Jan Lewan Lewandowski

Reunion Tour to Poland 2012

michal — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 00:37:56 +0000

May 9-19 2012 -- Jan Lewandowski -- Big Daddy -- Hank Guzewich (Polka Family )

Jan Lewan with the excitement of meeting great people and visit many countries. 38 times with pride I lead groups to Poland of 80 to 220 people. Each time for our “From the Mountains to the Sea” and I will do it again.

Many videos and DVD’s were video taped by John Koterba: And my friend John will video us again!! And Again!!

If you would like to get on our mailing list please email us with your name, address and email.

We will be back for reunion trip to Poland!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtVoSBSWQR4

Oh, What a Night !

michal — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:28:56 +0000

“Jan Lewan kicked off his reunion concert with a multi-media extravaganza that entertained the sold out crowd. A Showman all the way, Jan presented his first concert in nearly a decade with the class and finesse that once brought thousands to the Polish Festivals at the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City and many other venues. Under the direction of his long time music director, Stephen Kaminski, the orchestra was well rehearsed and new arrangements for the show were written and ready to perform. Upon arriving to the concert, guests were treated to a virtual museum gallery filled with photos and exhibitions of the orchestra throughout the years. There were hundreds of pictures illustrating the rise and fall of one of the greatest “big bands” to ever entertain the polka industry. – From the highest levels of achievement to the tragic accident which contributed largely to the demise of the orchestra, every photo collage told a story and was truly a worthy testimony of what Jan and all of his musicians had accomplished over the years.
The doors were scheduled to open at 4:30 but due to the overwhelming last minute ticket sales and an over crowded lobby, reserved seating concert goers were granted early admission to the theater. Unfortunately the tickets were sold out and many were turned away who had arrived to the theater hoping to purchase tickets at the door. The musicians finally took the stage and MC Peter Danielczuk made the announcement…
”Ladies and Gentleman …after ten years..I give you Hazleton’s Own Grammy Nominated Orchestra, the “Jan Lewan Orchestra”….
The band warmed up the audience with a few numbers and then it was time for the much anticipated introduction of Jan Lewan. Following a Vegas style fanfare, Jan burst onto the stage with the energy and vitality of a twenty year old. Dressed in his signature white suit and red shirt, it was apparent he was back and ready to perform. It was clear the audience had much built up excitement for the return of Jan as they erupted into a standing ovation before he sang a note. He took a bow upon entering the stage and when he looked up the entire audience were on their feet. – even the lady sitting in front of me in a wheelchair had somehow managed to make it to her feet to show her admiration for Jan. It was evident that he was taken back by this welcome, as it took him a moment to compose himself before counting off the band to play the first song.
He began the concert singing one of his most popular arrangements, “I’ve Got a Love For You” Dla Ciebie” , I believe he chose this song specifically for his return engagement to show his gratitude to everyone who had stuck by him throughout the years. At the conclusion of this first song, Jan took a moment to make sure the audience understood the inspiration for the reunion concert. He said, with tears in his eyes, and at times overcome by his emotions, “Tonight’s concert is not about me. It is about my orchestra members, (and pointing to the audience stated) it’s also about you .”…and then came the second standing ovation of the evening. He then very humbly offered the following explanation to the audience, “I apologize for any issues in my life which caused my musicians and fans to go their separate ways. –But – tonight, I am so proud to present this reunion concert, right here in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, the place where it all began.
Throughout the show Jan welcomed various guests who he had spotted in the audience. Many were fans who had travelled many miles including, Indiana, Illinois, Pine Island, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Niagara Falls, Canada, Florida, Massachusetts, and even a group from Baltimore brought by Butch and Mary Kotowski; others were very influential people who had assisted him with the success of his orchestra throughout the years. One such attendee was Steve Janson, who was the director of entertainment at the Atlantis Casino and opened the door for the Jan Lewan Orchestra and their 20 year engagement at various Trump casinos and private parties in Atlantic City. Another quite influential personality in the audience was Dave Haupt, the owner of the Precision Design Company. Dave is an accomplished photographer and took hundreds of photos during the concert. His pictures were the ones I submitted with this article. Also in the audience were John and Jo Koterba of Lightning Videos who created a professional DVD of the entire reunion. The Master of Ceremonies announced that if anyone wanted a video recording of the reunion concert they could simply email Jan at jan@janlewandowski.com for information.
Prior to the show and during intermission, concert goers browsed the virtual museum gallery set up in the lobby of the theater featuring hundreds of photos and memorabilia of the orchestra. Of special interest to me was the tribute to one of Jan’s dearest friends, Jolly Joe, Al Truszkowski, who had worked so closely with Jan throughout the years. Unfortunately Jolly Joe passed away but Jan was thrilled that his wife Bernadine and their son Michael attended the reunion concert.
Other concert highlights included ;
Performances by Ania Piwowarczyk who often fronted the orchestra. She sang several duets with Jan as well as some of the songs she made famous on her own recordings.
A special tribute to John Stabinsky and Thomas Karas who dedicated many years to the orchestra but tragically lost their lives in the bus accident.
The debut performance of Amber Lewandowski who sang on stage with her father for the first time, a dream she had since she was just a child. Amber was just 12 years old when her father went away and today she is absolutely stunning. Just shy of her 18th birthday Amber is a beautiful young lady with a terrific voice. Tears filled my eyes seeing her with her father singing the duet, “Do I Love You Don’t You Know by Now,” made famous by Paul Anka and his daughter Anthea. Amber then sang a song that she chose to express her gratification for finally being able to sing with her father’s orchestra, “A Moment Like This.”
A special trumpet solo by Daniel Lewandowski, Jan’s son who was not expected to live after the bus accident and is now a successful hotel manager in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Strolling accordionist Bill Kuklewicz who was the orchestras first accordion player. Bill entertained the audience prior to the concert during dinner.
After being away for so many years, Jan learned to perform a new musical style, “Rap” and despite some opposition, even from his own orchestra members, he performed his new Rapping Polka with energy and excitement. His performance actually changed my mind and I enjoyed it and apparently. from the thunderous applause, so did most of the audience.
A special reunion dinner cooked by Rhonda especially for the musicians and their families prior to the concert.
The grand finale of the show was an emotional tribute to our armed forces, followed by the Polish National Anthem and God Bless America. In conclusion, this show was not about the songs or even the music. It was about reuniting long time friends who had gone their separate ways. Everyone had their own reason for returning for the reunion, for some it was closure, for others it was simply a chance to reunite, but in the end everyone left with a since of reborn friendship which will last for years to come. It was one of the greatest experiences both musically and spiritually I have ever experienced. I was so happy to have had the opportunity to witness this show in person.

Autor :
Jack Marchese (Concert Goer)

Some photos from the show :

Jan Lewan Orchestra Reunion

michal — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:04:55 +0000

Mark your calendar for October 24, 2010
All you can eat Dinner & Show with strolling Accordionist Bill Kuklewicz
4:30 – 5:45pm and 6:00 Show – $25.00 (Dinner is SOLD OUT)
6:00 Show only – $10.00 (Still Available)

For Tickets:

Send Check or Money order to:
JLO Reunion
P.O. Box 2411
Hazleton, PA 18201

Write to me -
jan@janlewandowski.com

The Jan Lewan Orchestra is reuniting for their first performance in nearly a decade. In the typical tradition of a family reunion, the orchestra members are excited to get together for this one time concert and homecoming. Many of the musicians have not seen each other for nearly ten years, and this one time only concert will surely afford them time to renew their acquaintances.

The JLO Orchestra throughout the late 80s and 90’s were famous for adding a “Big Show Band” type quality to traditional and original Polish Music. They were the band that lead the way performing at many prestigious showrooms throughout the United States and Europe. The springboard for the bands success was their sold out polka weekends at the Mount Airy Lodge Resort in the Poconos during the late 1980s. Much of the success of the Jan Lewan Orchestra is attributed to composer and arranger Stephen Kaminski (www.stephenkaminskimusic.com) who joined the band on the saxophone shortly after graduating from the Berkeley College of Music in 1987. Stephen has written and produced music for every major television network and continues to receive awards for his compositions. Just recently, Stephen’s orchestral composition, “Ten Emotions – A Tone Poem” was awarded 2nd place at the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic’s Composition Competition. Stephen’s talent for composing and arranging music, fused with his Polish heritage made for a winning combination. Stephen will be performing at the JLO reunion and is writing a few new arrangements for the event.

The Jan Lewan Orchestra was catapulted into some of the best showrooms in the country. In 1988, the band took polka music to a new level when they performed a combined concert with the Wayne Newton Orchestra at the esteemed Hilton Hotel Showroom in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the years to follow highlights for the orchestra included; combining with the Princeton University Symphony Orchestra for a “Symphony with Polkas” concert at the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, New York, A concert with the National Symphony Orchestra of Utica, New York., a concert with the “Radio Warsaw Orchestra” in Warsaw., Poland, performed as the main act in the showrooms of numerous cruise ships, Recorded a weekly television show on the Fox TV broadcast from Scranton,Pa. performed as back up musicians for Bobby Vinton, Al Albert’s and the Four Aces, Myron Floren from the Lawrence Welk Show, and many more, entertained literally thousands of people throughout the years at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. where Jan and the orchestra hosted their Polish Festivals, and many other events too numerous to mention. Tremendously popular were Jan Lewan’s European Tours. As a Polish native, Jan was able to introduce tour groups to Poland like no one else could. Most groups were afforded the opportunity to meet the former President of Poland, Lech Walesa. Jan’s tour groups to Italy were truly astonishing. Each tour member was treated to a private audience and photo session with Pope John Paul II. A Red Carpet Poland reunion tour is currently scheduled for May 9th – 19th, 2012.

The band made many recordings but their biggest accomplishment was being nominated for a Grammy Award in 1995. The band was moving ahead with many new adventures when tragedy struck. In the early morning of January 26, 2001, the Jan Lewan Orchestra bus was making its way through Dillon, South Carolina en route to Florida when it drifted off the road and struck a concrete bridge. Tommy Karas, Accordion player, and John Stabinsky, Trombonist were killed instantly. Daniel Lewandowski, (son of Jan) trumpet player was seriously injured, and many other musicians suffered broken bones etc. The accident was a horrific tragedy which – combined with financial troubles, led to the demise of the orchestra.

Steve Saive, lead trumpet player with the Lewan Orchestra since 1986 is devoting countless hours to this reunion project and when asked about his thoughts he had this to say; the fourteen years I spent on the road with the Jan Lewan Orchestra were undoubtedly the best years of my life. I saw the world and met many people. I was proud to be a part of such an awesome orchestra. We were not only an excellent “Polka” band, but a group of musicians that could perform anything – we really were not much a part of the standard polka circuit. However, we were always the band of choice for the Donald Trump organization for private special event parties at the Taj Mahal Casino because we could play an entire evening of Big Band music. Although the band performed several engagements following the accident, I could not bring myself to be a part of it. The tragedy was too overwhelming for me. I never wanted to play again. It took me years of therapy to cope with the catastrophe we had all experienced. I never had any type of closure with my close friends and fellow musicians. The bond that we had shared throughout countless performances and endless hours on the road made us a family – one which ended abruptly. I am really excited and ready to once again perform with the band, in fact I really can’t wait. It’s exciting for me to see that there are people out there who feel the same way. Jan and I are having so much fun receiving the ticket orders and reading all of the comments from fans of ours who are just as excited as we are. Each ticket order is accompanied by comments such as “We were with you in Poland and can’t wait to see you guys”, “We’ll never forget our private audience with Pope John Paul II, we are so delighted to have the opportunity to spend one more evening with you.”, and the sentiments go on and on. We have mailed tickets to Michigan, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and of course many to our local Pennsylvania fans. According to Jan, each letter brings a “smile to my face and a tear to my eye.” This is going to be the reunion to beat all reunions. I can’t wait to see everyone.

Although the dinners are sold out, everyone is encouraged to arrive early to the concert for four reasons;

1. The atrium of the Philharmonic Center opens at 4:30. The Atrium of the Philharmonic center will be transformed into an exhibit of literally thousands of pictures and memorabilia from the Jan Lewan Orchestra. If you travelled with them or attended their Polka festivals, you just may see yourself in one of the photos.

2. At 5:15 there will be a special movie presentation of the highlights of the Jan Lewan Orchestra throughout the years. This movie is not the documentary which premiered at all of the film festivals this year and nationally on TruTV. It is a newly produced film of all of the highlights of the orchestra’s travels and concerts. Once again, if you were there – you just may see yourself in the movie….and speaking of movies, Jan’s new book, “Suitcase Full of Dreams” is soon ready for publication and there are two Hollywood agencies already talking about a possible full feature movie.

3. The third reason is to be sure you fill out your entry for the raffle. In the typical Jan Lewan Show fashion, there will be tons of giveaways and prizes during the concert. In addition, based upon your entries, Jan plans to create an online database of everyone who attends the concert so that you will be able to stay in touch with each other.

4. The fourth reason to arrive early, and probably the most important reason, is to get re-acquainted with old friends and travel companions who you met throughout the years. After all, this is a reunion of not only the orchestra, but a chance for you to meet up with travel companions you may have lost contact with along the way.

In addition to the Jan Lewan orchestra there will be several special guests that you do not want to miss.

Ania Piwowarczyk from Canada will be performing her classic hits made famous with the Jan Lewan Orchestra as well as several new songs from her newest recording (Life’s Too Short) featuring Steve Saive and Stephen Kaminski from the Jan Lewan Orchestra.

Amber Lewandowski, (daughter of Jan) who we all remember as a little girl, is now 17 years old and has developed into a dazzling young lady with tremendous vocal qualities. She will be performing with her father’s orchestra for the first time…a dream she always had but never thought would ever become a reality.

Bill Kuklewicz will be providing accordion accompaniment for dinner. Get your personal requests ready for him – he knows them all and was the original accordion player for the Jan Lewan Orchestra.

Hank Guzevich of the Polka Family band, long time friend of the Jan Lewan Orchestra will be over seeing the sound quality for the concert and recording. Hank will be performing with Jan during the finale of the concert, a brand new song written by Joe Zalenski entitled “Amigo Polka” This song tells the story of two long lost friends- and knowing Hank I’m sure he has some other surprises in store for us. Jan hired the Polka Family band to Atlantic City when they were living in California and the rest of the story is history. It was at that time when Gus, Hank’s father, wanted to relocate his family to northeast Pa. They purchased a home and soon became the most popular polka band on the East Coast.

Daniel Lewandowski (son of Jan) who fought for his life following the accident and spent literally years of recovery is making every attempt possible to make it to the reunion. We all remember him being on stage in the beginning with toy instruments and eventually as a trumpet player with the orchestra. Truth is, he has fully recovered from the accident and is an executive with a major hotel chain which requires him to do extensive travel. He is making all efforts to attend the reunion.

The entire reunion will be captured on video and made available for purchase by John and Jo of Lightning videos. Many of you remember John Koterba who accompanied Jan on every tour and concert throughout a twenty year span making tremendous souvenir videos for everyone. John has continued his career as a videographer and recently won a prestigious award for his talent. Out of 14 nominees, John was voted the “Best Videographer of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast 2010.” organized by Fox 29 TV of West Palm Beach. His video will make a terrific souvenir for reunion attendees.

Don’t miss this one and only reunion of the Jan Lewan Orchestra.

This concert is open to the public and reserved seats are only $10.00 and available now. For tickets, write to JLO Reunion, PO Box 2411, Hazleton, Pa. 18201. For more information you may call (570) 851-3329. You can also get more information at www.janlewandowski.com or email Jan at jan@janlewandowski.com In addition, The Hampton Inn of Hazleton, with breathtaking views of the Cunningham Valley, has offered a special price for reunion attendees. If you plan to stay overnight please call the Hampton Inn for your reservation. (570) 454-3449 or visit their website at www.hamptoninn.com Be sure to mention that you are coming for the Jan Lewan Orchestra Reunion to receive the special discounted rate.

Reunion Concert Video

michal — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:16:15 +0000

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

Polish Heritage Festival

tomek — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:18:58 +0000

“Ole, Ole, Ole,”…..what a magnificent day!!!! Jan Lewan made his comeback performance at the Garden State Arts Center for the annual Polish Heritage Festival and without a doubt he was livelier and more energetic than ever before. We anxiously waited for Jan’s first appearance in over six years and were extremely overwhelmed. We did not know what to expect but Jan took the stage looking rested, tanned, and ready to entertain! It was obvious that he had been exercising with his slim figure ….he is in top-notch shape!!!. My wife stated that he looked six years younger!!!!…Dressed in a strikingly brilliant white suit and red silk shirt and tie, Lewan burst onto the stage with the enthusiasm of a kid on his first trip to a candy store and soon had the audience singing and dancing in their seats.

“Class, Sophistication, and Charisma” are the three words that come to my mind when I think of Jan’s comeback performance. It was a great day for me and the wonderful crowd that attended the festival….nearly 6000 people for the one day event and the plaza where Jan was performing drew a hefty crowd. Truly a dazzling performance with charm, presence and personality….time has certainly not diminished his voice! Like fine wine, Lewan has improved with age. The fans showed their appreciation for his music by lining up to purchase his recordings, having their pictures taken with him and asking for autographs.

Jan expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to Richie and Ann Wisnieski for their faith and confidence in him and for providing him the opportunity to make his comeback performance at the Polish Heritage Festival. Overall Festival Chairman Peter Eagler was thrilled with Jan’s performance and was happy that Jan was able to perform at the festival.

Prior to his performance, Jan was uncertain as to how the audience would receive him due to the publicity surrounding his incarceration, however, he assured us that the truth would come out in his tell all book, “Two Suitcases Full of Dreams” soon to be published. Jan spent the past five years putting this book together detailing the trials and tribulations that he has experienced throughout the years. He also acquired a new singing style…”RAP”…and he plans to incorporate it in his upcoming CD. We are thrilled to have him back and are looking forward to many, many, more performances…and hopefully a Poland Tour!!!…He is the best…we’re still singing… “Ole, Ole, Ole”….it was truly a magnificent day!!!!

[audio:http://www.janlewandowski.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/polka_celebration.mp3]

Reunion Concert

michal — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 21:53:23 +0000

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

I Thank You Jesus

michal — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:22:13 +0000

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

Goodbye My Love Goodbye

michal — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:43:32 +0000

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

Wieliczka salt mine

michal — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:01:46 +0000

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

Ole Ole

michal — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:37:10 +0000

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video