Młynarski-Masecki was founded by Masecki, with vocalist Jan Emil Młynarski, and plays in the pre-World War II style, evoking the sounds and spirit of Polish jazz orchestras of the interwar period.
Nostalgia may not, as some claim, be what it used to be, but Marcin Masecki is all for digging into the past. Masecki serves as pianist, arranger and musical director of the Młynarski-Masecki jazz group from Poland. The seven-piece ensemble will be here on Wednesday (9 p.m.), to perform in the A Night in the Big City show, at the Enav Center in Tel Aviv, under the auspices of the Polish Institute. Młynarski-Masecki was founded by Masecki, along with vocalist Jan Emil Młynarski, and plays in the pre-World War II style, evoking the sounds and spirit of Polish jazz orchestras of the interwar period. The septet performs ragtime and foxtrot songs, and other numbers from the 1920s and 1930s, such as the comically inclined “Abdul Fey” which was scored by Fanny Gordon, a Russian-born, Polish-bred Jewish musician who wrote poetry and composed songs for Warsaw cabaret productions and music theaters. The lyricist was also Jewish. He was born Ludwik Sonnenschein, but went by the name of Ludwik Szmaragd. The vocalist was a certain Albert Harris (né Aaron Heckelman) and the conductor of the ensemble for the 1932 recording sessions was Jerzy Lederman. It was an altogether Jewish project.
