My first guitar was bought for me by my father. It was a crude box, the kind you could buy in the shops in those days. I was taught to play it by my older cousin - Jan Kaleta. I was at the Technical School of Opencast Mining (on Rzeźnicza Street), he was studying at the AGH. We formed a band, "Piątka z plusem". The guitar was played by Janusz Czajkowski. He was my neighbour and it was he who brought along a pianist - Ania Kusak. The singer was my schoolmate Zbyszek Zajączkowski. We played mainly at dance evenings in Kraków schools. We appeared at a review of big-beat bands together with, among others, Ametyści and Biała Gwiazda.

At the same time I met Felek Naglicki. It was he who instilled the Shadows in me, and our programme was built on their repertoire. Zajączkowski (understandably) sang Cliff Richard's hits. Felek had a band, the Heralds, and he built guitars and amplifiers. That was when I made a guitar with my own hands. A dreadful plank with a thick, clumsy neck. Somebody arranged some gigs in Nowa Huta and we put together an occasional band, Kon-Tiki. Alongside me and Felek, the guitar was played there by Zbyszek Gdula and the drums by Czarek Słupek. I had met Zbyszek in Przegorzały. A group of friends used to meet there, and Zbyszek and I competed over who could "do" Presley better. We knew his entire repertoire. In those days "gangs" of teenagers prowled the individual stretches of the Planty park in Kraków. The one from by the Lilla Weneda statue led the way. They were not dangerous, but they fought among themselves. I moved about safely. I walked around with a guitar. I sang Presley and Haley and nobody had the right to touch me. I was under everyone's special protection.

But let us return to Kon-Tiki. Czarek was known for playing the most even tremolo on the drums in Kraków (and perhaps in the world). He was so proud of it that he played that tremolo all the time, in every number. Tremolo and nothing else. Mundek Szutkowski sang with us. It was probably he who brought covers of the Beatles and the Stones into the band. We played, among other places, in the printing works' club on Manifestu Lipcowego Street and I remember that it was a blast. The girls went wild. I spent a lot of time then with Felek Naglicki. That was when we made two terrific guitars with our own hands. He made a bass and I made a lead guitar. Felek designed them, and the individual metal parts were turned and milled for us in the metalworking shop at the AGH. They were truly professional guitars. We played in various line-ups, depending on who had arranged the gig. Until at last we formed the band "The Lessers".

Along came Jurek Dura, who was studying violin at music school and played bass guitar with us. On drums was Marian Pawlik, very young at the time. As I have mentioned, Jasiek Kaleta was a student and he arranged rehearsals for us in student clubs. In Karlik and in Żaczek. We played all the dance evenings, every Saturday. Then came the holidays and a chance to spend them pleasantly. A student holiday in exchange for playing at the welcome evening and the farewell evening. Quite a treat. We went to Świnoujście and then to Giżycko. That was in 1965.

A year later we went to Giżycko again, but with a patched-together line-up. Marian Pawlik had no drums, so we took Adam Berny. They took turns on the drums. On bass was Jurek Dura. And on guitars myself, Jasiek Kaleta and Jurek Piwowarski, who had just then appeared on Kraków's music scene. He had a band of his own, whose name I do not remember. He played the guitar so-so but sang rather well. Marian Pawlik was a superb drummer, but he was fascinated by the bass guitar. I do not remember how Jurek Dura vanished from the band, but at that point Marian found a very young, gifted lad somewhere in Podgórze, taught him to play the drums and jumped onto the bass guitar himself. That lad's name was Benek Radecki. Marian, Benek, Jurek Horwath and Andrzej Zaucha later formed that legendary line-up of the band Dżamble. But those are later times.

The line-up of the Lessers settled down and we then played in every student club there was in Kraków. In Żaczek, Zaścianek, Karlik, the Dom Socjalny (on Reymonta Street), Nawojka, Gwarek, and also in Szopa (on Rakowicka Street) and in Relaks in Podgórze. In Nowa Huta, in the Houses of Culture. Everywhere. Three times we went on concert tours in the Rybnik area (concert tours - that is a great exaggeration). We played in dance halls in the surrounding villages and small towns. The line-ups kept changing. Sometimes we were in the basic line-up, at other times a trio (Krupa/Pawlik/Radecki) and at yet other times myself, Felek Naglicki and Tomek Hołuj on drums. One of the most popular and certainly the most professional bands in Kraków at the time was Telstar, led by Andrzej Kadłuczka. Andrzej offered Benek Radecki a place in his band. Before long Benek pulled in Marian Pawlik, and then I too found myself in Telstar. We played, among other places, in Oaza and Relaks. And Kazik Bocheński sang with us. He sang rather well. There was at that time a threesome of interesting singer-guitarists: Jurek Piwowarski, Marek Kulisiewicz and Kazik Bocheński.

Around then I got myself a new guitar. It was a semi-acoustic "Jolana", not bad-sounding for those days. I did not have it for long, though. The Zieliński brothers were putting together a new line-up of Skaldowie. Jurek Tarsiński had bought himself an American "Key" guitar, the "Jazz" model. It sounded beautiful, but it had a short, matt tone (as befits a jazz guitar). That sound did not suit the musical concept of Skaldowie. Andrzej Zieliński gave Jurek an ultimatum. Either he would have a big-beat guitar or he would not play in the band. I offered him a swap. He got the "Jolana", which met the band's requirements, and I became the owner of a beautiful, noble instrument. Together with Marian Pawlik and Benek Radecki I fell under the spell of the English blues wave. John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and so on.

Differences in musical interests meant that we parted company with Jasiek Kaleta and performed as a trio. On one occasion we were playing at the St Barbara's Day ball at the AGH. Many bands were playing there. As we strolled through the halls, Marian noticed a superb saxophonist. We did not know him. We proposed working together, to which he agreed very willingly. He said he would bring his friend, a trombonist, to the rehearsal and that they would work out some nice riffs for us. Later it turned out that they were jazz musicians, well known and respected in their circle. Zbyszek Seifert and Jasiu Jarczyk, which we - fascinated by blues-rock - did not know at the time. Together we spent a terrific summer playing in Kobyle Gródek on Lake Rożnów and in Mielno. But that was only a summer.

Around that time we appeared at a review of rock bands in Częstochowa. Marek Michalak played the trombone with us there. We played our own compositions, to which the lyrics had been written by Marian Pawlik. That line-up ceased to exist when Marian and Benek joined Dżamble. I then formed another edition of the Lessers. On drums was Jurek Bezucha and on bass guitar Rysiek Kopciuch. We played in that line-up for some time and Marek Michalak worked with us occasionally. In those days we were often at the Helikon Jazz Club on św. Marka Street. It was Zbyszek Seifert who introduced us to that circle. We began to take an interest in jazz, and I went mad about John Coltrane once Benek pressed his record "Expression" on me.

All the fun with the Lessers ended when one day there appeared at the door of my home (it is worth mentioning that this attic in the Krzysztofory townhouse was then something of a jazz club, where we would meet and listen to records for hours) Jan Boba - leader of the already well-known band Jazz Band Ball, with a banjo under his arm, and offered me a trip with the band to a recording session in Katowice. The trip was the next day. Terrified, I said that I had never played that instrument. In reply I heard: "It's simple. You play it just like a guitar, except that it has two strings fewer". Simple. It was an offer I could not refuse. And so began my adventure with Jazz Band Ball, which lasted 5 years.