== Gallery ==
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
<gallery>
File:WiKi_CarmenMoreno20101118a.jpg|On stage with [[Maciej Zakościelny]].
WiKi_CarmenMoreno20101118a.jpg|On stage with [[Maciej Zakościelny]].
File:WiKi_CarmenMoreno20101118c.jpg|Performance ”ÅšpiewajÄ…c Jazz”. Polish Theatre, Warsaw, November 2010.
WiKi_CarmenMoreno20101118c.jpg|Performance ÅšpiewajÄ…c Jazz. Polish Theatre, Warsaw, November 2010.
File:WiKi_CarmenMoreno20101118b.jpg|Duet with granddaughter [[Anna Serafińska]].
WiKi_CarmenMoreno20101118b.jpg|Duet with granddaughter [[Anna Serafińska]].
</gallery>
</gallery>
Polish singer (1926–2025)
|
Carmen Moreno |
|
|---|---|
Moreno on stage at the Polish Theatre in Warsaw in the show ÅšpiewajÄ…c Jazz, November 2010 |
|
| Born | 30 July 1926 |
| Died | 11 November 2025 (aged 99) |
| Occupation(s) | Jazz singer, dancer |
Carmen Moreno (30 July 1926 – 11 November 2025) was a Polish jazz singer and dancer,[1] often described as the “Swinging Queen of Polish Jazz.”[2][3]
Early life and career
Moreno was born in Altona (now part of Hamburg), the daughter of a Pole, Józef Masłowski, and a Spaniard, Paulina Moreno.[1] Her parents met in Paris in the 1920s. Her father was a dancer, and her mother an acrobatic dancer; they performed together as the stage duo Los Morenos, with whom Carmen made her own stage debut as a child.[4] The family performed successfully in Berlin, Paris, and Vienna. In January 1945, they arrived in Mysłowice, where her father later died under unclear circumstances.[1]
In 1954 she became a soloist with Zygmunt Wichary’s jazz orchestra. In October 1955, she appeared with the orchestra at the Jazz Tournament in Warsaw, and on 12 November 1955 performed at Studio 55 concerts, organized by Leopold Tyrmand. She later joined the jazz orchestra BÅ‚Ä™kitny Jazz led by Ryszard Damrosz, with whom she performed in February 1956 at the Congress Hall in Warsaw, and toured the Soviet Union in August the same year.[1]
In July 1958 Moreno won first place at the inaugural Jazz Festival held at the Nep Stadium in Budapest. She toured Poland and abroad with various ensembles of Jan Walasek. She performed in Hungary, the GDR, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. In December 1967 she married Jan Walasek, and they moved to Scandinavia. For many years Moreno and Walasek performed as artists on luxury passenger ships of the Norwegian–American Line (NAL).[1]
In 1981 they returned to Poland for vacation, but the imposition of martial law prevented their return abroad. In 1989 Moreno and Walasek performed with StanisÅ‚aw FiaÅ‚kowski’s Big Band at the 26th National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, where Moreno received the title Miss Obiektywu (Miss Lens).[1]
In 2009 a theatrical production titled Śpiewając jazz (Singing Jazz) directed by Zbigniew Dzięgiel was staged in Warsaw[5] and in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, the hometown of Jan Walasek.[6]
In 2016, at the initiative of the Ladies’ Jazz Festival organizers, a gala concert celebrating Moreno’s 90th birthday was held at the Music Theatre in Gdynia.[7][8]
Moreno recorded only a few tracks for Polskie Nagrania,[1][9] and for Polish Radio and a radio station in Oslo. In 2009 her first CD, Carmen Moreno – Śpiewający Jazz, was released, containing archival recordings and material recorded during the 2009 stage production.[1]
Personal life
Moreno’s second husband was musician Jan Walasek.[4] Her granddaughter was jazz singer Anna SerafiÅ„ska.[1]
Moreno died on 11 November 2025, at the age of 99.[10]
Discography
Albums
EPs / singles
- Elisabeth Charles & Zespół Jazzowy Zygmunta Wicharego / Carmen Moreno & Zespół Jazzowy Jana Walaska: Georgia; Słoneczny dzień / St. Louis Blues; Triste Rapsodia (Pronit PN N 0138; 1960)[12]
