 The Frankies are a National Service Award, through Polka America Corporation, which recognizes those who provide exceptional service to polka music, and whose contributions and service to polka music has been instrumental in sustaining the polka genre. Nominees are selected and voted on by the Polka America Corporation Officers and Directors. This award program and use of Frankie Yankovic's name and image has been authorized by Ida Yankovic, and is endorsed by the Yankovic family. There are two 2012 Frankies Winners. Congratulations. Jack Baciewski
Jack Baciewski grew up with polkas all his life and his love for polkas continues to this day. He is known in the polka world as Polkaman Jack. He started playing drums with the Jolly Aces Polka Band in 1968, he was the first drummer for the Polka Country Musicians and later player with Eddie Zavaski Jr. and the Generations Polka Band. Jack's love for Polkas continued with numerous radio programs beginning in 1972 on WICH in Norwich, CT. He later was on the air with Karen Olzewski on WMLD, West Hartford, CT from 1984-‐1986. He later teamed up with Eddie Zavaski Jr. on WBIS in Bristol, CT and they were also on the air on WNTY in Southington, CT. Jack with Eddie finally moved their show to WMRD from Middletown, CT from 1996 to 2002. In November of 2002, Jack decided that he wanted to do some type of polka broadcasting on the growing Internet. He came up with the concept of the Polka Jammer Network and in early in 2003 he asked Peter J Danielczuk to join him and thus became the Polka Jammer Network which is still going strong today. Jack left the Jammer and later started a new network entitled Polka Legacy which aired on the Internet until 2011. This new network was in part dedicated to the great polka music of the past. Jack has truly been a person that has dedicated a majority of his life to bringing people happiness through Polkas. Mark Vyhlidal
Mark Vyhlidal was born in 1961 and attended District 14 Elementary School in Morse Bluff, Nebraska and District 92 Jr/Sr High School in North Bend, Nebraska. He graduated in 1980 with High Distinction Honors. His music career began at age 8 playing polka music on the drums and has continued playing this music for over 42 years. Mark has played with several Nebraska Polka Bands such as: The Vern Belik Band, The U-Neta Orchestra, Adolph Nemetz Orchestra, Johnny Kucera Combo, Harvey Kucera Band, Ernie Kucera Orchestra, Al Grebnick Orchestra, Frank Kucera Orchestra, The Czechlanders Orchestra, Moostash Joe Polka Band, Jim Bochnicek Orchestra, Math Sladky Band, The Red Raven Orchestra, Duffy Belhorad Orchestra and other bands. He started his own band as a Combo in 1973 at the age of 12. By 1976, the band grew to 6 members and is still performing and promoting polka music today. This talented musician plays several instruments: accordion, trumpet, valve trombone, tuba, keyboards, drums and bass guitar. He also arranges most of the music for the band which totals over 400 polkas and waltzes. Mark has to his credit “composed” several tunes: The Mountain Air Polka, Golden Years, Polka, Peaches and Cream Polka, Forever Yours Waltz, Danny’s Laendler, Warm Up Polka, Rosa Jean Polka, Long Live The Music Polka, Hey Ho Polka, Dance With Me Sweetheart Forever Waltz, Sunset Polka, A Little Wish Waltz and The Maryann Polka. The Maryann Polka was selected as the number one song in the country in May, 2000 on Chuck Stastny’s Polka Countdown Radio Show. Mark has also arranged music charts for several bands in Nebraska. Since 1982, the Mark Vyhlidal Orchestra produced ten recordings that include all of his compositions. The Mark Vyhlidal Orchestra was selected to perform on the Garrison Keillor “Prarie Home Companion Show” in May, 1993, playing for a live broadcast on National Public Radio with over 1 million listeners. The group was selected by Microsoft For Music on the Travel Page in 1996 and 1997. This talented band was chosen by the Smithsonian Institute that featured four songs on their Folkways National Recording: “Deeper Polka” in 2001. Mark’s band has performed extensively throughout the Midwest and has traveled to: Texas, Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, Canada and the Grand Polka Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. Several polka videos have been made of the Mark Vylidal Orchestra by Big Joe Productions, Joe Cerveny Productions and the latest DVD recording on the “Mollie B Polka Party” recently seen on RFD TV. Awards include the Ennis, Texas National Polka Festival Recognition of Czech Heritage Award in May, 2003, and Mark was honored and inducted into the Sokol Omaha Polka Hall of Fame in September, 2004.  The PACE Awards are a National Music Award, through Polka America Corporation, recognizing those who release significant recordings in their class in North America. Nominees are selected and voted for by experts in the field, and the public. Voting takes place at the www.bestpolkabands.com website. This is a combination "peer" and "fan" award. The 2012 PACE Awards winners are: BEST NEW ORIGINAL SONG
In My Old Polish Town - The Boys BEST VARIETY ALBUM Mollie B Christmas Special - Mollie B All-Star Band BEST GERMAN ALBUM Servus, Gruezi, und Hallo - Black Forest Band BEST SLOVENIAN ALBUM Polka Celebration - Walter Ostanek and Joey Miskuylin BEST POLISH ALBUM A New Day - The Boys Individual awards presentations will be made to the winners by a member of the Polka America Corporation Executive Board. Details to follow. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who contributed to this process, from submitting album names, to promoting the awards, to verifying the results, and most importantly, VOTING. It's now time to get ready for an even larger and more inclusive 4th Annual Polka America Corporation Excellence Awards and we are already working on the 2013 list. John Ziobrowski Rod Wilson Rob Savickis 2012 Pace Awards Committee Here are the nominees of the 2012 Polka America Corporation Excellence Awards. Congratulations to all nominees. With the permission of all the involved bands, below is a music player that contains all 10 of the nominated songs for "BEST NEW ORIGINAL SONG" namely: In My Old Polish Town-The Boys
Red Carpet Polka-Alex Meixner Shake Up The Night-Alex Meixner/John Conchan Three Ring Circus-Alex Meixner In This Game Together-New Brass Express Marylou Polka-Western Senators Kayla’s Song-Alex Meixner If You Only Believe-Bud Hyrzyk Sydney’s Waltz-Western Senators Polish Prince-Jimmy Sturr Variety Three Ring Circus-Alex Meixner Mollie B Christmas Special-Mollie B All Star Band People Change-Copper Box Tribute To The Legends of Polka Music-Jimmy Sturr Here Comes Christmas-Matt Rosinski This One’s For The Ladies-Western Senators A World of Music-Walter Procanyn Showtime!!!-Richie Yurkovich Czech-American Festival Favorites-Fred Ziwich It’s Time To Meet The Polka Brothers-The Polka Brothers Polish A New Day-The Boys Knewz Flash-The Knewz In This Game Together-New Brass Express More Cowbell-PFB Office Party-Craig Ebel It’s A Family Affair-Polka Generations Jammin’ At The Cabin-Polskie Swingmasters Family Favorites #4-PFB Intrigue-Twin City Soundz Full Spectrum-Mark VI Slovenian Polka Celebration-Walter Ostanek/Joey Miskulin Pint Size Polkas #2-Mike Schneider If You Only Believe-Bud Hyrczyk Something For Everyone-Bob Kravos Carefree Polkas & Waltzes-Walter Ostanek Sparklin’ Diamonds-Nancy Seibert Polka Lust-Ron Pivovar Rainbow of Music-Spetich Polka Hooty Booty-Alaska Polka Chips Our 24 Favorite Waltzes-Del Sinchak |
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I want to thank John Ziobrowski for forwarding this video over to me. |
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THE JLO REUNION On October 24th, the Jan Lewan Orchestra reunited for their first performance in nearly a decade. In the typical tradition of a family reunion, the orchestra members were excited to get together for this one time concert and homecoming. Many of the musicians had not seen each other for nearly ten years, and this one time only concert afforded them time to renew their acquaintances.
 Reviews of the show were fantastic. Here were a few comments from the show: Jan: We just got back from Hazleton, and on the way home Nancy and I were discussing what a worthwhile trip it was. This morning, as we had our breakfast at the hotel, we saw you on the local TV station, as they featured snippets of the show. It was great seeing the guys as well. And your salute to our military was superb! It's a great thing that you're on your way back! Please stay in touch... Steve Dear Jan, Wow! what a great show! Mary was talking about it all the way home and was telling her sisters about it this morning. I really enjoyed it too and meeting again with some of the guys I played with. This should be a great ending to your book. Keep in touch. Your friend always, Bill Hi Jan, Alan asked me to be sure and email you soon...we both totally loved your concert Sunday night! He wants to bring his mom along (and me as well again ) to your next one, so be sure and let us know. You are every bit as talented in person as on the DVD's I've watched. You have no idea how good it was to see you in person, doing what you do so well and enjoy so much. We loved the prison rap you did, and could hardly stop laughing with you as you did it! Thanks for just being you. You are truly an inspiration! Cheryl is so sweet, and she blessed us by telling us how much we meant to you over the time...it was nice sitting near her and her husband also. Thanks for getting us such good seats! I have some good photos that I'll email you as soon as I get them on my computer. The one of you and me came out especially good. Are you still working on your book? I was hoping you would have it done so I could buy an autographed copy...don't forget about that, please. Alan said to be sure and keep us both on your mailing list also...and he suggested you do a concert in Quakertown. I'd like that too! God bless more and more. Love and prayers, Jean 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. 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, www.Saivelivemusic.com lead trumpet player with the Lewan Orchestra since 1986 devoted 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 certainly was reunion to beat all reunions. The Atrium of the Philharmonic center was transformed into an exhibit of literally thousands of pictures and memorabilia from the Jan Lewan Orchestra. At 5:15 there was 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. 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. Ania Piwowarczyk from Canada will be performed 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 performed 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 provided accordion accompaniment for dinner. He 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 was over seeing the sound quality for the concert and recording. Hank performed 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- 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 made an appearance as well. 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. The entire reunion was 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. You can order the DVD here: |
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You can find out more about the Jan Lewan Orchestra, see some videos and buy other Jan Lewan cds and dvds at his bestpolkabands band listing by clicking here: Lewan, Jan |
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