Zdrój Jana - return ....

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Year 2004 - 10 December

A meeting of the friends of Zdrój Jana was held in the cellars of the Białoprądnicki Manor. The band played in the line-up: Jacek Ukleja, Piotr Łopalewski, Grzegorz Jędrzejowski and Krystyna Święcicka-Wójcik. Antoni Krupa guested on harmonica. The evening recalled Jerzy Wójcik, and Janusz Czarnecki and Krzysztof Borowiec gave a karate demonstration.

Skaldowie.. - book launch in Warsaw

Year 2004 - 17 November

The Warsaw EMPiK store hosted the launch of the book by Andrzej Icha entitled "Skaldowie. Historia i muzyka zespołu" (Skaldowie. The history and music of the band). The meeting was attended by Jacek Zieliński and Jerzy Tarsiński. The event was hosted by Stanisław Cejrowski.

Jacek Kafel - "Czarne Perły" and his amplifiers

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Year 2004 - 04 November

The photo above shows an amplifier - the new baby of Jacek Kafel of Czarne Perły - standing in a music shop in Chicago. An amplifier with very good parameters, highly regarded among musicians - see www.kafelamps.com

Below, a piece of the history of Polish rock music: Katarzyna Sobczyk in the company of Jacek Kafel.

Launch of the Skaldowie book - Kraków ..

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Year 2004 - 19 October

As announced earlier, the launch of the book "SKALDOWIE. Historia i muzyka zespołu", written by Prof. Andrzej Icha, has taken place. The event was held at the MDK youth culture centre (Fort 49) on the Wzgórza Krzesławickie estate. The book has had very favourable reviews and is a valuable one - especially for its form and its documentary material.

One rarely comes across biographical or even historical books with information given so precisely. Gathering and editing such strongly documentary material required an extraordinary amount of work, perseverance and personal sacrifice, but the results of that work are to be envied.

Let me add that the guests also included the "Dinosaurs" of Kraków music of the 60s, from bands such as: The Lessers, Telstar, Duchy, Czarne Koty, Ryszardy that is Antoni Krupa, Andrzej Kadłuczka, Janusz Gajec, Aleksander Glik, Jan Kaleta, and the singer of RYSZARDY, Joanna Makiej.

The photos also show Feliks Naglicki's wife, Jacek Kopczyński and the author of the SKALDOWIE website - Maciej Kabata. These and 1000 other people who appear throughout the band's almost 40 years of activity are all mentioned in the book. I express my great personal appreciation for the author's enormous work.

Ryszard Wilk - "Pięciu znad Wisły"
- and his '60s instruments..

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Year 2004 - 19 October

Time has stood still on the pieces of musical gear shown above. They remember the golden sixties - of beat and rock in Kraków.

This is part of a collection of guitars and electro-acoustic equipment in the private collection of Ryszard Wilk in Ontario, Canada.

The two guitars - a red Czech Futurama (1963) and a white German Hofner (1961) - are the most genuine instruments connected with the beginnings of beat in Kraków. This Hofner model was the first guitar played by Zygmunt Schornstein with the band Biała Gwiazda and later by Andrzej Kadłuczka of the band Telstar. Red Futuramas first appeared with Czarne Koty in 1963.

The red Futurama is a guitar that has been pampered by its owner for forty-odd years. As a curiosity, it should be added that George Harrison played a similar, earlier Futurama model from 1957 during the Hamburg period.

In the third photo: first from the left is the red American Fender and the beginning of everything, that is Apache and the year 1960. The white English Burns means 1964 and "The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt". This guitar is signed by the master himself, Hank Marvin. The black Gibson, Les Paul model, means the mid-70s and the Eurovision contest, in which The Shadows did not triumph.. The Burns is signed by Hank Marvin and the guitar's documents are filled in by his own hand.

The fourth photo is something of an exception, as it shows quite different gear - that of The Beatles. The common denominator of both bands' equipment is the famous Vox AC30, which Hank Marvin himself had a hand in creating.

Jana and Jacek Romiszewski, dinosaurs of '60s music and cabaret ...

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Year 2004 - 19 September - Dinosaurs of the music of the 60s - Jana Kozioł (Romiszewska) with her husband Jacek - Muzy - Kanty - are still making music today... far away in California and elsewhere....

Jana Kozioł - '60 Inni, Grupa Karboxydowa

Here it is at last...

Ryszardy - Skaldowie.....
In September / October 2004 a book by Andrzej Icha entitled Skaldowie goes to print. The book contains very extensive biographical and chronicle material, richly illustrated with photographs, from the band's formation to the present day.
I am full of admiration for the form and the superbly gathered material about the band, as well as the references to many other musicians connected with it.
Ryszardy is a band which in the years 1964-1967 had several musicians of that band in its line-up (see the chronicle and line-ups).
I think that - delving into it - many readers will fondly recall the times and the people whose music wrote the memories of our youth...

After many years.....

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Year 2004 - 21 May - A meeting, after.. 40 years, of members of Kraków bands of the golden 60s -

After many years.....

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Year 2004 - 02 April - A meeting, after.. 40 years, of members of Kraków bands of the golden 60s -

Jerzy Mondrzyk - "Ryszardy" - today..

at work, in Vienna's largest clinic..

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and outside work..

Year 1999 -

Jerzy Mondrzyk, founder of Ryszardy, and ... Jim Marshall - the father of rock'n'roll amplification, world-famous from the 60s to this day, and in the second photo, from 2005 - Jurek and Chris Farlowe, associated with many bands in Great Britain in the 60s and still active today - see the website:  www.chrisfarlowe.co.uk 

Not many were lucky enough to...

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Year 1969 -

Antoni Krupa, fashion and .. life..

 see him today 

A very long time ago....

The 60s

On the right: one of the gems of those times. As the caption under the photo shows, intolerance of Western influences was the order of the day. Ryszard was reprimanded for his hairstyle, and his surname Murak was also (perhaps maliciously) twisted into.. Chmura... stodoła i komora...

From the left: Radek Ratyński, Joanna Makiej, Ryszard Murak during the competition performance in Szczawnica - 23.09.1966.

At some show in the café hall of the ZDK (Zakładowy Dom Kultury - the steelworks' house of culture), the host was settling the titles of the pieces the band was to perform. As one of three we gave a piece called FBI by The Shadows. After a moment's thought the host announced that such a piece could not be played (sic). Persuasion did not help - we had to give another title. But as the piece was at the top of the charts, we wanted to play it at any cost, even under a different title.... We played it... and everything was o.k.

Above, the greatest riddle. A photo from the ZDK album, c. 1968. The name RYSZARDY on the drum, my guitar with the souvenir of Czesio Popielarczyk stepping on the cable...

Zbyszek Szczepanowski recognised everyone. From the left: Ryszard Murak, Stanisław Alker, Wiesław Kuśnierz, Zdzisław Raczyński. The final explanation by Staś Alker is here: Who is playing?..