4th JAZZTOPAD FESTIVAL NEW YORK

The Jazztopad Festival, a leading event of its kind in Poland. . .”
– NATE CHINEN, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“. . . top flight musicians will celebrate improvisation on stage in the homeland of Jazz, the United States. . .”
– BONNIE JOHNSON, WICN “Colors of Jazz”

“The Jazztopad Festival brings together the jazz movement that is happening in Europe to the USA. . .”
– TIM LONGO, SNEEK CITY

“. . . Jazztopad stands as an internationally renowned festival with a clearly defined ethos, one that combines a strong respect for the traditions and roots of the music with a progressive vision that provides a platform for the contemporary and innovative.”
– IAN PATTERSON, ALL ABOUT JAZZ.COM

For the fourth time, a special edition of Wroclaw’s Jazztopad Festival will bring leading Polish jazz artists to the United States, in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and with support from the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. This October, multi-award-winning artists Waclaw Zimpel, Piotr Orzechowski (Pianohooligan) and the Kuba Wiecek Trio will perform in New York. Jazztopad will also present an additional concert at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington DC on October 1, featuring Piotr Orzechowski Solo.

Jazztopad Festival, the leading event of its kind in Poland, has organized its satellite editions all over the world (Japan, Turkey, South Korea) in collaboration with such partners as Jarasum International Jazz Festival, Tokyo Jazz Festival, Akbank Jazz Festival, TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival and, for the last four years, with Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. For fourteen years, the festival has commissioned music from some of the most important American musicians including Wayne Shorter, Charles Lloyd, Jason Moran, William Parker, Vijay Iyer and Terence Blanchard. The international creative partnerships of Jazztopad include such prestigious organizations as Jazz at Lincoln Center, Monterey Jazz Festival, Kennedy Center, London Jazz Festival and LA Philharmonic. Live recordings from the festival have been released on ECM and Blue Note Records.

The American edition of Jazztopad Festival is above all an opportunity to discover the most important figures of the Polish contemporary jazz scene, which has been a strongly recognizable brand around the world, both in terms of quality of festivals and the craft of artists.

Piotr Orzechowski (Pianohooligan) – pianist and composer known as ‘Pianohooligan’. One of the most award-winning jazz musicians of the younger generation. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, he has received many prizes, the most important of which was 1st Prize at the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition (2011), which he was the first Pole to win in the legendary Swiss festival’s history.
The artist is the leader of the High Definition Quartet, with which he has won several international competitions – among them, Jazz Hoeilaart in Belgium (2011) – and undertaken a collaboration with contemporary jazz trumpet giant Randy Brecker which resulted in two concert tours: in Poland (2012) and the Persian Gulf countries (2013). Piotr toured with such eminent jazz personalities as Victor Mendoza (Taiwan, 2014) or Perico Sambeat (Ecuador, 2015).

Waclaw Zimpel – one of the most original and unique talents to have emerged from Poland this side of the Millennium. A multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer of rare distinction, music has flowed through and from him since an early age. Inspired as much by jazz as he is by electronics, minimalism and roots music from across the world, Waclaw Zimpel doesn’t so much blur boundaries as eradicate them all together to create a whole new musical language.
His mastery of woodwind instrumentation including the clarinet and the khaen, a proto-harmonica from Laos, has reached world-class levels. A naturally curious musician who refuses to be boxed in, Waclaw Zimpel has also applied the endless possibilities of electronics and loops to his oeuvre and, as displayed by his growing catalogue of music, is signposting the way for future generations.

KUBA WIECEK TRIO
Kuba Wiecek – saxophonist and composer. Despite his young age – one of the most recognizable jazz musicians in Poland. For his debut album „Another Raindrop” he’s been awarded many important awards like Fryderyk Award (polish Grammy), Mateusz Trójki (polish Radio Award). He’s the first one to debut on legendary „Polish Jazz” series since 28 years. Last year he finished his bachelor at the RMC in Copenhagen and at this moment he’s doing his Masters in Kraków, while being based in Warsaw and regularly touring all over the world. He’s been collaborating with such a greats as Ralph Alessi, Gilad Hekselman, George Garzone, Maciej Obara and many more.

Michal Baranski is a Grand Prix laureate which he received at the 40th Jazz nad Odra Festival. He was also awarded the main prize of Swinging Raven at the 3td Hot Jazz Spring in Czestochowa and the Jazz Angel at Bielska Zadymka Festival in 2005. Together with Triology, he was 4th at the International Jazz Band Contest Jazz Hoeliaart in Belgium. A laureate of two Fryderyk awards (Polish Grammy) for “Assymetry”CD by Z. Namyslowski and “Umiera Piekno” by Aga Zaryan. He was also nominated for a Fryderyk award in “Jazz Artist of the year” category in 2015. A winner of readers’ poll in Polish Jazz Magazine “Jazz Forum” for the best double bass player in 2008, 2014, 2015.

Lukasz Zyta is a graduate of the Katowice Musical Academy. He has received awards from competitions in Hoelaart (Belgium), Krakow and Katowice and the main prize at the Jazz Drummers Meeting in Grodzisk Mazowiecki. He has appeared at festivals in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Belgium. He has worked with musicians such as Andrzej Cudzich, Joachim Mencel, Brad Terry, Darek Oleskiewicz, Kuba Stankiewicz and Grzegorz Nagorski. Actually he’s a teacher at the music academy in Cracow and his students are definitely one of the best upcoming drummers in Poland.

For more information please visit: http://www.nfm.wroclaw.pl/en/jazztopad/article?id=1188

From the Polish Cultural Institute.