The influential musician played the violin and saxophone as well as being a composer and arranger
The pioneering Polish jazz musician Michał Urbaniak died on 20 December aged 82. His wife, Dorota Dosia Urbaniak, announced his death on social media, writing that ‘he lived and expressed himself through music’.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of Polish jazz, Urbaniak was born in Warsaw, Poland, on 22 January 1943 and grew up in Łódź, where he taught himself the alto saxophone and formally studied the violin, continuing his studies in Warsaw in the class of Tadeusz Wroński from 1961.
He began playing in jazz clubs as a teenager. He first toured to the US in 1962, where he made his international debut. In 1968, he released his debut album, Urbaniak’s Orchestra. He was awarded the Grand Prix for best soloist at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1971. He settled permanently in New York, US, in 1973, becoming a US citizen.
Throughout his career, Urbaniak performed and recorded with musicians including Chick Corea, Elvin Jones and the band Weather Report. He also composed film scores, winning several awards in Poland.
He played a custom-designed five-string electric violin, built to his own specifications.
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