Michał Urbaniak (1943–2025) was a Polish violinist, saxophonist, and composer who first recorded with The Jazz Rockers, a Warsaw post-bop quintet. He debuted as a bandleader with two albums in 1971/72 on Spiegelei. In 1973, he moved stateside and made numerous jazz-funk albums, many with his then-wife, singer Urszula Dudziak. Early Career Urbaniak was born […]
Urszula Dudziak is a Polish jazz vocalist who first recorded in the late-1960s jazz combo Urbaniak’s Orchestra with then-husband Michał Urbaniak. In 1973, the couple migrated to the U.S. and backed each other on numerous albums over the ensuing decade. Her profile peaked with the 1975–1977 Arista releases Urszula and Midnight Rain, marked by wordless vocals, […]
Odyssey is a jazz-funk album by American keyboardist/composer Charles Earland, released in 1976 on Mercury. Notable players on the album include guitarist John Abercrombie, trumpeter Randy Brecker, drummer Norman Connors, and violinists Michał Urbaniak and John Blair. The album was the first of four on Mercury for Earland, who had just wrapped a six-year, 10-album stint […]
Body English is an album by Polish jazz-funk violinist/keyboardist Michal Urbaniak, released in 1976 on Arista. Tracklist: A1. “New York Polka” (5:52) A2. “Afterglow” (1:38) A3. “Zad” (6:50) A4. “Sevenish” (6:43) B1. “Body English” (6:03) B2. “Quintone” (2:33) B3. “Lyricon” (6:58) B4. “Satin Lady” (5:49) B5. “Zomar Land” (1:11) Credits: Bass – Basil Fearington Congas […]
Urszula is the second album by Polish experimental jazz vocalist Urszula Dudziak, released in 1975 on Arista. Tracklist: A1. “Papaya” (4:02) A2. “Mosquito” (4:25) A3. “Mosquito Dream” (2:34) A4. “Mosquito Bite” (4:23) A5. “Just the Way You Are” (3:22) B1. “Sno King” (4:34) B2. “Butterfly” (4:34) B3. “Zavinul” (5:15) B4. “Funk Rings” (2:16) B5. “Call Me […]
Fusion III is an album by Polish jazz-rock violinist Michał Urbaniak, released in 1975 on Columbia. Tracklist: A1. “Chinatown (Pt 1)” (5:24) A2. “Kuyaviak Goes Funky” (6:12) A3. “Roksanna” (5:42) A4. “Crazy Kid” (2:35) A5. “Preshistoric Bird” (5:19) B1. “Bloody Kishka” (4:21) B2. “Cameo” (4:41) B3. “Stretch” (6:20) B4. “Metroliner” (4:44) B5. “Chinatown (Pt 2)” […]
Fusion is an album by Polish violinist Michał Urbaniak, released in 1974 on Columbia. The album was the first in a series of jazz-rock titles that he cut for the label with his vocalist wife, Urszula Dudziak. Tracklist: A1. “Good Times, Bad Times” (5:13) A2. “Bahamian Harvest” (7:14) A3. “Impromptu” (3:25) A4. “Seresta” (6:05) B1. […]
Midnight Rain is the second solo album by Polish experimental jazz vocalist Urszula Dudziak, released in 1977 on Arista. Tracklist: A1. “Lover” (4:24) A2. “Misty” (6:03) A3. “Night in Tunisia” (4:43) A4. “Midnight Rain” (4:56) B1. “People Say…” (5:22) B2. “Bluessette” (4:40) B3. “Cuckoo’s Nest” (12:24) Credits: Urszula Dudziak — vocals, percussion, synthesizer Michał Urbaniak […]
