JazzState
An independent jazz stage in Warsaw, co-founded with Karolina Szewc on 13 October 2017.
JazzState started from a shared love of modern jazz and a decision to organise regular jam sessions at a small club called Local in Warsaw. Karolina ran the frontline — musicians, greetings, announcements, invitations. I was the backstage — operations, planning, and the visual identity that still runs today. Every Wednesday, we had a concert followed by an open jam session. Every Wednesday, different musicians, different promotion, different people — a lot of fun and a great deal of work.
Within a few months, the stage had drawn a surprisingly big interest and a wide audience. The crowds grew each week, until people could barely move or breathe in that small room (it was a serious issue) — and still came. We quickly realised we needed a larger space, and after a luckily short search, managed to move our stage to the heart of the city. To Klub SPATiF, the place that was once a legendary 1950s haunt of Warsaw’s actors, writers and filmmakers, and became JazzState’s permanent home. At that time, Jazz Forum Magazine already called our initiative:
“the most popular jazz stage in Warsaw.” (link)
Over the next few years, many excellent musicians performed at JazzState. We hosted Jerzy Mazzoll, Piotr Orzechowski, Aga Derlak, Kuba Więcek, Jan Młynarski, Grzegorz Tarwid, Franciszek Pospieszalski, Michał Miśkiewicz, to name just a few. And often on multiple occasions. Before I left Poland, Karolina formalised the initiative as a JazzState Foundation, and I updated the logo to wish her good luck on her further journey. JazzState still runs every Wednesday.
Karolina Szewc is a vocalist, lyricist, poet, educator, and curator — a person who brings jazz into places most people don’t think to bring it: kindergartens, youth shelters, morning screenings at a cinema. She maintains JazzState not only as a recurring music event but mainly as “a space for sensitive people.” And she continues to grow each year. If you want to understand what JazzState is, go see — and hear, and feel — what she creates each Wednesday at SPATiF club.
JazzState on Facebook: @jazzstate.music | SPATiF club: klubspatif.pl
