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Michał Urbaniak
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Michał Urbaniak was born in Warsaw in 1943 and played violin and saxophone. In the 1960s he played in Polish jazz groups and started a band of his own with the singer Urszula Dudziak, whom he married. In 1973 they moved to New York. There Urbaniak made records for Columbia such as Fusion (1974), in which jazz rock and Polish folk melodies come together. He played electric violin, often with effects. In 1986 he played violin on Tutu by Miles Davis. With his project Urbanator he brought jazz and hip-hop together in the early 1990s. He died in December 2025.
Listening
Listening tip. Listen to the electric violin, which sounds like a guitar in a rock band.
Paratyphus B · Michał Urbaniak, 1973
Fusion · Michał Urbaniak, 1974
Chinatown (Part I) · Michał Urbaniak, 1975
Discography
Studio albums
- 1973We’ll Remember Komeda
- 1974Atma
- 1974Fusion
- 1974The Beginning
- 1975Fusion
- 1976Body English
- 1977Smiles Ahead
- 1978Ecstasy
- 1981Music for Violin & Jazz Quartet
- 1982The Larry Coryell, Michal Urbaniak Duo
- 1983Facts of Life
- 1986Rhythm & BLU
- 1988Cinemode
- 1989Polish Jazz, Volume 9
- 1989Songs for Poland
- 1989Urban Express
- 1992A Quiet Day in Spring
- 1992Manhattan Man
- 1994Some Other Blues
- 1994Take Good Care of My Heart
- 1994Urbanator
- 1996My One and Only Love
- 1996Urbanator II
- 2001Sax, Love & Cinema
- 2004Decadence
- 2005Polish Wind
- 2005Urbanator III
- 2013Miles of Blue
- 2013Urbaniak
- 2019For Warsaw With Love
- 2020Facts of Life
Other work
- 1973Paratyphus B
- 1986Tutu · with Miles Davis
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Jazz MapNL Map
- After Hours: Session 3NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Polish jazz Genre
Later the trumpeter Tomasz Stańko, the saxophonist Zbigniew Namysłowski, the violinist Zbigniew Seifert and the duo Michał Urbaniak and Urszula Dudziak also became known outside Poland.