Janusz Stefański. Virtuoso percussionist and co-founder of European jazz

Martial law and the decision to wait and see
 

In 1981, Stefański returned to Poland full of energy and eager to get to work. He signed a three-year contract with the internationally famous “Vienna Art Orchestra” and set off on a tour of Europe. In the autumn of 1981, the orchestra made a large number of recordings in Germany. In Poland, the Solidarność movement was gaining ground and there was a slight relaxation at the political level. For the first time, he was granted an international passport together with his wife Ewa and daughter Agata. Ewa used this opportunity to become acquainted with German museums and galleries, while at the same time avoiding a repeat of their long period apart. The family sub-rented an apartment in Frankfurt, and everything went according to plan. Janusz met frequently with the avantgarde “Vienna Art Orchestra” and participated in studio recordings. Little Agata attended a German kindergarten in order to learn German, while Ewa visited museums. Life continued in this way until 13 December 1981. On that infamous night, Janusz Stefański was playing a gig at the popular Jazz Keller in Frankfurt. It was there that he was informed that martial law had been imposed in Poland. At a stroke, his whole life turned on its head.

Janusz and Ewa decided to remain in Germany and to wait out the uncertain situation, although they categorically refused to apply for political asylum. Their closest relatives were living in Poland, and they wanted to be able to visit them without being pestered by the authorities. Janusz also planned to travel to Poland as a musician. Despite all of this, it would be around 12 years before he was next able to travel to his homeland; it was not until 1993 that he returned there to participate in the anniversary concerts of the jazz musician Zbigniew Namysłowski.

A difficult start in Frankfurt
 

When on 13 December 1981 the couple decided to remain in Germany, they hoped that Janusz’ lucky streak would continue, particularly since he had been admired as musician there for years. However, it soon transpired that his new situation as a citizen of Frankfurt was different from when he had been merely a guest of the city. Certainly, many of his German colleagues initially viewed him only as a serious competitor. Beyond his contract with the “Vienna Art Orchestra”, which was his salvation, he was only rarely offered opportunities to play, none of which were even in Frankfurt. In desperation, he even took on some casual jobs. The young family started its life again from scratch, owning only the drums that they had brought with them in their baggage. Many years later, at a reception held by the German-Polish Society (Deutsch-Polnische Gesellschaft) on the top floor of the Dresdner Bank tower in Frankfurt, Janusz told the astonished guests an anecdote from the early 1980s, when he had occasionally spent time helping build the Deutsche Bank distinctive twin towers. It was already getting dark when he was transporting building materials up by elevator, and the lift suddenly came to a standstill because it was the end of the working day. Fortunately, after several long minutes, someone remembered that there was still a person in the lift on the building façade ...

Under these circumstances, it ultimately transpired that the family would no longer have anywhere to live in Frankfurt. The rental agreement, which was limited to four months, expired. Their search for a new apartment seemed certain to end in failure, until out of nowhere, a businessman friend with an artist’s soul appeared who owned an artist’s apartment in a villa in Königstein. The Stefańskis moved into the apartment – and remained in the enchanting little town in the Taunus hills for 22 years. 

“Polski Jazz Ensemble”
 

At the start of the 1980s, the Solidarność movement received a great deal of support from abroad. A wave of humanitarian aid rolled across the border to Poland from Germany. People sent huge numbers of packages, and the Deutsche Post waived the fee for delivery. For nearly every German that Janusz met at this time, these events dominated over all others. During this period, a group of Polish musicians decided to form the “Polski Jazz Ensemble” and to donate a portion of their concert fees to Solidarność. Alongside Janusz Stefański, they included Leszek Żądło, Władysław Sendecki and Bronisław Suchanek. They played their own compositions, while their diaries filled up with new concert dates. These included the “Jazz Festival” in Tel Aviv, the “Jazz Festival” in Vienna in 1983, the “2nd Erlanger Jazz Weekend” in 1984, and the prestigious “North Sea Jazz Festival” in The Hague in 1985. Their recordings were broadcast on a large number of radio stations. The band toured the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and Israel, and also recorded an LP. They were also asked to provide the soundtrack for the film “Kaltes Fieber” (Cold Fever) by the OKO-Film productions. In 1986, they recorded the LP “Jazz & Lyrik aus Polen”(Jazz and Poetry from Poland). The poems by Polish authors, translated by Karl Dedecius, were read by the German actor Gert Westphal. The LP was produced by the well-known music journalist Joachim Ernst Berendt.