Review of the concert "Life a small handful"

There is probably no other artist in Poland besides Natalia Kukulska who appeals to so many generations of listeners at once. After all, every child in our country—from the generation of today’s 40-somethings all the way down to current preschoolers—has encountered her songs for young children at some point in their childhood. What’s more, the older members of this group largely follow the music of the now-adult Natalka as well—partly out of nostalgia, partly out of curiosity, and partly simply because they like the sound. On the other hand, people in their 50s and older view Natalia as the daughter of an outstanding composer and a singer blessed with an incredible voice. And they constantly see in her similarities to the unforgettable Anna Jantar. In other words—Natalia Kukulska evokes emotions everywhere and in everyone: in women and men, in the young and the old, from the Oder to the Bug. In that case, could the concert, for which Natalia served as artistic director and which was dedicated to her brilliant parents, have been just another event featuring a live performance of a collection of popular songs? Yes, you guessed it—it couldn’t.

A Kaleidoscope of Stars

As one might have expected, the audience at Atlas Arena came not only from central Poland—at least that’s what one could infer from the license plates of the cars parked around the venue—and the age range spanned from a few years old to several dozen years old. And everyone not only had a great time but also witnessed a unique history lesson on Polish popular music—because between songs, the big screens displayed a veritable encyclopedia of Polish stars, who shared various anecdotes and trivia. Both about the songs themselves and the great absentees, that is, the main protagonists of the evening. All of this meant that Sunday’s show at the Łódź arena—though by no means the first under the banner of “Życie Mała Garść”—touched hearts from the very first seconds and kept the audience on the edge of their seats long after it ended.

It’s hard to believe that this year marks 45 years since Anna Jantar’s passing and 15 years since we said goodbye to Jarosław Kukulski. All the more moving, then, was the appearance right at the start on the big screen of the singing vocalist, accompanied live on stage by Adam Sztaba himself—a man who has collaborated musically not only with the country’s top artists but also with such international stars as Sting, Michael Bolton, and José Carreras. And when, a moment later, little Natalka’s voice came over the speakers telling her dad that “Mommy is singing,” a deeply meaningful murmur of sighs swept through the hall…

A feisty start

And so began this extraordinary journey through time, which, including the nostalgic interludes, lasted almost exactly two hours and featured nearly 20 songs. It is worth noting that these were not only songs originally performed by Anna Jantar. For Jarosław Kukulski’s compositional output—something younger people in particular sometimes forget—extended far beyond the bounds of their marriage and reached many other artists beloved by Poles during the grim days of the Polish People’s Republic.

Piotr Cugowski was the first to take the stage at Atlas Arena. A representative of another family that has made significant contributions to Polish music, he performed the concert’s title track—originally made famous by Krzysztof Krawczyk—with his characteristic rock edge. The message of the song “Życia mała garść” and the involuntary evocation of an artist closely associated with Łódź and the surrounding area (Krawczyk spent the last years of his life in his beloved Grotniki in the municipality of Zgierz) only further intensified the audience’s emotional experience.

The subsequent arrangements presented were irrefutable proof of just how versatile Kukulski and Jantar’s work was. Over the next few minutes, the artists invited by Natalia Kukulski took us on journeys to very different musical corners—beyond the rock already mentioned, one could clearly sense the influences of soul, jazz, and reggae, among others. Some hits thus took on a completely new dimension—indeed, one could say they underwent a total revolution. Of course, much of the credit for this goes to the previously mentioned duo of Natalia Kukulska and Adam Sztaba, who, as was evident, oversaw the orchestra under their command with great pleasure and ease, track by track.

Photo: Radoslaw Zydowicz

An emotional roller coaster

After Piotr Cugowski, all eyes turned to Natalia Przybysz, who performed the hit “Kto wymyślił naszą miłość.” I must admit that while I hadn’t been an overly enthusiastic fan of her talent up until then, that evening I rated her performance very highly. Another thing is that the older of the Przybysz sisters is perfectly at home in this type of project—just look at her work on the album dedicated to Janis Joplin or the compilation “Panny Wyklęte.”

Following the Sistars’ performance at Atlas Arena, we saw Kasia Lins, who, in an incredibly melancholic—if not downright dark—manner, reminded us of the hit “I Want to Dance the Night Away with You.” Next, the stage belonged to Kayah, who sang “For All the Nights” in her signature Balkan style. Later on, we saw the duo Natalia Przybysz and Kuba Badach, who gave a poignant performance of the song “Ktoś między nami” (originally recorded by Anna Jantar with Zbigniew Hołdys). After this pair, Kasia Lins returned to the stage with a moving rendition of “Just Ask Me to Dance.”

Finally, it was time for Kasia Kowalska and her spectacular rendition of “Wielka dama tańczy sama.” Despite the passing years, the Sulejówek-born singer has lost none of her stage charisma, and she proved it once again on Sunday evening. Piotr Cugowski also did not disappoint; during his second appearance on stage, he enchanted us with his own version of “Anna już tu nie mieszka”—a hit that Halina Frąckowiak had popularized years ago in memory of Anna Jantar. Significantly, when after the concert I asked the seven-year-old girl sitting next to me—who had been watching the entire show intently alongside her dad—whose songs she liked best, she replied with complete conviction, “The guy with the ponytail.” Well, that’s exactly how you win over new fans…

No gray areas

I’m also very curious to know how many new fans Ralph Kamiński gained after Sunday’s concert, having first had to tackle the ballad “Jestem zmęczony” at the Łódź arena. Let’s recall that in the second half of the 1980s, Jarosław Kukulski wrote this deeply reflective melody for Felicjan Andrzejczak. Kamiński’s performance was black-and-white both literally (he plays with light!) and figuratively, because there was probably no one in Atlas Arena who remained indifferent to his interpretation of this song. If you weren’t there and didn’t see it, look for recordings on social media and be sure to form your own opinion on the matter.

Another total surprise was the new, jazz-infused take on “Tin Pan Alley” that Ania Karwan presented to the audience. But that is precisely—as Natalia Kukulska emphasized at the end—where the magic and phenomenon of such concerts lie. Because here, no one tries to recreate the original as faithfully as possible; on the contrary, everyone wants to bring out a new “something” from a given song, even at the cost of possible criticism from some fans later on. And here, too, there was no point in “competing” with the incomparable Halina Frąckowiak—incidentally, one of those figures who kept popping up in the video clips between songs. It was thanks to these interludes that we were able to learn firsthand—from their friends—a wealth of behind-the-scenes stories about Anna Jantar and Jarosław Kukulski.

Photo: Radoslaw Zydowicz

Time capsule

Thanks to recordings spanning 13 years, every attendee at Sunday’s concert will likely remember that, despite her many successes on stage, Anna never acted like a star—and that some will associate her not only with beautiful songs but also with her “outfits.” As for Jarosław, thanks to the stories captured on tape, most people should remember him as a man with an extraordinary sense of humor (and even the “king of anecdotes”) and a person with an incredible sense of melody. It should be emphasized that with each passing year, this collection of statements becomes increasingly priceless, because, as Natalia Kukulska meticulously calculated at the end, half of her interviewees from that time have already passed away—including, for example, Janusz Weiss, Romuald Lipko, Janusz Kondratowicz, Andrzej Kozłowski, Antoni Kopff, Lech Konopiński, and the previously mentioned Felicjan Andrzejczak…

Enough about the past, because the present on stage made the time fly by especially quickly that day. After all, how could time drag on when our ears were treated to one unique arrangement after another? Ralph Kamiński and “Puszek Okruszek,” Ania Karwan and “To co mam,” or Kayah and “Nic nie może wiecznie trwać”—judging by the artists’ facial expressions, each of these songs was their personal tribute to both Anna Jantar and Jarosław Kukulski. And a confirmation that great hits can withstand even the boldest reinterpretations. It is also worth noting that the overall experience was complemented each time by lighting refined down to the last detail, which evoked the image of a sophisticated theatrical setting.

Chasing Away Autumn

To wrap up the main part of the concert, we were treated to “Im więcej Ciebie, tym mniej” (“The More of You, the Less”), arguably the most recent (though by no means that new, since it dates back to 1996) song in the entire setlist. Kuba Badach gave a captivating performance of one of the first—and to date, biggest—hits from Natalia Kukulska’s adult career. Immediately afterward, the other stars of the evening joined him, and with the support of Aleksander Szwarniowiecki—one of the finalists of a vocal competition in Ursynów specially announced before this concert—they performed a hit that had everyone in the Atlas Arena on their feet: “Tyle słońca w całym mieście.” To say that, in the face of the incredible energy from the stage, everyone forgot for those few minutes about the oppressive chill and dampness of autumn is to say nothing at all…

The finale was “Polubiłam pejzaż ten” (“I Liked This Landscape”), performed by Kasia Kowalska. During this song, by contrast, the atmosphere in the arena became incredibly nostalgic, thanks in large part to the thousands of lights lit up on smartphones by the people on the field and in the stands. Later, after a short break, there was a series of thank-yous from the head of the entire project—a visibly moved Natalia Kukulska. “This evening, each of us had to confront within ourselves this difficult topic of farewell and departure.”

Each of us experienced it in our own way, and music is a wonderful bridge connecting those genuine emotions.

If there were tears, that’s wonderful. If we managed to face a difficult truth, that’s wonderful too. But if it weren’t for these interpretations and the big hearts of the artists standing beside me, none of this would have happened,” emphasized the 49-year-old. She also revealed that Anna Jantar and Jarosław Kukulski’s grandchildren were in the audience, experiencing the entire performance just as deeply as she did.

After her special speech, Natalia didn’t leave the stage at all. After all, who better than her to kick off the encores? Especially with the song “What Will Dad Say?”. It was quite different from the version we knew from cassette tapes, but it had its own unique vibe. Besides, by that evening, everyone at Atlas Arena had already grown accustomed to these compositional excursions into previously unexplored corners of the individual songs. The final segments of the concert, in turn, featured a showcase of young, aspiring performers—who had been selected in the vocal competition described above—as they vied for stardom. Michał Sobierajski sang “Biały wiersz o Tobie,” and Justyna Jarząbek once again swept the audience along to join in the fun to the sounds of “Tyle słońca w całym mieście”—although these were quite different sounds than just a few minutes earlier.

A view from above

One thing is certain—the “Życia Mała Garść” concert demonstrated that both the artists and the audience continue to hold the musical legacy left behind by Anna Jantar and Jarosław Kukulski in the highest regard. Both of them, looking down from above, could be proud that their works successfully stand up to emerging trends, are still being rediscovered by new musicians, and are winning over new fans. I have no doubt that when we meet at a similar concert in five years, we’ll have to rush to get tickets again, because it’ll be hard to find an empty seat in the hall!