‘Jazz from Gulag’
Rosner remembered
It is mainly we are writing about well-known musicians on the occasion of their jubilees, and centenaries be it 100, 200 or a minimum of 50 because for us it has become a routine practice. Of course, and I am not against it, however why not write about an exceptional musician who was born 109 years ago and died away 43 years ago?
He is the Polish jazzman, born and died in Berlin, awarded the 2nd Prize ‘White Luis Armstrong’ in the United States. Maybe as a Pole he should be called ‘White and Red’, isn’t it? Moreover, he also became famous in the Soviet (Red) Russia which also imprisoned him in Gulag.
There is movie ‘The Jazzman in Gulag’ based on his biography. I don’t expect it to be shown at the Salmiya Cinema but let me tell you his story.
Crazy from the beginning his family name was Rosner. His first name depended where he was at a certain moment: Born as Adolph in Berlin, he was called Ady in native Poland, Adolf Ignatievich in the USSR and Eddie was his professional nickname.
His father was a shoemaker. He migrated from Poland to Berlin in search of work. There he met Rose, his future wife and had six children. Eddie (let us stay with the musical name), was born in May 26, 1910, the youngest among the siblings. They were poor and settled in Scheunenviertel, a suburb for poor people, look for any job and money and dreaming to move on, to Hamburg, Bremen but he finally opted the ‘Heaven’ – the United States!
Elegant
Since he grew up in Scheunenviertel it may be one of the reasons Rosner was addicted and fell in love with perfect dressing, very elegant – the best in tuxedo, and whenever possible to appear on the stage in spotless white. Maybe he was so oppressed by poverty of so many wandering people on tiny streets of his suburb, that here was the source of his ambitions and dreams to reach to musical and financial top?
Despite being poor his parents succeeded to arrange for him at the age of 6 violin lessons with Julius Stern Conservatory for the extremely talented child. Influential banker, Baron Bronner (whom Eddie called the Uncle) supported his education and introduced the young prodigy to the Berlin elite salons, even a concert for German President Friedrich Ebert. Eddie completed all his classical studies perfectly and quickly. He graduated in violin and conducting but his interest turned to his obligatory additional instrument – the trumpet. That instrument and rapidly growing fascination for jazz, he conquered the young generations everywhere and prevented Eddie from becoming the prestigious, great classical violinist virtuoso.
Instead of glitters on the scenes of the world in violin concertos by Beethoven, Mendelssohn or Berg Eddie played with jazz bands in clubs and bars. However he had to be exceptional everywhere and in any circumstances. Soon outstanding jazz musicians such as Stephen Weintraub invited him to play with the most renowned people that time in Berlin, Germany and the whole Europe jazz orchestra – The Syncopators. The band members were such stars as Friedrich Hallaender, Paul Abraham or Franz Wachsman, double winner of Oscar Award for film music.
They were not only perfect musicians but performing music with theatrical (scenic) elements, and that was so much compatible with Eddie’s talent and inclinations. Eddie soon became a frontrunner, one of the main attractions of their show. Especially popular for his abilities to play on two trumpets at the same time (simultaneously)!
At the beginning of the 1930s Eddie toured with The Syncopators around Europe, recorded 20 movies (including the famous The Blue Angel, directed by Josef von Sternberg) and recorded several discs edited in Germany and Italy. In 1932 they moved to conquer the US, concerting on the transatlantic ‘New York’. Unfortunately, the strong US Labor Union of Musicians stopped them from entering the US and even to leave the ship. Eddie couldn’t show his mastery of The Best European Jazz Trumpet Player in the native soil of jazz.
No streak lasts forever. The 1920s was extremely successful for Rosner but the 1930s was quite the opposite. After pushing away from the shore of the American ‘Heaven’ he landed in the rapidly changing Germany. The Nazi offensive began. Every totalitarian dictatorship hates any differences, minorities, new ideas, trends, deliberations, except blindly following the dictator and his ‘idea’, bringing ‘happiness and salvation’ for simple people.
Of course, against horrible, degenerated ‘elites’. In such situation the Nazis started with the minorities (Jews, Gypsies and so on) but soon included also the jazzmen as propagators of bad, degenerated American custom viruses (really!). Here all racism (“Black Music’!), nationalism (America!) and backwardness (wrong immoral news!) marched together.
Meeting the new situation in Germany in 1933 was strong and severe: many jazzmen were just welcomed with feasts of Hitlerjugend militias (Hitler Youth). Rosner said ‘They broke me rips, right kneecap in the knee and four teeth. Even my name: Adolph was not helpful’, he said. As a result Rosner as soon as possible left Germany and settled in Belgium.
Moment
Even in the darkest night we would be lucky to see a star for a moment. In Belgium (or Italy, regarding the other source) in 1934 the Rosner band met en route with the Luis Armstrong band. During the long, friendly meeting something gorgeous happened: the battle for trumpets between Luis and Eddie. Armstrong appeared the winner. To commemorate the event Armstrong dedicated to Rosner his photo with the following inscription: ‘To The White Luis from The Black Eddie Rosner!’. Since that moment Rosner came to be called ‘The White Armstrong’ or ‘The Second Trumpet of The World’.
Even while living abroad (in Europe) the famous jazzman, Eddie Rosner significantly influenced the development and popularity of new stream of music in his native Poland. Aside his performances from Monte Carlo to Scandinavia he frequently visited Poland with his band of thirteen musicians with great successes.
Naturally, he looked for a safe place there as we know very well even for a short time. Eighty years ago, on Sept 1, 1939 the Nazi army entered Poland and fought bloody battles bombarding the brave Poles defending their country – after six years long occupation.
Eddie just came back from a concert tour and performed at Café Esplanada in Warsaw. There the soloist singer was Ruth Kaminska, daughter of famous actress. Her mother described that moment saying: ‘Theater and the apartment in Warsaw were bombarded at the beginning of September, when they were in the shelter. During the first bombardment their life was saved thanks to the grand piano because they took shelter under the piano.
During second week of bombardment, while in the shelter Eddie proposed to Ruth. ‘I gave them as a dowry a ring and two cans of sardines found among ruins. After a couple of weeks the Nazis entered Warsaw but Eddie with Ruth went out from the shelter and lived with friends.
One evening a journalist (Mrs Slapik) visited them to warn them about the threat of arrest. They were smuggled together with their motherin-law across the new border between the Nazi Germany and the USSR.
The Soviet Union invaded Poland simultaneously from the Easter border on Sept 7 of that year. The escapees settled in Bialystok, became Belarusian and started to play jazz. One day the First Secretary of Belorussian Communist Party, Panteleimon Ponomarenko listened to them and offered to form the State Jazz Band of Belarus Republic.
Band concerted across Soviet Union so successfully that the 1st Secretary offered them the train to travel throughout. The halls were crowded and the people enthusiastic. Only one time in the resort of Sochi hall appeared empty. In total darkness there was only one listener for the 2-hours long concert – Josef Stalin. The Tyrannical Dictator was glad. Rosner said: ‘Now we have a comfortable job for a quarter of century…’
Escaped
Don’t say will hop you and won’t jump. In 1941 Germany attacked its former ally. When the cannons play the muses are silent. Rosner escaped with his family to Frunze, what is now called Biszkek, the capitol of Kyrgyzstan. They lived in an old wagon on the railway siding. In 1945, when the war was over he tried to reorganize his band and concert activities but the situation had completely changed. The music played by Rosner looked harmful for the nation. The word ‘jazz’ was just forbidden. ‘Who today plays jazz, tomorrow could betray his homeland,’ seemed to be the nation.
Rosner was attacked personally by the press. When he tried to leave the Soviet Union he was arrested in Lviv and accused of the treason of the homeland and cosmopolitism. After seven months of torture he was sentenced for 10 years in Gulag. When he was released following the death of Stalin he came back to Berlin, where he died in 1976.
Moscow released his records in 1998 in 1992 organized the concert of his music. That is ‘all that jazz’.
PS Regarding jubilees: we celebrate on Sept 1, the 80th anniversary of the beginning of World War II. It means this is also an article about the anniversary?
Editor’s Note: Cezary Owerkowicz is the chairman of the Kuwait Chamber of Philharmonia and talented pianist. He regularly organises concerts by well-known musicians for the benefit of music lovers and to widen the knowledge of music in Kuwait. His email address is: cowerkowicz@yahoo.com and cowerkowicz@ hotmail.com