Abstract

This article presents the history of renowned Polish jazz festival Jazz Jamboree, from its beginnings to the end of state socialism. The authors discuss the transformation of Jazz Jamboree, from its humble beginnings in the mid-1950s to its flourishing in the 1960s, stagnation in the 1970s and crisis in the 1980s. They consider Jazz Jamboree as a national and international phenomenon, due to its showcasing the achievements of the Polish jazzmen to the international audience and bringing musicians from the socialist East, capitalist West and what in the past was labelled the Third World. As part of the international outreach of the festival, special attention is paid to Polish–Czechoslovak jazz relations. This research is based on Polish and international press, memoirs and biographies of jazz musicians, as well as an interview with a Polish veteran of Jazz Jamboree, drummer and singer Andrzej Dąbrowski.