A set of early recordings by Polish jazz legend Komeda – all cut at the Jazz Jamboree festival in 1961, and featuring a variety of different groups. The strongest sides on the set features Komeda with a quartet that features tenor sax by Bernt Rosengren – really cooking with a modern edge on the tracks "An Oscar For A Devil" and "Stella By Starlight". Also noteworthy are versions of "Three Little Words" and "For Heaven's Sake" which feature guitar by Jimmy Gourley. The last track on the set is a compelling trio tune entitled "This Or This". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing little soundtrack – one that's as spooky and eerie as the film for which it was written, and which was also one of the few American recordings issued by Polish jazz great Krzysztof Komeda! The core of the album is an especially haunting theme – one hummed as a lullaby by Mia Farrow on the title, and which is repeated often throughout – a dreamy little number that had a surprising life long beyond the film and this album, in a number of different versions on the market. We still like the original best – and especially appreciate Komeda's blend of soft jazz, odd electronics, and some darker atonal passages – all of which combine here to make the record a masterpiece throughout – on a level that easily matches the best from Morricone at the time! Titles include "Panic", "What Have You Done To Its Eyes", "Dream", "Expectancy", "Lullaby", "The Coven", and "Main Title". LP, Vinyl record album

Possibly the most fantastic recording ever from the greatest talent of Polish jazz! The material was recorded in 1965, in the years before Komeda followed Roman Polanski to the US to score his films like Rosemary's Baby – and it's one of the greatest modernist albums of the 60s jazz scene on either side of the Atlantic – a record we'd rank right up there with the best from Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus, Joe Harriott, or other forward-thinking talents of the generation! The style is incredibly modernist, but with none of the over-indulgences that later plagued the Polish prog-oriented scene, and with none of the non-jazz influences that could stop a session like this dead in the water – and instead, the band grooves mightily in a blend of sharp edges and modal rhythms – a tremendous blend that makes the album as appealing to fans of more soulful jazz as it does to those looking for bold modernist statements. The quintet features 2 of Poland's other key jazz figures from the time – Tomasz Stanko on trumpet and Zbigniew Namyslowski on alto sax – and other members include Gunter Lenz on bass and Rune Carlson on drums. Titles are all Komeda originals, all nice and long – and include "Astigmatic", "Kattorna", and "Svantetic". CD

Don't be put off by the title, because this is hardly the sort of ballet you might see at the opera house – and instead features some of the best early modern jazz work from the great Krzysztof Komeda. The title track is the ultimate recording of one of the most ambitious works ever composed by Komeda – as the "Ballet Etudes" suite was originally composed for the 1962 Jazz Jamboree festival, but this later recording is even better than the original – a side-long piece that opens up with wonderful complexity, yet never fails to swing. The track's a wonderfully haunting work – sort of like some of Mingus' larger concept pieces of the late 50s, built around a specific project, a jazz ballet, but also working perfectly as a showcase for the rich solo talents of the members of the group – who include Allan Botschinsky on trumpet and Jan Wroblewski on tenor! Wroblewski returns on the second half – which features long readings of the Komeda originals "Alea" and "Crazy Girl" – the latter of which may get its best performance ever here, thanks to bold rhythms from Roman Dylag on bass and Rune Carlsson on drums. CD

Tomasz Stanko plays Krzysztof Komeda with a septet that includes Bernt Rosengren on tenor, Bobo Stenson on piano, Terje Rypdal on guitar, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. CD

A beauty from trumpeter Tomasz Stanko and his intuitive quintet – a roomy and wonderful session for ECM – featuring some excellent Stanko compositions and a pair of numbers penned by Krzysztof Komeda! There's an efficiency at work in Stanko's material that's effective and moving, with sacrificing any dynamism or sharpness of mood. The arrangements leave plenty of shadowy space, a very effective approach. The group includes Alex Tuomarila on piano, Jakob Bro on guitar, Anders Christensen on bass and Olavi Louhivuori on drums. Titles include "So Nice", "Terminal 7", "The Dark Eyes Of Martha Hirsch", "Grand Central", 'Amsterdam Avenue", "Samba Nova", "Dirge For Europe", "May Sun", "Last Song" and "Etiuda Baletowa No 3". CD