This beautiful book is a photographic tribute to the Godfather of Polish Jazz, the Genius pianist / composer Krzysztof Komeda. The superb photos tell a story of Komeda´s short life, on and off stage, which compliments beautifully all the written material that was already published about him. All photographs are of course black & white, the proper (IMHO) medium for Jazz photography, and all of them were taken by the great Polish photographer Marek Karewicz, who is undoubtedly one of the Masters of his trade worldwide. Karewicz has been an integral part of the Polish Jazz scene since its inception and his photographs are probably the most important archive of the scene, in parallel of course with the recordings. Karewicz masterfully captures, both in portraits and "action" photographs, the smoky atmosphere of a Jazz club and the splendor of a concert hall stage. His photographs tell a story, often more vividly than the writer´s pen. His esthetics is sublime and his technique unsurpassed! A masterpiece!

This beautiful book collects just a few of the myriad of phenomenal Jazz photographs by the great Polish photographer Marek Karewicz, who is undoubtedly one of the Masters of his trade worldwide. Karewicz has been an integral part of the Polish Jazz scene since its inception and his photographs are probably the most important archive of the scene, in parallel of course with the recordings. He also photographed all the visiting musicians, who played concerts in Poland, especially during the Jazz Jamboree annual festival, which basically means all the Jazz Masters. As a photographer, Karewicz not only has a great "eye" but also the "soul" and understanding of the music, adding many dimensions to his Art, which are unique, profound and esthetically sublime. He was also a great designer and is responsible for 2000 album covers. H exhibited his work all over the world. Each of the 150 photographs in this book is accompanied by a short personal commentary by Karewicz. This book is a great tribute to his work, but any Jazz fan in the world should find it simply irresistible, not to mention people who love the Art of photography. His poor health didn´t prevent him from signing a copy of his book for me, which I´ll treasure as long as I live. Thank you Marek for your Gift and the enormous pleasure inspired by it and the privilege of knowing you!

A collection of writings about Jazz by famous wirter and record producer Orrin Keepnews, including some fascinating insights about recording Jazz.

This book is a brilliant account of the Record Industry form the late 1970s and up to 2008, focusing on the Major (Universal, Sony BMG, Warner & EMI) record labels´ demise in the age of digital media. The book is excellently researched and brings endless quotes from the industry´s leading personalities and experts, backed by facts and figures, all showing how greed, stupidity and narrow-mindedness ruined the goose that laid the golden eggs for decades. Internal wars, personality clashes, scandalous salaries and ego trips are all there, as are many fascinating stories about the invention of the CD, Napster, iTunes and a myriad other terms relevant to the story. Although many of the basic facts are well known, collecting them together in a coherent, step-by-step history / analysis is an eye-opener, even for people well acquainted with the background, like myself. Once I started reading this book I just couldn´t stop, swallowing it page by page in a marathon reading session, something which didn´t happen to me in a long time. I´m not sure I agree with the author about the last chapter of his book, which states that although the Record Industry is dead the Music Industry is alive and kicking. He also doesn´t touch the subject of the influence of the Digital Age upon Music (the Art of) itself, but perhaps that is something another book will cover, although it might be still too early for this. In any case this is a must read for anybody interested in the "behind the scenes" of the Record Industry, Business in general and social implications of change.

Great book about the social aspects of Jazz and the connection between the music and American politics and Black Nationalism.

An overview of the Finnish Jazz scene with biographies of the leading musicians.

Memoirs by Rock Stars can be pretty boring at times, but they usually contain some fascinating insights as to the "behind the scenes" events of the stardom. In this case the great sense of humor aids to the tale and the book is a most enjoyable reading experience, full of facts and nostalgia well mixed.

"Tytul Roboczy" ("Working Title" in Polish) is an Art Magazine published in Poland, beautifully designed and published in hardcover limited edition of 700 copies only. This particular volume of the magazine focuses on the Polish artist / musician Andrzej Mitan, who was one of the participants in the making of "The Book Of Job" album I produced and recorded in Poland in 1985. It also includes my article about making of the album, which was written over 20 years later. It´s an exquisite piece of memorabilia for me, of course, commemorating that chapter of my life and the circumstances surrounding it.