Zbigniew Seifert (1946-1979)
was a unique figure in the world of Polish jazz. Though he did not even live to be thirty-three and his musical output is modest, its artistic value still compels admiration and has a distinct impact on young artists. Joachim Ernst Berendt once said: "Zbigniew Seifert was one of those musicians thanks to whom so much good is now said in the world about Polish jazz."

Born in Cracow, he was associated with that city almost throughout his life. It was there that he completed primary and secondary music schools and where he developed his abilities with the eminent violinist and tutor Prof. Stanisław Tawroszewicz. He continued his education in the State Higher School of Music in Cracow, also in Tawroszewicz's class. His passion for jazz started in secondary school, where he began to play the alto saxophone, and it was to jazz that he decided to dedicate his life.

The sax was his natural choice, as from the beginning he was fascinated with the music of John Coltrane. More or less in the same period, he set up his first ensemble - the Zbigniew Seifert Quartet - including Jan Jarczyk (p), Jan Gonciarczyk (b) and Janusz Stefański (dr). Kwartet Zbigniewa SeifertaUncompromising and very daring in their artistic aims from the very start, they won the 2nd (1968) and then the 1st (1969) prize at the Jazz on the Oder Festival, while Seifert himself took individual prizes. In 1969, they won the 1st prize at the Nagykőrős Festival in Hungary. All these achievements paved them the way to performances at the Jazz Jamboree. In 1968 the Quartet also drew the attention of Tomasz Stańko. In the late 1960s, the Zbigniew Seifert Quartet and the recently founded Tomasz Stańko Quintet performed simultaneously, but it soon turned out that the Quintet's popularity rendered it impossible for the musicians to work in both bands. …