Well, we're nearing the end of our little tour...Gilbert Isbin, Scott Walton and me...and after a successful concert with Vinny Golia at deWerf in Brugge, Belgium, we managed to stumble into a most amazing situation. Bennie Maupin had recommended that we try to get a gig at a little jazz club called "A Love Supreme" in the basement of a guest house, in Zakopane, Poland, and through Bennie's good graces, we managed to secure one. Zakopane is a tiny resort town in the Tatras mountains about an hour and a half outside of Krakow. It was the home of the great Polish composer Karol Szymanowki, and a place where Poles and knowledgeable European tourists (mostly from Ireland) come to relax and recreate. The mountains are magnificent, and the situation at the guest house is idyllic. Here's a link to the guest house and club.
We really had no idea what to expect at our concert Friday night. I was thinking, maybe 20-30 people might show up. What a surprise when almost 100 people filled the small basement, and ended up being one of the warmest and most attentive audiences I've ever played for. We mostly performed Gilbert's music, but we also played a couple of tunes with a wonderful local singer named Hania Chowaniec-Rybka who is one of the foremost exponents of Polish Highlander folk music. I had met Hania last month when she sang on Bennie's new CD in Warsaw, and thought the collaboration would go well. Hania has an amazing voice and a commanding presence. Her participation really lifted the trio to new heights. But wait, there's more!
The night before, we had eaten at a wonderful little Polish restaurant up in the hills, where locals go to eat, drink, and listen to music. We had invited the owner of the place to our concert, and in turn she invited us to hear some Highlander musicians after our show. We really had no idea what we were in for. As it turns out, some of the best Highlander musicians in Poland were congregating for a workshop with some of the best Polish classical students, with the intention of re-introducing them to their musical heritage. This "jam session" was an opportunity for the Highlanders to show off for their students, and they took it to good advantage. These guys were just incredible!! Think; Gypsy violin music, combined with Romanian folk songs, in a string quartet setting (2 violins, viola, double bass). And everyone sang! One of the violinists had grown up in the Highlands playing this music, but was now the concertmaster of an orchestra in a large Polish city. The others were local luminaries who had grown up playing together in local pubs. We were completely entranced. And when Hania showed up (she sang and played fiddle), it kicked everything up a notch. I have to say that this was one of the most inspiring musical experiences of my life. These musicians were simply amazing. The breathed together, moved seamlessly from one tune to the next, all the while communicating with only a wink and a nod and expressing pure joy. Any hint of a feeling that we might have accomplished something worthwhile at our own concert earlier in the evening was now completely vanquished by their infectious musicianship.
Well, there's much more to report, but this will have to do for now. We have a day off to relax, and then tomorrow we start the long journey home. I'll look forward to sharing more with you next week.
--Jeff Gauthier
