released their new cd "Don't Stop The Music". Their new cd features vocals by Jackie Libera, Rich Bernier and special guest Eddie Skinger. The cd contains 17 selections of Polkas, Obereks and Waltz.
“Don’t Stop The Music” - What a befitting title by Dennis Polisky and The Maestro's Men. A legacy and final advice left to the Polka Hall of Famer by his beloved dad, Ray Polisky. A must have for those who enjoy that snappy, crisp, toe tapping stylings of the Maestro's Men. Dennis, Jackie, Richie, Ken, Andy and Jim have consistently and professionally performed some of the best tunes available to our Polka public. This album follows that long tradition along with guest vocalist the "platinum voice" of Eddie Skinger.
Whether you hear the group live or your exposure to their music is limited to their recordings, you will agree with me when I say, "Don't Stop The Music"!
Jimmy K & Ethnic Jazz, from Cleveland, Ohio, announce the release of their latest recording, which is now available on CD. A Bright Idea features fourteen songs, including thirteen vocals, with original songs sprinkled throughout the project.
Led by veteran “Jimmy K” Krzeszewski (accordion & vocals), the band features plenty of veteran talents on this recording, including Jason Uzl (trumpet & vocals), Joe Rosinski (drums), Verne Maddie (concertina & bass), Rich Benkowski (concertina), and some great guest work by Dave Pietrzak (sax & clarinet).
The CD features a mix of Polish & English vocals, even a song in Finnish. From the first song , an original titled “Not So Much”, each track adds it’s own distinct personality to the recording.
This CD will be available at all Ethnic Jazz performances, and through Jimmy K Polkas. Jimmy K Polkas
Mail order customers can send $15 (includes postage) to: Jimmy K Polkas, PO Box 360855, Strongsville, OH 44136 Call Toll Free 1-866-454-6695 to order by phone.
DJ’s and IJ’s may please contact Ethnic Jazz for your promotional copy at the address above, or e-mail info@ethnicjazzohio.com. Visit the Ethnic Jazz web site at: EthnicJazzOhio.Com.
STREAMWOOD, IL. –K & C Entertainment has released two new compact discs, Grammy Gold and Hooray 4 Honky.
Grammy Gold features 22 polka hits by Jimmy Sturr and his Orchestra. With 16 Grammy wins to his name, the Sturr Orchestra is on the top-ten list of all-time Grammy Awards and has acquired more Grammy Nominations than anyone in the history of musical polka awards.
K & C’s own Keith Stras can been seen each week on the Jimmy Sturr TV show on RFD-TV network, a network devoted to rural America.
Hooray for Honky is an all-new live CD featuring 22 tracks by Ray “J,” Stephanie, Chet Kowalkowski, Casey Homel, Hank Guzevich, Keith Stras and others. Mixed and mastered by Gary Rhamy of Peppermint, no aficionado of honky style polka music should be without this CD.
Just like its predecessor, Honky Holiday, this disc brings you all the fun and excitement as it was recorded, “live” at the “hub of polka activity,” Chicago’s Crown Jewel, Glendora Banquets, and it features the hit tune, “Hooray 4 Honky.”
For ordering details visit: www.kncentertains.com or by calling toll free: 866.269.6746.
BINGHAMTON, NY -- PAJ Polka Editor, Steve Litwin, is now on MYSPACE. To augment the polka related sites he currently maintains on the internet, Litwin established a site on MYSPACE to publicize his love for the concertina and polka music.
Involved with polka music for over 40 years, Steve Litwin and his wife, Adele, started the "Concertina Jam" as part of the Polka Fireworks festival, at the Seven Springs Resort, in 1984.
Concertina Jam 2008, the 25th year, will take place Friday, July 4 at the Polka Fireworks event.
visit www.myspace.com/concertinaman.
Searching through a multi-collection of polka related items, PAJ Polka Editor Steve Litwin came across a unique piece of polka history from his days in the Buffalo, NY area. This item, now over 38 years old, has been scanned and posted Litwin's personal POLKAEDITOR.COM site.
The legendary Li'l Wally made several appearances on the Lawrence Welk TV show, promoting Polish Polka music. Here is just one video cut on Youtube with Wally at his best.Li'l Wally on Welk Show on Youtube..
The Polkas For Charity website is up and available on the internet at: www.polkasforcharity.com. Samplings of five tracks from the first CD project, "Let’s Get This Party Started" are now linked on the website.
Musicians participating in "Let's Get this Party Started" include: Chris Borkowski, Ted Borzymowski, Wally Dombrowski, Gennarose, Lenny Gomulka, Greg Guzevich, Hank Guzevich, Chris Huntington, Johnny Karas, Frank Liszka, Bob McBride, Ryan Ogrodny, Rick Olaguer and Mark Trzepacz.
Proceeds from this first Polkas for Charity recording will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.
For more information, samples of songs, photos, biographies of the musicians and more, visit the the website, www.polkasforcharity.com or email ted@polkasforcharity.com. The CD, which will be available by mid-June, may be ordered by sending $17.00 (includes $2.00 shipping and handling) to: Polkas For Charity - P.O. Box 835 - Fallston, MD 21047- 0835.
Whether your polka memories go back a few year or a few decades, they live in your heart and your head. It may be that special festival, or the time you heard "your" band for the first time, or that one time you almost don't remember.
Don't you wish someone would create a website featuring polka photos and other memories from those days? Wouldn't it be great to relive days of The New Brass, Marion Lush, The Versatones, or festivals like Polkbration, Erie Days, Polka Holiday?
Through the efforts of Jimmy Krzeszewski of jimmyKpolkas.com and Steve Litwin, Polka Editor of the Polish American Journal, the polka world now has polkamemories.com, a site that is your place to relive the best polka memories of your life. Polkamemories.com offers photos contributed by many throughout the polka world. You can become part of this website by submitting your scanned photos for this website. Visit polkamemories.com today and bring enjoy the memories of your polka past.
CHICAGO -Bel-Aire Enterprises has launched a new website and store, Belairerecords.com. Offering a complete catalog of polka recordings and other musical items, Belairerecords.com will also be providing reviews and writeups on recordings, photos and band history. Be sure to visit the site and look around. Check back often for monthly specials and featured Items. Belairerecords.com
There are two universal truths about accordions. The first is that the accordion is almost always associated with polka music. The second: a concertina is the same thing.
To what do we owe the association of the accordion with Polish dance music? The accordion is not exclusive to the polka. Its sweet, reedy sound has been the musical backdrop for scenarios of lonely cowboys in the Texas Panhandle, romantic interludes under the Eiffel Tower, and Cajun house parties deep in Louisiana’s swamps. Surely accordions are not played just by Polish Americans.
There is a mystique about the accordion, albeit often a negative one. When Madison Avenue wants to demonstrate “cool” versus “uncool,” it sometimes calls upon the accordion to demonstrate the latter. But the accordion was a respectable instrument until the advent of rock ‘n’ roll. Songs of love and devotion were then sung over the electrified strains of guitars, and teen idols, who played the six-stringed talisman of rebellion, created a charisma for themselves equal to that of guys who drove fast cars.
Beginning in the mid-1980s, accordions regained some lost ground. Credit is due a counterculture movement in the rock ‘n’ roll industry. Seeking an alternative to the guitar, bands incorporated the accordion into some of their music. Among the bands and musicians not afraid to let the instrument demonstrate its versatility were the Talking Heads, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, David Lindley, Los Lobos, even the Grateful Dead.
And it is the Irish who can lay claim to the first recordings of accordion and concertina. Traditional Irish dance music played on fiddle, uilleann pipes, concertina, accordion, flute, tin whistle, tenor banjo, pianos, and combinations thereof was captured on cylinder recordings before the portable piano was heard playing polkas on record.
Still, if only by association, the accordion belongs to the polka.
The accordion is, for all practical purposes, a portable piano, powered by air driven over tuned reeds. And hence its popularity: it is easier to carry an accordion than a piano down to a church basement wedding reception.
The accordion’s popularity among polka bands can be attributed to that fact. Although most polka bands are dedicated to their art form, they must play a variety of music for bread-and-butter receptions, dances, and parties. It was not until the late 1970s, when synthesized keyboards replaced the accordion as the portable keyboard, that gig-playing polka bands could make use of both instruments. Most such bands today have both an accordion and a synthesized keyboard.
The concertina lacks the accordion’s keyboard. It is usually small and hexagonal, with buttons to be played by both hands as they push and pull to work the bellows.
The early polka bands in the United States made little use of the accordion—or none at all. They played what has become known as “village” music on violins, bass violins, a clarinet, and a bowed cello or bass. One of the early band leaders was Franciszek Dukla of Chicago, who with vocalist Frank Zielinski began a recording career for Victor Records on December 7, 1926, with the song “Na Okolo Ciemny Las.” (“Around the Dark Forest”) as it’s known in English, is part of the standard literature for today’s polka bands.
How the music of Franciszek Dukli Wiejska Banda (Frank Dukla’s Village Band) evolved into today’s polkas has become a debate among academics. It is believed that Polish musicians adopted and adapted the accordion and concertina to fit popular music styles within their communities. To trace the use of these instruments in today’s polka bands, we must look to early recordings by Polish artists.
The earliest American Polish-language recordings were made by the Berliner Company in 1897, featuring a tenor with piano accompaniment. It wasn’t until the next decade, when recording techniques had improved, that full instrumentation could be added.
The first recording of either the concertina or the accordion by a Polish artist is hard to trace. Columbia did not begin a separate numbering system for ethnic recording series until 1908; Victor’s began in 1912. Apparently the first known Polish artist to record the accordion was Jan Wanat, on the Victor label in 1917. Wanat’s discs of traditional Polish dances, played in a conventional, formal style, were hot sellers. His accordion solos were played on a custom instrument that brought out the bass.
Early Polish recordings can be classified as folksong, light and grand opera, patriotic and traditional song and dance, popular music played and sung by Poles, and dialogue—mainly comedy skits. At the time many of these recordings were made, the polka was very popular, especially outside Polish communities. A majority of Polish folksongs (particularly songs of war, such as parade music and marches) were already in cut time, the 2/4 polka tempo. Other Polish folk and dance songs—the mazurka, krakowiak, polonaise, and kujawiak—were easily adapted as polkas, obereks, and waltzes, which are the dances still popular today among Polish Americans.
The recording companies sought Polish artists whose music would appeal to newcomers who yearned for music of the homeland, but the record executives were at a loss as to what music that was. According to Alvin Sajewski, son of Wladyslaw Sajewski, founder of the W.H. Sajewski Music Company in Chicago, the record executives knew there was a huge ethnic market but did not know how to tap it:
The records were by people from the city who liked the classical singers, the high-pitched sopranos. People wanted simple pretty melodies, but they would buy these records because there was at least something Polish on them. The people wanted folksongs (Spottswood 1982).
In 1923 Columbia recorded a “duma,” a waltz by Henry Lewandowski. This old-time fiddler led the way for newer bands that were beginning to play polkas and other Polish dances in a livelier and less formal fashion.
One of Columbia’s hottest artists was the Ukrainian fiddler Pawlo Humeniuk. The company “polonized” Humeniuk by changing his name to Pawel Humeniak, and with Polish vocalists, his records sold well in Chicago. The January 1927 recording of “Zareczyny, Czesc 1” (“The Engagement, Part 1”), with singer Ewgen Zukowsky was the genesis of the Polish American polka. The playing technique of the anonymous accordionist is almost identical to that used today.
Columbia and its competitors—Victor, Okeh, Odeon, Brunswick, and Vocalion realized more than modest profits from the hybrid Polish American polka. During the 1930s the Polish recording business exploded. In 1931 Victor alone released 176 recordings in its Polish series, including 38 by village orchestras (playing what is known variously as Górale, Mountain, Highland, or Old Country music) and 12 by what Richard J. Spottswood has called “new-wave polka bands"—the forerunners of today’s bands. These new-wave recordings, made primarily by Ignacy Podgorski from Philadelphia, and by Edward Królikowski of Bridgeport, Connecticut, blended brass, accordion, and violin and combined “the energy of the village orchestras with a smoother, more emphatic melody line” (Spottswood 1982).
Podgorski, whose popularity extended into the 1940s, also sold sheet music of his material, much of which was based on the music of the village bands.
One early artist who greatly influenced the hybrid Polish American polka was a concertina player and singer from Chicago, Bruno Rudzinski. His work, like Lewandowski’s and Humeniuk’s, was less formal—a mix of traditional Polish folk melodies influenced by American jazz. Rudzinski’s recordings made him the Polish Spike Jones of his day, as he would often repeat or forget lines and start the vocals over again.
His first recording, “Przyszedl Chlop do Karczmy” (“A Man Came to the Saloon”), was on the Victor label and released in 1928.
It wasn’t until the late 1940s, however, that the concertina made its way into mainstream polka music. The instrument was promoted by bandleader Eddie Zima, probably the most famous of all polka concertina players. He was born in Chicago in 1923 and began playing the concertina by ear when he was six. His record of “Circus” polka, which became a hit in the nation’s Polish communities, introduced hundreds of thousands to both Zima and the concertina. He recorded for the Capitol, RCA, Dana, Chicago, and Jay Jay labels, and his orchestra later formed the nucleus of the still-popular Ampol-Aires. He is considered the godfather of Chicago-style polkas, which are slower and bouncier than the traditional “Eastern” style, named after the big bands from the East Coast that played these zesty polkas from the 1940s until the late 1960s.
Zima influenced a multitude of musicians who found the concertina a natural for the polka. Among those he inspired was Li’l Wally Jagiello, the son of Polish immigrants, who often sang with Zima’s band at picnics in Chicago. Although Jagiello’s early recordings made use of the accordion, he is most famous for his work on the concertina, and for promoting Chicago-style polka to national prominence. His recording of “Zosia” (“Sophie”) so startled some disc jockeys that they thought it defective, but the song’s slow, heartfelt tempo won it nationwide popularity. Today, Chicago-style polkas dominate the polka recording industry.
Jagiello in turn has inspired many of today’s virtuoso concertina players, including Wally Maduzia, Lenny Maynard, Rich Benkowski, Al Piatkowski, Richie Kurdziel, Scrubby Seweryniak, Bill Czerniak Sr. and Jr., Ronny Marcusiuk, Tom Kula, and Teddy Kiewicz.
References
Breathnach, B. 1971. Folk Music and Dances of Ireland. Dublin: Talbot Press.
Camp, T. 1992. Weird Al finds a vein of fun in rock parodies. Milwaukee Journal, July 7.
Ethnic Recordings in America. 1982. Washington, D.C.: American Folklife Center, library of Congress.
Spottswood, R. 1982. “The Sajewski Story” in Ethnic Recordings in America: A Neglected Heritage. Washington, D.C.: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
Treasured Polish Folk Songs with Translation. 1953. Minneapolis: Polanie Publishing Co.
Mark Kohan is editor-in-chief of the national monthly newspaper Polish American Journal and was leader of the Steel City Brass for 28 years; he plays both accordion and concertina. With the permission of the publisher, the article was adapted from “Squeezebox Jam,” a publication of the Polish American Festival held in August 1992 in Cheektowaga, New York. The annual event is sponsored by the Town of Cheektowaga (a suburb of Buffalo), and made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Copyright 2007 Polish American Journal
Questions or comments, E-mail:
PAJPOLKA@VERIZON.NET