Krzysztof Komeda

Krzysztof Trzciński was a medical doctor in his native Poland, a respected ear, nose and throat specialist. However he became far more famous for his music as a leading pianist on the Polish jazz scene in Krakow, using the stage name Krzysztof Komeda to front his band The Komeda Sextet (later the Komeda Quintet), hiding the fact that he was a successful doctor dabbling in modern jazz, a style of music that Poland's repressive Communist government considered decadent. 1958 marked his first collaboration with Polish director Roman Polanski on the 15 minute short "Two Men And A Wardrobe." It was the start of an incredibly successful creative partnership, followed by 1959's "When Angels Fall" and their first full-length feature "Knife in the Water" (1962). Although Komeda scored films for a number of other directors during this period, he was still first and foremost a jazz musician; in 1966, his group released their debut album, Astigmatic, widely considered a milestone in the development of modern European jazz. He once again worked with Polanski, composing the music for the thriller "Cul-de-Sac" (1966) and the horror comedy "The Fearless Vampire Killers" (1967). After Polanski moved to Los Angeles, Komeda also came to America, adopting the Anglicized name Christopher Komeda. His work on Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best score, and his taut score for Buzz Kulik's prison drama "Riot" (1969) portended more solid American work. Tragically, Komeda suffered severe brain damage in a drunken fall during a fight with a fellow Polish émigré, novelist Marek Hlasko, at a Hollywood party. Lapsing into a coma from which he never recovered, Komeda was returned to his homeland, where he died April 23, 1969, just a few days shy of his 38th birthday.