Józef Skrzek
Józef Skrzek is one of the most important figures in Polish music – a composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and visionary who for more than five decades has created his own unique artistic language.
Born on July 2, 1948, in Michałkowice, he was musically educated from an early age, learning to play the piano and violin. In 1967, he graduated from the music school in Katowice, and just two years later began his professional career, performing with the trio Mariolaine & Swinging Soul Corporation and collaborating with local Silesian groups. His talent was quickly noticed by the band Breakout, with whom Skrzek recorded the album 70a, playing piano, bass guitar, and singing.
The real breakthrough came in 1971, when he founded Silesian Blues Band – later known as SBB – together with Apostolis Anthimos and Jerzy Piotrowski. The band became one of the most important phenomena in the history of Polish progressive rock. Between 1972 and 1973, the musicians collaborated with Czesław Niemen, recording albums that are still regarded as milestones of Polish music: Strange Is This World, Ode to Venus, and Marionetki. This collaboration forever changed the face of the Polish music scene, combining rock, improvisation, jazz, electronics, and avant-garde elements.
After the breakup of SBB in 1980, Skrzek began an intensive solo career. He composed film, theatre, sacred, and electronic music, collaborating with outstanding artists such as Halina Frąckowiak, Tomasz Szukalski, Władysław Komendarek, Jarosław Pijarowski, Colin Bass, Krzysztof “Puma” Piasecki, Przemysław Rudz, and his brother Jan Skrzek. His work is remarkably diverse – from cantatas and oratorios, through experimental music, to avant-garde projects created within the framework of the Teatr Tworzenia. His collaboration with director Lech Majewski resulted in music for the films The Roe’s Room, Wojaczek, Angelus, and The Mill and the Cross, which continue to captivate audiences with their atmosphere and spirituality.
Józef Skrzek’s artistic output is truly impressive. The artist has recorded more than 60 albums, including solo releases, live recordings, film music, cantatas, Christmas carols, electronic projects, as well as numerous works with Teatr Tworzenia and SBB. It is one of the largest and most diverse discographies in Polish music – a testament to his constant need to create and push artistic boundaries. Albums such as Pamiętnik Karoliny, Ojciec chrzestny Dominika, Józefina, Ambitus Extended, Planetarium, Viator, Terrarium, Maria Kantata, and Forbidden Archaeology demonstrate the extraordinary range of his imagination.
Despite his international success, Skrzek has always remained faithful to his Silesian roots. He is closely connected to Michałkowice, where he supports the local community and the primary school named after him. Silesia is his source, his pulse, his home – the place from which his music grows. His work is like flight, like prayer, like a conversation with the cosmos, while at the same time being deeply rooted in Silesian truth, humility, and diligence.
Józef Skrzek is an artist who never stops searching, creating, and inspiring. For more than fifty years, his music has carried sound further, higher, and deeper. He is a creator who for many is a Master, and for Katowice – a living legend. This star on Staromiejska Street is an expression of gratitude toward an artist who has permanently inscribed himself into the history of Polish culture and remains one of its brightest symbols.
