SBB

Official Website: SBB

SBB a truly international progressive rock band formed in 1971 in Michałkowice, Upper Silesia, Poland under soviet occupation, by Silesian multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Józef Skrzek, born in Michałkowice, Greek guitarist Apostolis Anthimos - son of Greek immigrants, born in Stalinogród (Katowice) and a descendant of Tatar medieval nobles, drummer Jerzy Piotrowski, born in Stalinogród (Katowice) too.

The bands name SBB, accidentally a provocation itself, reminded on SB - the hated polish-soviet secret security service Służba Bezpieczeństwa. Against all odds, already in 1972 the musicians performed behind the "Iron Curtain" with Czesław Niemen at the Jazz & Rock Now! opening show for the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, where they shared stage with John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra and Charles Mingus and subsequently toured with Jack Bruce.

Although basically a rock band, SBB was one of the front runners in the development of, what was later called, jazzrock or fusion along with Weather Report, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin and Miles Davis - that fact found an early entry in Joachim-Ernst Berendt's encyclopaedia of jazz. The later also organized some of the very first gigs of the band in Germany.

SBB was one of the most popular super-groups of the seventies in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium… and appeared in pop polls next to Yes and Genesis. SBB filled sport arenas, but performed mostly in smoky clubs.

Many jazz musicians - among them Don Cherry, Tomasz Stańko, Tomasz Szukalski, Andrzej Przybielski, to name a few, attracted by SBB's extraordinary progressive performances joined the band's shows and eventually also studio sessions. SBB reached its apogeum in 1978. A common concert together with the leading jazz formation The Quartet (Sławomir Kulpowicz, Tomasz Szukalski, Janusz Stefański, Paweł Jarzębski) at it’s apogeum too, planned for 1980 Jazz Jamboree, didn’t take place.

The band split up in 1980.

SBB was briefly re-activated in 1991.
In 1993 and 1998 the band was reactivated performing just a couple of gigs.

In 2000 the former Pat Metheny Group's drummer - Paul Wertico) joined SBB. The band performed in Russia, Mexico, Canada and the United States.

In 2005 SBB was gag contracted by the major bootlegger MetalMind Productions selling lots of recordings stolen from SBB crew's private archives.
In 2007 Paul Wertico left the band. Due to gag contract, SBB continued with the hired Hungarian Sinti drummer Gabor Nemeth.

SBB's guitar player Apostolis Anthimos' projects were supported by Arild Andersen, giant of tenor sax Tomasz Szukalski and recently by John McLaughlin's actual band 4th Dimension musicians Gary Husband and Etienne Mbappé.

In 2014 the bands original drummer Jerzy Piotrowski joined the band again. The, planned for 2014, performances with the great jazz violinist Michał Urbaniak weren't finalized.

Members of the band

* Józef Skrzek – bass guitar, keyboards, vocal, harmonica, violin
* Apostolis Anthimos – guitar, drums, percussion, bouzouki, bass guitar
* Jerzy Piotrowski – drums, percussion (from 1971 until 1993, and since 2014 again)
* Sławomir Piwowar (1979-1980) – guitar, keyboards
* Mirosław Muzykant (1998-1999) – drums, percussion
* Paul Wertico (2000-2007) - drums, percussion, vocal
* Gabor Nemeth (2007-2011) - drums

Guests of the band

* Czesław "Niemen" Wydrzycki - vocal, organs (1971-1973)
* Helmut Nadolski - double bass (1971-1972)
* Jan Błędowski - violin (1974)
* Don Cherry – trumpet (1975)
* Tomasz Stańko – trumpet
* Andrzej Przybielski – trumpet
* Andrzej Rusek - bass guitar (1993-1994)
* Janusz Hryniewicz - backing vocal (1993-1994)
* Andrzej Urny - guitar
* Michał Giercuszkiewicz - drums
* Ireneusz Głyk - drums
* Frank Parker - drums
* Krzysztof Dziedzic - drums
* Marcin Pospieszalski – bass guitar
* Michał Urbaniak – violin
* Tomasz Szukalski – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinett

The bands crew

* Grzegorz Maniecki – sound, electronics
* Bolesław Bielecki – stage technician
* Zbigniew Wiatr – percussion, keyboards, sound, electronics
* Andrzej Kozioł – trucking, lightshow, merchandising
* Artur Kamiński – electronics
* Jerzy Woźniak – stage technician, pyrotechnics
* Janusz Bałaban – stage technician, electronics
* Mariusz Zych– stage technician, sound, recording, public relations

Discography

* 1972 - Niemen "Strange Is This World" (CBS)
* 1972 - Niemen "Requiem dla Van Gogha" ("Requiem For Van Gogh") (Polskie Nagrania Muza)
* 1972 - Niemen "Marionetki" ("Puppet Man") (Polskie Nagrania Muza)
* 1973 - Niemen "Ode To Venus" (CBS)
* 1974 - SBB 1 (Polskie Nagrania Muza)
* 1975 - Nowy Horyzont (Polskie Nagrania Muza)
* 1976 - Pamięć (Pamiec) (Polskie Nagrania Muza)
* 1977 - Ze słowem biegnę do Ciebie (Ze Slowem Biegne, Do Ciebie) (Polskie Nagrania Muza)
* 1978 - SBB (Wolanie O Brzek Szkla) (Supraphon)
* 1977 - Jerzyk (Wifon)
* 1978 - Follow My Dream (Spiegelei-Intercord)
* 1978 - SBB (Amiga)
* 1979 - Welcome (Wifon / Spiegelei-Intercord)
* 1979 - Slovenian Girls (Omnibus BUS - reedition of 1978 Supraphon release)
* 1980 - Memento z Banalnym Tryptykiem (Polskie Nagrania Muza)
* 1994 - Live 1993 (Stuff)
* 1994 - Live In America '94 (Radio Katowice)
* 1999 - Absolutely Live '98 (Yesterday)
* 1999 - SBB w filharmonii: akt 1 i 2 (Yesterday)
* 2000 - Good Bye! (Moskito Records)
* 2001 - Nastroje (Jazz'N'Java)
* 2001 - Karlstad live '75 (Karlstadt Live) (Koch Poland)
* 2001 - Budai Ifjusagi Park 1977 (Buda If Jusagi Park Live) (Koch Poland)
* 2002 - Trio Live Tournee 2001 (CD Silesia)
* 2004 - Anthology 1974 - 2004 (Metal Mind Productions) - contains bootlegs
* 2005 - New Century (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2005 - Lost Tapes, Vol.1 (Metal Mind Productions) - contains bootlegs
* 2006 - Lost Tapes, Vol.2 (Metal Mind Productions) - contains bootlegs
* 2008 - The Rock (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2009 - Iron Curtain (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2009 - Live in Czechoslovakia. Three Quarters (e-silesia.info)
* 2009 - Niemen “Kattorna” (Polskie Radio) - recorded live in 1972/1975
* 2009 - Malczewski. Muzyka ze spektaklu teatralnego i widowisk TV (e-silesia.info)
* 2010 - Blue Trance (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2012 - SBB (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2012 - SBB - Skrzek - Preisner (Sony Music Polska)
* 2013 - Jazz nad Odrą 1975 (GAD records)

Bootlegs

* 1999 - Niemen "Marionetki" / "Requiem dla Van Gogha" (Andromeda) - bootleg of the 1972 production of Polskie Nagrania Muza
* 2002 - Freedom - Live Sopot 1978 (CD Silesia)
* 2003 - Niemen "Strange Is This World" (NuMusi / GreenTree Records) - bootleg of the 1972 production of CBS
* 2003 - Niemen "Ode To Venus" (NuMusi / GreenTree Records) - bootleg of the 1973 production of CBS
* 2003 - Nastroje (NuMusi / GreenTree Records) - bootleg of the 2001 production of Jazz'N'Java
* 2003 - Wizje - book + CD (CD Silesia)
* 2003 - 22.10.1977 Göttigen, Alte Ziegelei (Gottingen) (CD Silesia) - bootleg
* 2004 - Anthology 1974 - 2004 (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2004 - 22.10.1977 Göttigen, Alte Ziegelei - on: Anthology 1974 - 2004 (Metal Mind Productions) - bootleg
* 2005 - Lost Tapes, Vol.1 (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2005 - Bucholz 78 - on: Lost Tapes, Vol.1 (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2005 - Odlot - Live 2004 (CD Silesia)
* 2006 - Lost Tapes, Vol.2 (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2006 - Pop Session 79 - on: Lost Tapes, Vol.2 (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2006 - 22.10.1977 Göttigen, Alte Ziegelei (Metal Mind Productions)
* 2007 - Live In Marburg 1980. The Last Concert (e-silesia.info)
* 2009 - Live In Neckargemünd 1978: From A Town Called N. (e-silesia.info)
* 2009 - 22.10.1977 Göttigen, Alte Ziegelei (e-Silesia.info)
* 2009 - Wizje (e-silesia.info)
* 2009 - Live In Köln 1979. In The Shadow Of The Dom (e-silesia.info)
* 2009 - Live In Frankfurt 1977: Follow My Music. (e-silesia.info)
* 2013 - Buchholz - Międzyzdroje - Chicago (GAD records)

There are numerous other low quality bootlegs offered, some known:

(Austria) Vienna, Innsbruck

(Denmark) Esbjerg, Ryslinge, København

(Germany) Göttingen-Uni, Bad Breisig, Warburg, Berlin, Uslar, Wuppertal, Extertal, Marl-Hüls, Offenbach, Elmshorn, Braunschweig, Ingolstadt, Bielefeld…

(Hungary) Budapest

(Poland) Warszawa, Sopot, Bielsko-Biała, Kielce, Bytom…

!! please don't buy bootlegs - this makes releases of the original material nearly impossible !!
please check: http://sbb.w.interia.pl

What critics say

But the best Jazz-rock group of 1970's did not originate from Polish Jazz but from the rock scene. The name of the band was SBB and included three master improvised rockers: piano/keyboard player Józef Skrzek, Apostolis Anthimos on guitars, and drummer Jerzy Piotrowski. SBB revolutionized Polish rock combining Jimmy Hendrix and King Crimson languages, with lyrical Slavic expression, and its own trademarked Jazz-like free improvisation. SBB is acclaimed as the best Polish rock band of the past 5 decades. The critics raved: "The three musicians that revolutionized Polish rock", "Beyond doubt the most prominent representatives of progressive rock in Poland" - it is only a mere sample of the way the band has been referred to. A complete list of references and opinions would be far too long to quote. Yet apart from the groups formidable and praiseworthy history one must not forget that SBB is still in the first place an active band, far from being dormant, regularly giving live performances and shunning to choose a soft option as far as music is concerned. Invariably Seeking, Breaking and Building…(SBB).