The communist system, even during its waning years, had an ambition of controlling as many aspects of its citizens' lives as possible, economically, politically and culturally. The only domain whereby opposition could be expressed, especially if criticism was carefully veiled by metaphors, was culture. Music, and particularly jazz, had a special role in this «hidden» criticism. However, a peculiar paradox existed. Jazz managed to acquire a status of rebellious, free music, and yet jazz musicians enjoyed the benefits of state sponsorship, notably after 1956, when Poland was gradually becoming the freest of the communist countries. Where, then, was the line between rebellion and subservience? The author of this book offers interesting answers to this question. In the process, he also writes a history of jazz music in Poland, based on personal observations and interviews with many leading musicians. He goes back to the interwar period (1918-1939) and analyzes the situation of jazz musicians after the fall of communism, when they had to learn very quickly how to survive under market conditions.