A pianist and cellist by training, Namysłowski also played trombone and eventually made a name for himself as a sax player, composer and arranger. He had more than 30 LPs and CDs to his credit.
He was among the first group of Polish jazz musicians to perform in Western Europe after World War II. In the early 1960s, he was a member of The Wreckers, the first Polish group to tour the United States and take part in the Newport Festival.
Down the years, Namysłowski led numerous bands, mostly quartets and quintets, working closely with such household names in Polish music as Krzysztof Komeda, Czesław Niemen and Michał Urbaniak. He also collaborated with the likes of Krzysztof Herdzin, Leszek Możdżer, Wojciech Karolak, Sławomir Kulpowicz, Kuba Stankiewicz, Darek Oleszkiewicz, José Torres, Janusz Skowron, and Zbigniew Wegehaupt.
His 1964 LP Lola, recorded in the Decca studios in London, was the first disc by a Polish jazz musician to be released outside Poland.
An extremely versatile musician, Namysłowski was keen to explore ethnic music and perform together with folk bands from Poland's southern Tatra mountain region, as well as to blend jazz with classical music, in projects such as "Mozart in Jazz" and "Mozart Goes Jazz."
Foreign tours took him to countries all around Europe as well as the United States, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.
He won numerous awards from prestigious Polish and international music magazines, as well as state distinctions, including the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Reborn Poland.
Namysłowski is survived by his wife Małgorzata, his son Jacek, a trombonist, and his daughter Maria, a singer and arranger.
(mk/gs)