The place where “Dudus” was born was very important to him. Important for his entire history and his life. And this was remembered by the residents of this city. This was remembered by people, musicians and artists who come here, already after “Dudus”‘s death, to bow to him and his music,” said Paweł Sztompke, journalist of Radio One, during the symbolic opening of a musical bench with the figure of Jerzy “Dudus” Matuszkiewicz on the square next to the Jasielski Cultural Center. The event, which took place on January 24 this year, was attended by city officials, invited guests and Jasło residents. This was followed by a concert dedicated to Jerzy “Dudusi” Matuszkiewicz in the JDK auditorium.
The musical bench is located in the square at the intersection of Kosciuszko and Rejtana streets. Made of bronze, the sculpture depicts a life-size figure of the composer, in a sitting position, holding a saxophone in his hands. Behind the seat is a stylized symbol of a piano, while on the wall of the JDK, which forms the backdrop, are stills from the most popular films and TV series for which he wrote music. The author of the project is Jasielsk architect Andrzej Gawlewicz, while the contractor is Wioletta Buczek – Warszawa and Sebastian Warszawa. Its execution is part of the “Urban design” project, part of the “Jasło – my city, my home” project.
One of the invited guests was also a friend of Jerzy Matuszkiewicz, an ambassador of “Dudusi affairs,” as Paweł Sztompke described him. It was Tomasz Kasprzyk, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jasło-Śródmieście Estate, where the new city attraction is located – It is beautiful and important that our city can boast such an outstanding personality, which Jerzy “Dudus” Matuszkiewicz was and is in our hearts. He always said that Jaslo was, is and will be in his heart. The idea for this bench was born in 2018, when Jerzy celebrated his 90th birthday. I thought to myself that it would be great to put up a bronze bench in his honor, with his music. I asked his permission, and after a long while he said that if it was the will of the residents and city authorities, he agreed,” Tomasz Kasprzyk recalled.
The original landscaped square will be conducive not only to listening to excerpts from the music of a great composer and jazzman, but will also be used for meetings. – We are very keen to animate certain places, certain activities in the city, to involve residents and those who visit our city. Hence the idea for this square. This is not a typical bench, but a very interesting piece of small architecture in the city. I believe that it will meet with the favor of the residents, as well as those who will visit our city,” said Ryszard Pabian, mayor of Jasło.
To the rhythms of songs resounding from the bench, everyone went to the auditorium of the Jasielski Dom Kultury for the rest of the program. – Today we celebrate the memory of one of the most outstanding artists of post-war Poland, a great musician, a brilliant saxophonist and a sensational composer. He wrote many songs, many instrumental pieces. But such real fame was gained by his film compositions. It turned out that you can literally in a dozen bars, in a few minutes, include something like that, which allows these works to be all the time relevant, to be very important for the cinema, but also outside the cinema. To be important pieces for our lives, our memories,” Paweł Sztompke greeted the audience.
The concert began with a performance by the recipients of the Jerzy “Dudus” Matuszkiewicz Artistic Scholarship: Maciej Ochwat, as well as Karolina Polak and Mikołaj Majda, former and current participants in vocal classes at the Jasło Cultural Center. After this part, it was time for the stars of the evening. And so it was that five outstanding musicians appeared on stage, two of whom did the honors: Dorota Miśkiewicz and her father Henryk Miśkiewicz. They performed with a special program called “Our Love,” which is not only the title of their joint album, to be released in 2021, but also the name of the Dudus memorial concert.
Most of the songs for this album were composed by Henryk Miśkiewicz. Among them are instrumental melodies he wrote many years ago, for which only now the lyrics have been created. As a result, the audience heard some new material interspersed with familiar sounds and new arrangements of melodies composed by Jerzy Matuszkiewicz. The event was nostalgic, a bit lyrical and, above all, reminiscent. The names of the then fashionable Warsaw clubs “Stodoła” and “Hybrydy” came up in Dorota’s conversations with her father. And their performance was a real feast for the soul and attracted lovers, both of good jazz and the work of Jerzy “Dudus” Matuszkiewicz.
The concert featured Henryk Miśkiewicz (saxophone), Dorota Miśkiewicz (vocals), Michał Tokaj (piano), Sławomir Kurkiewicz (double bass) and Michał Miśkiewicz (drums).
The concert “Our Love” was invited by the City of Jasło and Jasielski Cultural Center. The event was organized by the City of Jasło as part of the project “Jasło – my city, my home”, financed by funds from the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014 – 2021 and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014 – 2021 and the state budget.
