Biography:

Helmut Nadolski (born October 27, 1942 in Gdynia [ 1 ] , died June 8, 2026 in Bremen [ 2 ] ) – Polish double bassist , composer , poet , actor , performer , multimedia artist [ 1 ] .

Curriculum vitae

1950s and 1960s

He attended High School in Sopot and the State School of Music in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz . Early in his career, he was associated with the Tri-City jazz scene. In the late 1950s, he collaborated with the To Tu cabaret and Jerzy Afanasjew’s Tralabomba circus at the “Żak” Coastal Students’ Club . His friendship with Czesław Niemen , who believed that Nadolski:

He breaks the generally accepted mold of double bass playing. He is a master of his instrument. He has created his own music, characterized by an almost unbelievable power… He is a sensitive artist, gifted with a great imagination – a musician who paints images of his deeply personal vision with sound…

Czesław Niemen , helmutnadolski.info

Nadolski’s music could be classified as classical , but I believe its spontaneity and naturalness would be out of place in the over-intellectualized atmosphere of new music , where discovering novelty is more important than emotional expression. In this sense, Nadolski combines two opposing poles – the avant-garde and emotionalism.

Mateusz Święcicki , helmutnadolski.info

In 1969, Nadolski, as a member of the Andrzej Przybielski Quartet, won the second prize with his band at the Jazz nad Odrą festival in Wrocław [ 3 ] . Przybielski’s composition entitled Żebrówka, performed live by the JJ’69 group, was published on the compilation longplay JJ 69 – New Faces In Polish Jazz [ 4 ] .

1970s

The double bassist was associated with the avant-garde free jazz scene (e.g. Sesja 72 ), co-founded the Niemen Group , and gave concerts on many stages in Poland and abroad (e.g. at the Jazz Jamboree festivals with Cz. Niemen, at the Warsaw Autumn , in art galleries in Poland , Austria , Norway and Germany ). The most important items in his discography include: Four Dialogues with Conscience – a joint project of the musicians of Sesja 72 and the actress Iga Cembrzyńska [ 5 ] (1973), Meditation with the participation of Cz. Niemen, Andrzej Nowak and actor Olgierd Łukaszewicz – the recording was made during a concert in the Church of St. Jerzy in Sopot [ 6 ] (1974) and New Musik from Poland – H. Nadolski (1979), as well as long plays recorded with the Niemen Group: Strange Is This World (1972), Niemen (vol.1) and Niemen (vol.2) (1973). Nadolski has composed music for many feature films and television films, including: Girls for the Taking (dir. Janusz Kondratiuk ), Rekolekcje (dir. Witold Leszczyński ), Kronika polska (dir. Grzegorz Królikiewicz ), Phantoms (dir. Marcel Kochańczyk ) and poetry performances, including those set to Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry What do you think about love, what do you think about death , those set to Cyprian Kamil Norwid’s poetry Time goes by, death chases after and those set to Marina Tsvetaeva’s poetry Dialogue with Conscience (as a member of Session 72) [ 5 ] .

1980s

From 1980, together with Andrzej Mitan , Andrzej Przybielski , Andrzej Bieżan, and Janusz Trzciński, he co-founded the Super Group Without False Modesty [ 7 ] . The group’s most important undertaking was the play The Book of Job , performed at the National Theatre as part of Jazz Jamboree’81 [ 7 ] . The planned performance at the Szczecin Shipyard on December 14 was prevented by the imposition of martial law [ 7 ] . Also in the first half of the 1980s, Nadolski co-founded the Ryszard Miśek Instrumental Theatre at the Musical Theatre in Gdynia . Among his most important performances is The Trial, based on his biography and dedicated to Franz Kafka . The premiere of the play took place on March 13, 1982, and was a huge event in the Gdańsk Voivodeship . Nadolski played the main role, composed the music, and co-directed it. The performance received excellent reviews and moved the entire artistic community of the Tricity . In 1984, a limited edition LP was released , titled Jubileuszowa Orkiestra Helmuta Nadolskiego (a second edition with a changed cover was also released) [ 8 ] . In the mid-1980s, H. Nadolski moved to Bremen .

1990s and 21st century

Since the 1990s, the artist has been creating Mobile performances – a type of musical spectacle combining various forms of performance expression (moving playing sculpture, improvised music, meditation). He has performed in jazz clubs and on stage with the monodrama Minni Oehl Camille Claudel . Since the turn of the first and early second decade of the 21st century, two of his albums have been released in Poland: Music of the Sea (2010) and When a Man Dies (2011). On November 19, 2012, at the Versalka club in Sopot, the artist celebrated his seventieth birthday and the 50th anniversary of his creative work. On this occasion, he received the Mayor of Gdańsk Award for Culture. During the event, H. Nadolski caused a sensation by setting his double bass on fire. On December 5 of the same year, he was awarded the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis [ 9 ] by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage .

Helmut Nadolski – his statement and music were an important part of the concert Why Polish Jazz Needs the Avant-Garde at JnO 2015. Today, on World Jazz Day, I remember this important figure: we would be poorer without him… His answer to my question about the reasons for emigrating in 2004 after the funeral of Cz. Niemen still sounds bitter: I had to leave because they would have killed me here…

Wojciech Voytek Konikiewicz , helmutnadolski.info

Credits:

Wikipedia