The rich line-up of the 55th anniversary edition of the Jazz on the Odra Festival was just joined by CRASH, a legendary Wrocław-based band. CRASH, which reactivated in 2017, will perform with Natalia Lubrano in an open-air jazz concert in front of Impart.
A return after years
Returning to the stage after a 30-year hiatus, the band reminds us of its unique history. In the summer of 1976, two years after the victory at the 11th Jazz on the Odra Festival, Spisek Sześciu was dissolved and the members established two separate bands. Włodek Wiński, Leszek Paszko and Boguś Razik founded Poznań-based Spisek, while Andrzej Pluszcz, Zbyszek Czwojda and Adam Bielawski formed CRASH, to which they invited Staszek Zybowski, Julek Mazur and Władek Kwaśnicki. “The band made its debut on the 8th of October in Pałacyk in Wrocław. The posters said: ‘CRASH — first time in Poland’ Few people knew what CRASH was at that time, but the slogan worked — the doors of the club were busted by crowds of listeners,” recalls Wojtek Siwek from the Artistic Council of Jazz on the Odra Festival.
The initial success was followed by new prestigious concerts, and CRASH performed at Jazz Jamboree and Jazz on the Odra Festival. The band won the main prize at the San Sebastian Festival, where Andrzej Pluszcz was recognised as the best musician. The San Sebastian triumph opened new markets for the band, thanks to which CRASH enjoyed much greater popularity in Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Germany than in Poland.
CRASH, featuring Grażyna Łobaszewska as the signer, with Hanna Banaszak joining the musicians for concerts from time to time, belonged for many years to the top European jazz-rock bands. They went on a hiatus in 1985 and in 2017 they decided to return to the stage with a concert at the Liverpool Club in Wrocław. The late Andrzej Pluszcz and Staszek Zybowski were replaced by Tomek Grabowy and Romek Frey. Natalia Lubrano, Andrzej Pluszcz’s daughter, became the band’s new lead singer.