Cécile McLorin Salvant
Cécile McLorin Salvant - Vocal
Sullivan Fortner – Piano, Keys
Yasushi Nakamura – Bass
Weedie Braimah – Percussion
Savannah Harris – Drums
photo Karolis Kaminskas
Cécile McLorin Salvant - Vocal
Sullivan Fortner – Piano, Keys
Yasushi Nakamura – Bass
Weedie Braimah – Percussion
Savannah Harris – Drums
photo Karolis Kaminskas
Dhafer Youssef - oud, vocal
Mario Rom - trumpet
Daniel Garcia - piano
Swaeli Mbappé - bass
Shayan Fathi - drums
photo Sabine Hauswirth
Mohini Dey
Gergo Borlai
Mark Hartsuch
Mike Gotthard
Daniel Szebenyi
Mohini Dey, daughter of bass player Sujoy Dey, has been described as a prodigy by many acclaimed musicians and has already been making waves in the music scene in India.
Born in 1996, Mohini is probably the youngest bass player in India having such a busy schedule and an already successful career. She started learning bass guitar at the tender age of 3 and started doing concerts and recordings at the age of 10. She's happiest when she is with her SDGR bass.
Mohini says: "when I was a small child, I was drawn towards my father's bass guitar. He noticed my interest and started teaching me. Thanks to him and my entire family, I'm able to do what I really like… I want to be a versatile musician, just like my dad… I love playing funk, jazz, blues, Indian classical and fusion…”
Adam Bałdych – violin
Paolo Fresu - trumpet
Leszek Możdżer – piano
Michał Baranski – bass
Dawid Fortuna – drums
Marek Konarski – saxophone
Adam Bałdych Quintet
Adam Bałdych Quintet is a project of Adam Bałdych, violinist, co-created with Marek Konarski (tenor saxophone), Łukasz Ojdana (piano), Michał Barański (double bass), Dawid Fortuna (drums).
The quintet develops the concept of Adam Bałdych's music - balancing between genres - focusing especially on the border of jazz and classical music, where the violinist seems to find a new space for his experiments and the development of his very personal violin language. The results of this search are the highly appreciated albums: Sacrum Profanum (with music by Hildegard of Bingen, Thomas Tallis and Sofia Gubaidulina) and the latest one entitled Poetry, situated between jazz and modern classical music. The albums have been released by the prestigious German label ACT Music.
In 2021, the quintet presented its interpretations of three string quartets by H.M. Górecki, commissioned by the Eufonie festival, to enter the studio a moment later and record H. Wieniawski's music in a personal view by Adam Bałdych with a guest appearance of the classical violinist Agata Szymczewska. The result of these recordings is the Legend album, which will be released in Autumn 2022 by the Anaklasis (PWM) publishing.
The Bałdych Quintet is the winner of, among others, the audience award and the second BWM Jazz Welt Award (Munich 2021) and four nominations for the Fryderyk award for the albums Sacrum Profanum and Poetry (artist of the year - Adam Bałdych and album of the year - jazz). Poetry's album was included in the list of the most important albums of the year in the world by Jazz Wise (UK), DownBeat (USA) and BandCamp, which entered it on the list of the 20 most important albums of the year.
Jan Chojnacki - trumpet
Filip Miguła - piano
Zespół założony w 2017 roku przez muzyków z wrocławskiego środowiska jazzowego - trębacza Jana Chojnackiego i pianistę Filipa Migułę. Bogate doświadczenie w wykonywaniu różnego rodzaju muzyki przekłada się na repertuar. Znajdują się w nim przede wszystkim kompozycje autorskie z pogranicza jazzu, muzyki świata, z domieszką muzyki klasycznej, jak również standardy jazzowe w oryginalnych aranżacjach.
Charakterystyczną cechą Chojnacki/Miguła Contemplations jest połączenie jazzowego wigoru z głębokim liryzmem. Docenili to jurorzy prestiżowych konkursów jazzowych, m.in. Grand Prix w konkursie “Powiew Młodego Jazzu” (XIX Krokus Jazz Festiwal), nagroda specjalna w konkursie na Indywidualność Jazzową (56. Festiwal Jazz nad Odrą).
Agyei Osei - vox
Tanya Michelle Smith - vox
Michael Lecoq - keys
Jerry Leonide - keys
Hadrien Feraud - bass
Yoann Schmidt - drums
Anthony Jambon - guit
Hadrien FERAUD was born in August '84 in Paris.
He grew up in a family where music always played a very important role. At a young age his parents who used to be musicians, turned him onto music and various musical styles including rock, pop, blues, funk ,old school r&b, new wave, traditional, and jazz.
Early on, very attracted to cinema he shows a deep interest in movie scores and composers such as John Williams, Allan Silvestri, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, James Newton Howard, Stravinsky, Debussy, Rakmaninov, Holtz, and many more.
By the time he was 10 years old, he starts picking up bass lines from MOTOWN, Sting, Paul McCartney, EWF, Police, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, CHIC, Donald Fagen, Don Blackman, Steely Dan, Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, Chick Corea, John MClaughlin, Herbie Hancock, etc..
From 2002 to present, he has recorded, performed and collaborated with many artists and well rounded musicians such as: John MCLAUGHLIN - Chick COREA - Bireli LAGRENE - Jean Luc PONTHY - Dean BROWN - Gino VANELLI - Lee RITENOUR - Hiromi UEHARA - Mike STERN - Jim BEARD - Jada PINKETT SMITH - Marcu MILLER - Richard BONA - Matthew GARRISON- Kamasi WASHINGTON - THUNDERCAT - Billy COBHAM - Scott KINSEY - Otmaro RUIZ - Oz NOY- Dave WECKL- Dennis CHAMBERS- Simon PHILLIPS- Vinnie COLAIUTA- Andre CECCARELLI - Sylvain LUC - Jean- Marie ECAY- Paco SERY - Jean-Pierre COMO- Cheikh Tidiane SECK - and many more.
On Enter Enea Festival he will play with 5-ISH.
Verneri Pohjola - trumpet and effects
Tuomo Prättälä - piano and effects
Antti Lötjönen - double bass
Mika Kallio - drums
Finnish trumpet star Verneri Pohjola has earned a formidable reputation as one of Europe’s most creative and original innovators in jazz for his commanding sound, expressive tone and rich intensity in his improvisations. His work communicates particular depth, warmth and humanness through eloquent improvisation. Or as described in the main newspaper in Finland, Pohjola is ”The most human-voiced trumpet player in the country.”
With a series of highly successful and praised albums behind him, in 2020 he released “The Dead Don’t Dream”, his fourth album on Edition Records, that sees him incorporate influences of his last three albums into one defined and beautifully crafted album. Featuring Tuomo Prättälä on piano, Antti Lötjönen on bass and Mika Kallio on drums, the band share a deep sense of collaboration and common purpose. They are explorers of sound through Verneri’s captivating and vibrant music, balancing freedom and composition, expression and voice.
photo: Perttu Saksa
Daniel Herskedal, tuba, bass trumpet
Eyolf Dale, piano
Helge Andreas Norbakken, percussions
Daniel Herskedal is the epitome of brilliance – an esteemed composer of beautifully lyrical, rhythmically charged music and a world-class performer and technically proficient on an instrument he has made uniquely his own.
Coming off the back of winning a Spellemann Award (Norwegian Grammy) for his 2020 solo album ‘Call for Winter’, Daniel Herskedal’s new album that will cement his position as one the most exciting, prolific and inspiring musicians of his generation in Europe.
Harbour, his sixth album on Edition Records, reunites his long term collaborators, pianist Eyolf Dale and Andreas Helge Norbakken: a band that gets stronger and stronger with each release. Their joint sonority and musical depth is overwhelming, full of awe-inspiring melodies soaring over a bed-rock of rhythmical precision laid down by Dale and Norbakken.
The Norwegian landscape has always played a vital role in Daniel’s music – natural, bold, vast but with a sense of minimalism in the space and wild openness. Harbour’s inspiration comes from a sense of being close to the sea and taking shelter from the storms and wild elements.
Daniel has proved he has the facility, vision and musicianship to push the boundaries of his instrument, technically and sonically, further than anyone before. Harbour is the result of a consummate musician perfecting his craft and musicianship over many years. Truly spellbinding!
Press reviews:
"In ten compositions, the three wonderfully harmonious musicians create moving images of beaches and ships, tides and storms and the eponymous port as a protective place of security.” WDR, Album of the week, DE
«The rich depth of the music and the emotion brought to bare by all three musicians have created something rather special.» London Jazz News, UK
"The three fantastic musicians in Daniel Herskedal's band invite us on an inner journey that is exciting, original, searching and last but not least unspeakably beautiful." Nettavisen, NO
"The forth album of the trio reveals a fascinating new masterpiece. […] Placing the adventurous compositions by Herskedal in the hands of Norbakken and Dale definitely means a tripling of the intensity. Hearing these three men at work together has always been a great pleasure. With Harbor they exceed expectations." Written In Music, 4,5/5 , NL
"an outstanding tuba player" SWR 2 Radio, DE
«The astonishing musical imagination of Norwegian tuba virtuoso Daniel Herskedal transforms an instrument too often associated with the functional and the lugubrious into a voice of sonorous beauty and passion.» ★★★★★ The Scotsman, UK
«It is a miracle that this range of sounds is produced by only three musicians.» France Musique, FR
«A beautiful blend of musicality and sonic storytelling that steers a true course through new, uncharted, waters.» Buzzmag, UK
«The reigning king of jazz concept albums, Herskedal grants each piece a fitting and evocative title, and despite the ever-present theme it never feels forced or hackneyed.» Presto Music, UK
«In its quiet, imaginative way the album is simply riveting.» Making A Scene, UK
"Daniel carries melodies as impressive as they are accessible. Bewitching.” Jazz News, FR
"...so hypnotically pleasant, so engaging, balancing humble moments of beauty through caressing listening." Music for Watermelons, IT
photo: Knut Aaserud
Marialy Pacheco - composer, piano
Omar Sosa - composer, piano, fender Rhodes
Four hands and four feet in an crazy and absurd interplay between forte and pianissimo,
between wild rides on the ivory and careful fingertip ways – but always 100 % music and
passion.
Fingers flickers over keys, creating flying tones, engaging phrases, entwined
melodies. Music that dances. What else could one expect when two such outstanding
cuban pianists as Marialy Pacheco and Omar Sosa meet?
She is one of the most exciting representatives of her guild, the first female winner of the
Piano Solo Competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival and an artist who constantly faces new
challenges. Her sensuous play resembles a unique blend from traditional cuban music, afro
cuban rhythms and contemporary jazz.
He is one of her heroes, a virtuoso madman in a positive sense, who effortlessly switches
between rhythms and styles and yet manages to never drift. He knows how to bring latin jazz
and african spiritualism, european classic style and the sounds of the American west coast
together.
In 2017 they both worked together on Pacheco's album "Duets". A wonderful new project has
developed from this – “Manos”.
In line with the current project, in spring 2022 they will release the CD “MANOS-Live in
Bonn”. An amazing concert, live recorded at the chamber music hall of the Beethoven-Haus
in Bonn - a dialogue that could hardly be more beautiful.
Of course, Pacheco and Sosa were prepared, rehearsed, Omar has even extended
extensive notes on his grand piano. But actually he does not need that really. From the very
first second, there is that special spark that connects two related spirits, and so the two
musicians play with complete freedom and respond to what each other is offering.
When Pacheco shakes one of her clearly defined runs, Sosa - in the ritual
robes of the Santería - creates a striking appearance, laughing the harmonious
foundation; and when Sosa creates an almost hypnotic atmosphere with discreetly set
electronic effects, Pacheco sets equally thrilling and impressive impulses. Then they
both romp about, chasing each other, swarming around in a duet of a special kind,
like two butterflies in Montuno fever.
It may sound erratic, but Pacheco and Sosa never lose sight of each other. One look is
often enough to know where the other is going, and with almost childlike joy, they
unite and take the audience into the world of Latin jazz. What a party what a fun!
The concert by Marialy Pacheco and Omar Sosa is a revelation. Outrageous, what two
exceptional pianists can do if they just let themselves go.
An absolutely perfect combination of 2 musical partners in a deep, inner bow to the big
musical values of their native country cuba. Finally, the concert closed with a dance together
on stage.
photo: Klaus Wingensiefen
An outstanding pianist, composer and producer, Leszek Możdżer is widely considered to be Polish Jazz’s greatest revelation of the last decade. Born in 1971, he has been playing the piano since the age of five. He completed every stage of formal education until graduating in 1996 from the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk. He became interested in jazz relatively late – in his last grade – when he was 18. He was introduced to jazz in the band of Emil Kowalski, a clarinet player, but his proper start took place at his first rehearsal with a band called Miłość (Love) back in 1991. One year later he received an individual award at the International Jazz Competition Jazz Juniors ’92 held in Cracow. He was also a member of the Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet. In the poll organized among Jazz Forum readers Możdżer was chosen as the Most Promising Musician of the year 1993 and 1994, and the Best Jazz Pianist – in each consecutive year since 1994. Leszek was also many times honored as The Musician of the Year.
On many occasions Leszek Możdżer recorded music with Zbigniew Preisner (Requiem for my friend, 10 easy pieces for piano). He also works on a regular basis with Jan Kaczmarek, Polish composer living in LA, while recording music scores (for 20th Century Fox and Miramax). He has been invited to perform jointly with the most gifted and renowned Polish jazz musicians, such as: Tomasz Stańko, Janusz Muniak, Michał Urbaniak, Anna Maria Jopek, Adam Pierończyk and Piotr Wojtasik.
Możdżer has also performed and recorded with many internationally acclaimed musicians, including David Friesen, Pat Metheny, Arthur Blythe, Buster Williams, Billy Harper, Joe Lovano, Archi Shepp, David Liebman, Charles Fox, Lester Bowie, David Gilmour, Marcus Miller, John Scofield, Steve Swallow, Eddie Daniels and Tan Dun.
Since 2011 Leszek Możdżer has been the Artistic director of the music festival, Enter Enea Festival, held annually in Poznań, on the Lake Strzeszyńskim shoreline.
Leszek Możdżer has recorded over 100 albums, many of them released under his name:
Chopin – impressions, 1994
Makowicz vs Możdżer At The Carnegie Hall NYC, EMI 2004
PIANO, Arms Records 2004
The Time – Możdżer, Danielsson, Fresco; Outside Music 2005 (Double Platinum Award two months after premiere, now it’s Diamond)
Between Us And The Light – Możdżer, Danielsson, Fresco; Outside Music 2006 (Double Platinum Award two weeks after premiere)
Pasodoble – Lars Danielsson & Leszek Możdżer; ACT 2007
Live CD&DVD – Możdżer, Danielsson, Fresco; Outside Music 2007
Firebird VII – Phil Manzanera, Leszek Możdżer, Charles Hayward, Yaron Stavi; Expression Records 2008
Kaczmarek by Możdżer, Universal 2010 (Platinum Award)
Komeda – Leszek Możdżer, Act Music 2011 (Double Platinum Award)
The Last Set, Live at the A-Trane – Leszek Możdżer & Walter Norris, Act Music 2012
Wszystkie Kobiety Mateusza, Outside Music 2013
Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic I with Iiro Rantala and Michael Wollny, Act Music 2013
Polska – Możdżer Danielsson Fresco, Outside Music/Act Music 2013 (Double Platinum Award)
The Very Best of Leszek Możdżer, Magic Records 2014
Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic III with Lars Danielsson, Zohar Fresco and Atom String Quartet, Act Music 2015
Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic VII Piano Night with Iiro Rantala and Michael Wollny, Act Music 2017
Earth Particles with Holland Baroque, Outside Music 2017
The list of his theatrical and film scores projects is also quite remarkable:
„Hair – love, rock musical” – Musical Theatre in Gdynia
„Tango with Lady M.” – Polish Theatre of Dance in Poznań
„A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – Musical Theatre in Gdynia, October 2001
„Psychosis” by Sarah Kane, directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna, Duesseldorfer Schauspielhouse
„Rewizor” by M. Gogol, directed by Andrzej Domalik, Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw, 2002
„Mandarynki i Pomarańcze” by Julian Tuwim, directed by Wojciech Kościelniak, Capitol – Music Theatre, Wrocław 2003
„Śluby Panieńskie” by Aleksander Fredro, directed by Jan Englert, National Theatre, Warsaw 2007
„Operetka” by Witold Gombrowicz, directed by Michał Zadara, Capitol – Music Theatre, Wrocław 2007
„Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by Tennessee Williams, directed by Grzegorz Chrapkiewicz, National Theatre in Warsaw, 2013
„Nienasycenie” directed by Witold Grodecki
„Pub 700” , „Ostatnia wieczerza” directed by Sylwester Latkowski
„Land of Oblivion” directed by Michale Boganim
„W sypialni” directed by Tomasz Wasilewski
„Wszystkie kobiety Mateusza” directed by Artur Więcek „Baron”
„ Albert Cinema” directed by Agnieszka Zwiefka
„Opera z mydła” directed by BodoKox
His variations and improvisations on the themes by Fryderyk Chopin have further strengthened his artistic position and ranked him among the most outstanding individuals and virtuosos of the European jazz stage.
Christophe CHASSOL - composer, piano
“I think music is quite powerful because it sums up many things: space, time… I think that it makes present a lot of invisible things like some feelings for instance. Still, for me, the art that works the best is cinema: it has it all.”
French pianist, composer and arranger Christophe Chassol utilizes unique composition methods to create music equally suited for the big screen and the concert hall. His appeal spans the worlds of pop music, film and contemporary art, with a breadth reminiscent of Philip Glass, reimagined for the 21st century.
Parisian pianist and composer Christophe Chassol devoted his lifetime to music, leading him to focus on film scores, experimental items, and also dabble within the realms of pop. At age four, Chassol was signed up for the Institut Country wide de Musique, a conservatoire in Paris, to review piano. He continued to be in the conservatoire for 16 years before shifting to America, where he went to Boston’s Berklee University of Music, graduating in 2002.
Chassol’s compositions are based on original film footage captured during his travels-- in New Orleans, India, Martinique, Paris and Tokyo. This footage serves as a catalyst for musical sequences created with piano, keyboards, percussion as well as vocal and instrumental arrangements that harmonize the sights, sounds and colors of the films. Chassol calls this method "ultrascoring."
Born in 1976, Christophe Chassol entered music academy at age 4 and studied there for 16 years. He secured a grant from Boston's Berklee College of Music, where he graduated in 2002. For the next 15 years, he composed for cinema, television and advertising. In subsequent years he performed
regularly with French pop artists such as the band Phoenix and Sébastien Tellier.
More recently, Chassol has worked with American singers Frank Ocean and Solange, contributing to their respective albums. Chassol is also active in contemporary art, collaborating with artists Sophie Calle, Laurie Anderson and more recently Xavier Veilhan at the Venice Biennale in July 2017.
photo: Flavien Prioreau
Leszek Możdżer is one of the pre-eminent Polish jazz musicians, a world-class pianist, an intrepid explorer, and a unique artist who uses his own music language. Versatility, sensitivity and imagination are his signature features. His music cannot be contained within a single genre and he himself does not even bother to do so. Rather than that, he prefers to development in a host of different directions. In 2011 Leszek Możdżer became the artistic director of Enter Music Festival in Poznań. The artists he invites here demonstrate a similar freshness and openness in their approach to music.
photo: Joanna Wizmur Photography
Aga Derlak – piano
Marcin Kaletka – tenor sax
Wojciech Lichtański – alto sax
Michał Kapczuk – double bass
Szymon Madej – drums
Guests:
Atom String Quartet – string quartet
Dorota Miśkiewicz – vocal
Jerzy Małek – trumpet
Barbara Derlak – vocal
Aga Derlak - pianist, composer and educator. A graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston (2019) and the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice (2017). She studied with the masters of Polish jazz piano: Michał Tokaj and Paweł Tomaszewski. She lived in Boston for two years, where she perfected her skills under the supervision of Danilo Perez, the pianist of Wayne Shorter. Aga Derlak's work enjoys wide recognition among jazz lovers and critics – both at home and abroad. The line-up Aga Derlak Quintet features Michał Kapczuk (double bass) and Szymon Madej (drums), Wojciech Lichtański (alto sax) and Marcin Kaletka (tenor sax).
The Aga Derlak Quintet concert at Enter Enea Festival will premiere their new album featuring guests such as Dorota Miśkiewicz, Jerzy Małek, Barbara Derlak and the Atom String Quartet.
Atom String Quartet - one of the most intriguing string quartets in the world and one of the best jazz performers in Poland. The ensemble combines the potential of a string quartet with broadly understood improvisation. In their work - apart from jazz - you can hear inspirations from Polish folklore, music from different regions of the world, as well as contemporary and classical music.
Dorota Miśkiewicz - Best Vocalist of the Year according to the readers of the Jazz Forum magazine. A graduate of the violin class at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. Composer, songwriter, originator and "artistic glue" of the unprecedented PIANO.PL project, which for the first time in the history of Polish music assembled three generations of outstanding Polish pianists to perform with Miśkiewicz in intimate duets, accompanied by the Atom String Quartet. She has collaborated with: Nigel Kennedy, David Murray, Louis Winsberg, Kepa Junkera, Toninho Horta, Tomasz Stańko and a whole array of artists from the Polish music scene. She has released 8 original albums - including the latest "Nasza Miłość" which premiered in March 2021.
photo: Sisi Cecylia
Mariusz Patyra – violin
Mikhail Radunski – cello
Kirył Keduk – piano
Mariusz Patyra is a true violin virtuoso and the first Pole to win the International Niccolò Paganini Violin Competition in Genoa. As part of the 2001 edition, Patyra also received a special award, a copy of Paganini's violin, for the best interpretation of the grand master's "Caprices" and "Il Cannone". His discography includes albums featuring the greatest violin masterpieces by Vivaldi, Paganini, Saint-Saëns and Wieniawski. He has performed all over the world, in many European countries, as well as Japan, the USA and South America. Mariusz Partyra plays on an instrument which is a copy of a Guarneri del Gesu violin made by Wojciech Topa in 2020. At Enter Enea Festival, Mariusz Patyra will be accompanied by cellist Mikhail Radunski and pianist Kirył Keduk.
Marta Wajdzik – sax, flute
Paweł Tomaszewski – keyboards
Robert Kubiszyn – bass guitar
Paweł Dobrowolski – drums
Marta Wajdzik is an alto and soprano saxophonist, flautist, composer and music producer born in 2001. A winner of classical music competitions, since 2012 she has shifted her focus on development towards jazz music. In December 2019, together with Pałeł Tomaszewski, Robert Kubiszyn and Paweł Dobrowolski, she recorded her debut electro-acoustic album "My Planet", the premiere concert of which opened Lotos Jazz Festiwal 22 Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa. She performed with artists such as Urszula Dudziak, who described her as "an extraordinary talent, who will undoubtedly soon conquer international scenes”, as well as and with Henryk Miśkiewicz, who proclaimed her "the most outstanding artist of the young generation".
Michał Urbaniak – violin / sax
Leszek Możdżer – piano
Marcin Pospieszalski – bass
Frank Parker – drums
Michael „Patches” Stewart – trumpet
Katarzyna Tomala-Jedynak – conductor
orchestra of Poznań Opera House
Michał Urbaniak is one of the greatest stars in jazz. He plays the violin and saxophone, composes, arranges and develops young talents. Based in New York since 1973, he gained fame and recognition with the album "TUTU" recorded with the most celebrated jazz figure - Miles Davis. Michał Urbaniak is a dynamic artist: he has recorded over 60 albums and created many projects, such as "Jazz Legends", "Fusion", "Urbanator" and "UrbSymphony". He is the first musician in history to introduce rap and hip-hop to the Philharmonic. In 1992, the jazz magazine Down Beat placed his name in 5 categories among the greatest jazz musicians. At Enter Enea Festival, "UrbSymphony" will be performed by the orchestra of Poznań Opera House under the baton of Katarzyna Tomala-Jedynak accompanied by guest musicians: bassist, Marcin Pospieszalski, trumpet player, Michael "Patches" Stewart, drummer, Frank Parker, Leszek Możdżer and Michał Urbaniak.
Adam Palma – guitar
Tomas Celis Sanchez – percussion
Leszek Możdżer – piano
Adam Palma is a Polish guitar virtuoso who has performed with the most outstanding acoustic guitarists in the world, such as: Al Di Meola, Tommy Emmanuel or Bireli Lagrene. On the domestic music scene, he collaborated, among others with Ewa Bem, Edyta Górniak, Krzesimir Dębski, and Leszek Możdżer. He lives in Great Britain, where he teaches guitar at the University of Manchester. Adam is the author of four solo albums, the last – "Adam Palma Meets Chopin" is the world's first recording of Fryderyk Chopin's music on an acoustic guitar, which earned Adam the recognition of critics and reviewers and the nickname "Chopin's guitarist". The Chicago Tribune ranked the record among the top 10 jazz albums of the first half of 2020. Last year, Adam Palma was honoured with the Bronze Medal for Merit to Polish Culture - Gloria Artis. At Enter Enea Festival, he will be accompanied by the highly renowned sideman, Tomas Celis Sanchez, who will play percussion instruments. Sanchez is a true wizard of rustling and subtle sounds extracted from obscure instruments: udu, djembe, rain stick or congas. Leszek Możdżer will join the performers in the finale of the concert.
Andrei Kondakov – piano
Leszek Możdżer – piano
Vladimir Volkov – double bass
Gary Bagdasarian – drums
Andrei Kondakov is one of the greatest and most successful Russian jazz composers and pianists. The musician, who is known for his flawless performance technique and true openness to all genres and musical experiments, is a regular at jazz festivals and the best jazz clubs around the world. As the initiator of many Russian and international jazz projects and the artistic director of the most famous St. Petersburg jazz club – JFC Jazz Club, Kondakov gained fame as an icon of St. Petersburg jazz scene. He perfectly blends and combines elements of neoclassical, rock and jazz music with classical harmony and the freedom of contemporary rhythmic structures. At Enter Enea Festival he will be performing in a trio with his friends, the outstanding double bass player Vladimir Volkov and the drummer Gary Bagdasarian.
Omri Mor – piano
Romain Labaye – bass guitar
Mourad Karim Ziad – drums
Omri Mor is a pianist, composer and orchestrator born in Israel. He is half Iraqi and half Argentinian. Omri Mor was shaped by three musical genres to which he remained faithful: classical music, jazz and Arab-Andalusian music. Andalusian music has a great tradition in Israel and Omri Mor wishes to cultivate it. He often performs with the bassist Avishai Cohen's trio, which is the musician's first original project. On Omri Mor's debut album "It's About Time", released three years ago, his unique musical language is at its peak. The artist's soulful compositions are a symbol of his diverse musical influences and showcase his virtuoso piano skills. The album is a symbol of the young pianist's fascination with the music of different worlds, which he combines with masterful craftsmanship and deep respect.
Marcin Pater – vibraphone
Mateusz Szewczyk – double bass, bass guitar
Adam Wajdzik – drums
Leszek Możdżer – piano
Marcin Pater Trio is a jazz formation from Katowice, led by composer and vibraphonist Marcin Pater. The musician invited his friends from the jazz and stage music department of the Academy of Music in Katowice - double bass player Mateusz Szewczyk and drummer Adam Wajdzik - to join him to work on the project. Their studio album "Nothing But Trouble" was released in 2019 as a result of the trio's win at the international competition Jazz Juniors 2018. He invited Jakub Mizeracki, one of the most outstanding guitarists of the young generation, to collaborate on the album. The band's music is a combination of jazz-rock sounds and a vibraphone, which is a distinguishing feature in the original compositions of the trio’s frontman.
Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa (Warsaw Village Band) was formed in 1997. Its repertoire includes avant-garde interpretations of traditional music from the broadly defined region of Mazovia. Despite being faithful to traditional vocal and instrumental techniques, as well as the use of traditional instruments (violins, cymbals, barabans), the band's performances of old pieces sound very modern. They have won international awards for the best folk / ethno / worldmusic releases. The BBC made a 60-minute film about the band, which was broadcast in many countries around the world. These accolades resulted in requests for compositions for games, soundtracks for films, theatre productions as well as numerous international concerts. The band has already played over a thousand performances, mainly outside Poland. The musicians have already visited over 30 countries on four continents. In November 2020, they released their new album “Uwodzenie” (“Seduction”), in which one can find inspirations from their beloved Mazovia region and the currents of Vistula river.
Norma Winstone – voice
Marilyn Mazur – percussion & drums
Makiko Hirabayashi – piano
Klavs Hovman – double bass
Jakob Buchanan – flugelhorn
Marilyn Mazur is one of the few women in the pantheon of world jazz fame. A Danish drummer, composer and frontwoman of many bands, she is the pride of festivals around the world. She is known for recordings and live performances in bands of such greats as Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Wayne Shorter, Andreas Vollenweider and Jan Garbarek. The greatest fame and recognition came from her collaboration with jazz legends, primarily with Miles Davis himself. She was a drummer in his group in 1985, 1988 and 1989. In 1986, she became the drummer of the famous Gil Evans orchestra. A year later, she embarked on a world tour with the Wayne Shorter Quintet. In 1989 she started working on her dream project "Future Song", which she fantasised about during her tours with Davis. In 1991 she began working with Jan Garbarek, a collaboration which has been continued ever since. Her work is truly rich and inspiring. In 2019, she released the album "Shamania", which featured an orchestra of ten strong, Scandinavian, female musical personalities.
Amadeus Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra was founded in Poznań in 1968 by Agnieszka Duczmal. The renowned conductor, founded a chamber orchestra in 1968 when she was still a student. In 1977 it transformed into the Polish Radio and Television Chamber Orchestra, and then into the Amadeus Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra. Agnieszka Duczmal has been the director and artistic director of the Orchestra since the beginning of its existence. She was the first female conductor to perform at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
Anna Duczmal-Mróz has been the Orchestra's second conductor since 2009. This female conductor duo makes the ensemble a phenomenon on a global scale. The Orchestra has over 50 albums in its discography. They also make many artistic journeys, performing with world-renowned soloists at prestigious concert halls in Europe, both Americas, Africa and Asia.
In 2014, the Orchestra was granted the status of a Cultural Institution run jointly by the Marshal's Office of the Wielkopolska Region in Poznań and Polskie Radio SA in Warsaw, joined by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in 2018.
The Amadeus Polish Radio Chamber Orchestra will perform with Leszek Możdżer at Enter Enea Festival.
photo: Jacek Mójta
Isfar Sarabski is a pianist and composer from Azerbaijan. He was educated musically at Berklee College of Music and the Academy of Music in Baku. At the age of 19, he won the Montreux Festival piano competition. However, Isfar's latest work focuses on electronic sounds. As he puts it - this music is intended for night-time reflections and longing, it takes you to the recesses of the imagination. During the Enter Enea Festival, Isfar Sarabski will perform in a duo with Leszek Możdżer.
Otis Sandsjö - saxophone, clarinet, synthesizers
Elias Stemeseder - keyboards
Frans Petter Eldh - bass guitar
Tilo Weber - drums
"Y-OTIS" is the first release by the Swedish artist currently based in Berlin, Otis Sandsjö. The album is a forward-reaching multi-layered collection of eight compositions written by Sandsjö and produced by him and Eldh. What the listener receives is liquid jazz, born at a time when jazz understood as a musical language evolves beyond the concept of its predecessor - modern jazz. The album "Y-OTIS" is pure jazz in the sense that the quartet tries to create a new form of musical communication. The debut album was released on June 1, 2018, while this summer, the group released their second album "Y-OTIS 2".
photo: Hagen Moeller
Mitch - guitar, keyboards
Mitch - bass guitar, percussion instruments, vocals
Mr. Bietzsch - guitar, percussion instruments, sampler
The (ðə) Mitch - drums, percussion instruments
Mad Mitch - saxophone, flute, percussion
Mitch The Kid - trumpet, "Vermona" analog synthesizer, percussion instruments
Crackin 'Mitch - vibraphone, percussion instruments
They started out as an ensemble of five. Their debut "Luv Yer Country" in the style they dubbed country & eastern was released in 2003. Since 2008, they have been playing as a nine-person ensemble, although sometimes while performing the soundtrack to the silent film "Lost World" from 1925, they choose a line-up of ten. They collaborated with Zbigniew Wodecki, which resulted in a joint album "1976: A Space Odyssey ”released in 2015 containing material from an album released almost 40 years earlier by Wodecki. The pieces were arranged for a 43-person orchestra and gained great popularity in this version of artistic cooperation.
photo: Woodys Mitch
Kasia Pietrzko - piano
Andrzej Święs - double bass
Piotr Budniak - drums
Kasia Pietrzko - dubbed the second New Hope by the Jazz Forum. A jazz pianist ranked among the young and the esteemed. A graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków, who perfected her skills in New York with Aaron Parks, Taylor Eigsti, Johny O'Neal, Aaron Goldberg and Kenny Werner. Kasia Pietrzko Trio's debuted in 2017, when they released a very successful album "Forthright Stories", reaping the highest praise both from the critics and the audience. At Enter Enea Festival the band will present their newest release "Ephemeral Pleasures". Kasia Pietrzko, who is responsible for the concept, arrangement and production of the album, tells stories with her music with a great sense of melody, which is very important to her. The Strzeszynek concert is an opportunity to listen to their new material live after the limitations of the pandemic, which made normal participation in culture impossible.
A Swedish bass player, double bass player and cellist. Lars Danielsson has an unmistakable musical language which is a product of his experience, but also his classical education. He collaborated with many artists of the European scene, such as Lars Jansson, Hans Ulrik, Carsten Dahl, Nils Landgren, Christopher Dell, Johannes Enders and Trilok Gurtu, as well as with famous American artists - saxophonists Rick Margitz, Charles Lloyd and Brecker Brothers, drummers Terri Lyne Carrington, Jack DeJohnett and Billy Hart, guitarists John Scofield, Mike Stern and John Abercrombie. However, being solely the accompanist in a project does not satisfy Lars Danielsson. He has always been creative as a composer, and therefore, he is a representative of a relatively small group of bass player band leaders. At the 10th edition of Enter Enea Festival, Lars Danielsson will be accompanied by Leszek Możdżer.
Marcin Wasilewski - piano
Sławek Kurkieriwcz - double bass
Michal Miśkiewicz - drums
Adam Pierończyk - tenor saxophone
Arctic Riff is the project of the Polish jazz star, The Wasilewski Trio’s and American saxophonist, Joe Lovano. The alliance plays new tunes by Wasilewski and by Lovano, as well as Carla Bley’s classic Vashkar (in two variations), plus collective improvisations with strong input from all four players. Because of the pandemic, Joe Lovano couldn’t perform with The Wasilewski Trio’s on the concert tour. Due to this, Polish band will present premiere of the Arctic Riff album in the constant cast featuring Polish tenor saxophonist, Adam Pierończyk.
The Wasilewski Trio’s is a leading jazz formation well-known all over the world. In 2019 musicians celebrated 25th of the music cooperation. They played in Tomasz Stańko Quartet for fifteen years. The Wasilewski Trio’s won Fryderyk’ statuette several times.
Adam Pierończyk is one of the most creative European musicians and the biggest innovator in Polish jazz. In 2015 he was titled „The Best Soprano Saxophonist” for eleventh times by Jazz Forum magazine. He worked with many illustrious personalities of the world of jazz, for example Bobby McFerrin, Gary Thomas and Tomasz Stańko.
photo: Bartek Barczyk / ECM Records
Andrei Kondakov Trio won’t perform this year on Enter Enea Festival. We move the concert to the next year. We invite you for the performance of Marcin Wasilewski Trio feat. Adam Pierończyk instead.
Kamil Piotrowicz - piano, make noise 0-coast synthesizer, compositions
Kuba Więcek - alto saxophone
Marek Pospieszalski - tenor saxophone
Emil Miszk - trumpet
Andrzej Święs - double bass
Krzysztof Szmańda - drums, vibraphone
Kamil Piotrowicz Sextet is the second group founded by Kamil Piotrowicz, a Polish pianist and composer of the young generation. The band recorded two albums - "Product Placement" (2018) and "Popular Music" (2016). The albums were nominated for the "Fryderyk" award of the Polish Phonographic Academy as the best jazz albums of 2018 and 2016. The ensemble played at the most important festivals in Poland, such as Jazz Jamboree in Warsaw, Jazz Jantar in Gdańsk, Jazz nad Odrą in Wrocław, Jazz Pianists Festival in Kalisz, Summer Jazz Academy in Łódź or Komeda Jazz Festival in Słupsk. The music of the group is based on the leader's original compositions.
Kamil Piotrowicz graduated from the Academy of Music in Gdańsk and Rhytmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He is the creator of the international "Idealistic Festival" and the independent record label "Howard Records". He is the leader and a member of the Kamil Piotrowicz Sextet, LAWAAI and Wojtczak/Piotrowicz, HAŁVAA. He has performed in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and also in Africa.
photo: Jakub Szpojda
Michał Salamon is a pianist, composer, arranger, as well as a lecturer, publisher and producer. He graduated from the Academy of Music in Krakow, where he studied jazz piano and artistic education in the field of musical art with choral conducting. He is a co-founder of FOURS Collectice and Quindependance. He performed in April 2017 in front of Gregory Porter with the former, and in July, in front of Kamasi Waschington with the latter. Michał Salamon is the leader of line-ups and the author of most of the compositions he performs. The album Lion's Gate, which he will be performing at the concert in Strzeszynek, is composed of his own melodies.
photo: Kasia Stanczyk Photo & Design
A gypsy brass band from the city of Kočani in the Republic of Macedonia. Founded by trumpet player Naat Veliov. Kočani Orkestar is a icon of Balkan style in music, which refers to the gypsy origins, Turkish rhythms and Latin sounds. Energy and charisma of the group is well-known to Polish audience.
Billy Cobham is a percussive machine, unexcelled, charismatic leader, who are filling imagination of the drumers around the world from decades. Especially these ones, who are playing hi-hat on their right hand. Billy as the first one came to the conclusion that playing hi-hat on the left hand had made hands free and opened himself a possibilities of play unavailable for other drummers. This practise is easy, but it forces to changing the thinking about drums. Thousands of drummers are playing with hands crossed and Billy as a one of them (and still one of the few) is playing with a yawning chest, in which beats his big, percussive heart. His heart can be heard in every beat and melody, which he wrote. A few of them, for example Stratus and Red Baron walk into the music dictionary and were performed by musicians on the local jam sessions.
Susan Weinert – guitar
Martin Weinert – bass
Cezary Konrad – drums
Leszek Możdżer – piano
Guitarist and composer, Susan Weinert achives something, what a few musicians can do. She created her own style and sound and she is called one of the masters of jazz fusion. She achieved success due to big passion and joy of the communing with music. Susan has been an integral part of the jazz stage from over 35 years and she played over 3000 performances in the world. She is sharing a stage with her husband and bass player, Martin Weinert. He has accompanied her from the beginning of her career.
Cezary Konrad is a drummer and composer. He was thought the best Polish drummer from 1992 by readers of Jazz Forum in Jazz Top ranking. He recorded the first album "Meeting in Cracow" with his co-author, Susan Weinert in 1996.
Daga Gregorowicz – vocal, electronics
Dana Vynnytska – vocal, keyboard instruments
Mikołaj Pospieszalski – double bass, bass, violin
Bartosz Mikołaj Nazaruk – drums
Tomasz Dworakowski – trombone, bass trombone
Cyprian Baszyński – trumpet, flugelhorn
Dawid Główczewski – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Przemysław Florczak – bass clarinet, flute, tenor saxophone
Guest performance:
Leszek Możdżer – piano
Kacper Smoliński – harmonica
DAGADANA has blended elements of Ukrainian and Polish culture with jazz, electronics and world music for over a 10 years. During the Enter Enea Festival artists meet on the one stage with Leszek Możdżer, wind section and harmonica player, Kacper Smoliński. The journey to different regions of Poland, Ukraine and far China also are waiting for us. That’s where album „Meridian 68” was created. Artists were looking for inspiration in different sources: from their relatives, during the workshop of the ethnic music, in the books.
DAGADANA will also announce the fifth, long-cherished album of the band.
This band has been an ambasador of the Slavic culture for many years. They played in 24 countries. This year the band represent Poland in Glastonbury, the biggest festival in Europe.
Wrocław’s alternative theatre formed in 1996 by Grzegorz Brala and Anna Zubrzycka. This theatre succeeded in international, among others, on the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, where in 2004 and 2012 has received a prestigious award, Fringe Fest. Song of the Goat Theatre got an international recognition as one of the most innovative European bands, which are using acting training in their practise. They’re also looking for a new artistic solution constantly. Both physical, vocal training and rehearsals, performances are treating as a part of the process. Involvement in a process of creation of a permanent relations between people is a starting point to each new kind of training, which integrates movement, song and text.
Hüsnü Şenlendirici - clarinet
Ismail Tunçbilek - baglama
Aytaç Doğan - qanun
The masters of the melody, improvisation and mood. Their particular signs are perfect connection of three instruments and three musical personalities. Hüsnü Şenlendirici, Ismail Tunçbilek i Aytaç Doğan are masters of their instruments and one of the most popular Turkish musicians nowadays. All of them have known each other for years. They were members of different popular bands, but in 2007 they decided to connect their talents as a trio. The album "Taksim Trio” released in the same year succeeded in Turkey, also opened a door to the global market of world music. The public were delighted by the infiltrating a diverse impact in their music: from jazz and Middle Eastern, gypsy music through Ottoman classic to Turkish popular arabesque and pop. Most of all, Taksim Trio impresses both perfection in playing together and individual artistry of each of the musicians.
Jojo Mayer – drums
John Davis – bass
Jacob Bergson – keyboard instruments
Aaron Nevezie – arrangement of sounds
Jojo Mayer is a Swiss record producer, musician, composer, instrumentalist and master of percussion instruments. Nerve formed in 90’s from the project of artist named Prohibited Beats. The group of DJs, artists and musicians, which originally was famous for experimental interaction with audience, with time build up their individual style in electronic music and bring live performances to perfection. They were inspired by a wide spectrum of electronic music, through jungle, dub step, glitch to minimal & tech house. The group bring the public into contact with improvised music and catchy jazz rhythms bring away in digital era. They also don’t forget about rock’n’roll energy and good fun. NERVE redefines a relation of human creativity and digital technology creating a unique form of expression in today’s world.
The son of a Slavic family, was born in 1956 in Allentown and grew up in the woods of the Appalachians. He began to play the piano at the age of 13. After finishing high school he studied the piano and music history at the Oberlin Conversatory in Ohio. He’s one of the most prized jazz masters of the piano and church organs in the world. Music of Chris Jarrett ignores any dictates of style. Chris Jarrett utilizes the structures of classical music and the freedom of jazz improvisation. He combines the love for forms of development with jazz energy. Great influences to be heard in his music come from Johannes Ockeghem, Sergej Prokofiev, Charles Mingus and Frank Zappa are connecting with his authorial performance in true kaleidoscope. During the Enter Enea Festival he appears with Leszek Możdżer as a duo.
Leszek Możdżer - compositions, piano
Lars Danielsson - double bass
Sławomir Koryzno - percussion
Magnus Öström - percussion
Adam Pierończyk - saxophone
Poznań Boys’ Choir, director Jacek Sykulski
The Psalms of David are six compositions by Leszek Możdżer based on biblical texts translated by Czesław Miłosz. They are a rare example of a combination of sacred choral music with a lively, improvising jazz quintet. The composition of the quintet is unusual, because it contains two drum sets, which create a rich rhythmic layer and place the music within a throbbing pulse and give it an exceptionally modern sound. The choir parts in which the solemn texts of the Psalms are rendered in a contemporary form, draw on classical music and emphasize in a special way Czesław Miłosz's translation, which in a masterful way uses the Polish language to prove that, contrary to popular opinions, our mother tongue is exceptionally mellifluous.
The performers will include e.g. Lars Danielsson, Adam Pierończyk, Sławomir Koryzno, and percussion player Magnus Öström, known from the legendary line-up of E.S.T. The psalms will be sung by the Poznań Boys’ Choir conducted by Jacek Sykulski.
Alexey Arkhipovsky is a Russian balalaika virtuoso. He opens up completely new spaces for this instrument. With an unprecedented sense of timbre and masterful flageolet technique, he is able to bring out an astonishing palette of sounds and effects. In his hands, the balalaika turns out to be a modern and surprisingly flexible instrument. Playing on only three strings of this simple folk instrument, he is able to delight an audience of many thousand listeners.
Miłosz Pękala - marimba, percussion items
Bartosz Weber - percussion
Wiktor Podgórski - visuals
guest performance - Leszek Możdżer
Let us embark on a trip to the roots of music - the human body, including the sounds of the heart and heart rate and frequencies that affect human emotions. Our guides on this journey of sound will be Miłosz Pękala, Bartosz Weber and Wiktor Podgórski, the author of the visuals shown during the concert. It will be a journey through various states of emotions and consciousness, inspired by contemporary music, minimalism, but also music, culture and medicine of the East. Leszek Możdżer will be the special guest of the concert.
Tomasz Chyła - violin
Piotr Chęcki - sax
Szymon Burnos - piano, electronics
Krzysztof Słomkowski - double bass
Sławek Koryzno - percussion
Tomasz Chyła Quintet is a Tricity-based ensemble who perform jazz since 2013. A laureate of the Grand Prix of the International Jazz Juniors 2016 Festival. The leader of the group is the violinist Tomasz Chyła. He is also responsible for most of the compositions and arrangements. The musicians from Tomasz Chyła Quintet redefine the concept of mainstream jazz, lending it a noble, very honest and often romantic character. Contemporary pieces based on the immortal jazz formula, air-like performance and freshness of interpretation are the hallmarks of this unconventional quintet.
Georg Breinschmid - double bass
Igmar Jenner - violin
Florian Willeitner - violin
By the admission of this classic group of Viennese musicians Florian Willeitner, Igmar Jenner and Georg Breinschmid, who is known to the Poznań audience, the First Strings On Mars is a return to the planet Earth after a 200-year space tour with 18th century hits. The musicians, demonstrating premium skills, take pleasure in the realization of dreams and fantasies as well as in the freedom of performing their own compositions.
Gard Nilssen - percussion
Maciej Obara - saxophone
Ole Morten Vagan - double bass
Dominik Wania - piano
Maciej Obara Quartet are young and active representatives of the European music scene, and jazz is only one of the avenues the band pursues. If we assume that musical genres are languages, then we can safely say that Maciej Obara Quartet speaks a few of them, mainly drawing on classical and improvised music.
The quartet, established in 2012, is a leading player in the European jazz scene, and each of its members has a unique sound resulting from a variety of musical experiences. Obara has invited strong and mature artists to join the band; together they create complete, conscious and above all beautiful music.
After 5 years of activity, the quartet received an invitation from Manfred Eicher and entered the Rainbow Studio in Oslo to record pieces for a new album for ECM, the most prestigious recording company in the world. In September 2017, the Munich-based publishing house released the album Unloved, for which all compositions, except the eponymous one by Krzysztof Komeda, were written by Maciej Obara.
Tia Fuller - saxophone, compositions
Leszek Możdżer - piano, compositions, arrangements
Lars Danielsson - double bass
Bodek Janke - percussion
Vojto Monteur - electronics
and Collegium F Orchestra conducted by Maciej Sompoliński
An attempt to bridge such distant musical worlds. Electronics, orchestra music, improvisation, and sounds from the peripheries of techno music will provide the backdrop for the impromptu performance by the US sax player Tia Fuller, Leszek Możdżer and Lars Danielsson. The artists will combine seemingly divergent styles to come up with a kaleidoscopic sound construction. The orchestra will be conducted by Maciej Sompoliński. This project by Leszek Możdżer, who has been consistently trying to combine different styles and genres for years, is by far the most advanced and extensive project to date. It combines elements of techno, electronic, classical, film and jazz music; the participation of an outstanding frontwoman (Tia Fuller has worked e.g. with Beyonce) makes it an attractive show of premium artistic quality.
Not even thirty years of age, Thomas Enhco, born in 1988 in a family with a music background, began to play the violin and the piano at the age of three, learning both classical stylistic and jazz. As early as at the age of 9, he played at the legendary Jazz d’Antibes Juan-les-Pins Festival at the invitation of Didier Lockwood. At the age of 12, he entered Lockwood’s Music Centre, and four years later entered the CNSM Music Conservatory in Paris, specialising in jazz and impromptu music.
His first album Esquisse, based on his own compositions, came out in 2006 in Ames/Harmonia Mundi. Two years later, after a greatly successful concert tour in Japan, he released another record under the supervision of the prestigious producer Itoh «88» Yasohachi; the record premiered in Tokyo and Paris.
In 2010, Thomas received the third award at the international piano competition Martial Solal et le Django d’Or for the New Talent. In 2013 he was called the “new jazz hero” at the Gala of the Vitoires de la Musique; shortly before he had recorded his third album, Fireflies, in a trio with Chris Jennings and Nicolas Charlier.
Enhco’s 2014 concert tour included e.g.: Tokyo, New York, Italy, China, Turkey, and Denmark. Immediately after completing the tour, Thomas wrote a contract for his first solo album Feathers, nominated in 2015 in the Record category of the Victoires du Jazz.
Simultaneously, since 2009 Thomas Enhco has collaborated with the Bulgarian artist specialising in classical music an exceptional duo: piano / marimba and percussion instruments, which is acclaimed at prestigious music and jazz festivals. In April 2016 the duo recorded its first album Funambules for the legendary Deutsche Grammophon. The pieces from the record will be performed by Thomas and Vassilena during the Enter Enea Festival 2017.
Barbara Drążkowska is a pianist well-known for her unconventional approach to music.
Playing in the dark with night-vision glasses [Invisible Pianist], with Edison’s phonographs [Wax Music], and performing her concert tour on a bicycle [Green Pianist], Barbara has been developing her signature art language; it combines music with performance and theatre.
Her numerous trips and changes of places of residence [Poland, Germany, Spain, now Belgium] have helped the pianist develop and secured her strong position on the European music stage.
She has performed with musicians of such stature as Paweł Mykietyn, Agnieszka Duczmal, Nicholas Lens, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, David Dawson, Szymon Brzóska, and María Pagés.
She has performed during festivals and in concert halls the world over [Sydney Opera House, NCPA Beijing, Auditorium in Rome, Warsaw Autumn, Ars Musica Brussels, Sounds New Canterbury, etc.].
Barbara is incessantly seeking new manes of expression, getting involved in projects with traditional musicians from India, Japan, Korea, Congo, with the virtuosos of flamenco and tango. She also explores the potential of the piano itself, preparing her instrument and entering the zone of microtones.
Atta sexdens (leafcutter ants) / Elvin Flamingo / Irek Wojtczak / JAAA! / Infer / special guest: Leszek Możdżer
Enter has since the very start encouraged trials and experiments. This year we will begin the Festival with an exceptional experiment SHMIB, a satellite of Elvin Flamingo’s project Symbiosity of Creation.
The concert is a result of cooperation between artists invited by Elvin Flamingo to his project SHMIB - a concept in which the protagonists are non-human beings - farmer ants - one of the most specialized superorganisms in the world, emanating a unique sound spectrum, inaudible to the unaided human ear.
The musical leader of the SHMIB project - invited by Elvin Flamingo - is Irek Wojtczak, who incorporated the electronic group JAAA! in Elvin Flamingo's SHMIB project. The Infer group works on the visuals. Together they take care of the sound of the ants' habitat - they reveal the element of the Atta sexdens to the audience in its visual and sound dimension, and all this takes place in real time, with fully generative images. Leszek Możdżer will join this fascinating show, integrating elements of biology, visual arts and music as a special guest.
Elvin Flamingo+Infer collective received the GRAND PRIX of this year’s WRO Media Art Biennial 2017 DRAFT SYSTEMS.
2016
Leszek Możdżer is one of the pre-eminent Polish jazz musicians, a world-class pianist, an intrepid explorer, and a unique artist who uses his own music language. Versatility, sensitivity and imagination are his signature features. His music cannot be contained within a single genre and he himself does not even bother to do so. Rather than that, he prefers to development in a host of different directions.
Born on 23 March 1971 in Gdańsk, he started playing the piano at the age of five and, having completed all the schools, finally graduated from the Gdańsk Academy of Music in 1996. He grew interested in jazz in his final year of high school and gained his first experience in the band of the clarinet player Emil Kowalski and in the Miłość band of Tymon Tymański. In the early years of his career as a musician he was also a member of the Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet and Eryk Kulm’s Quintessence. In 1993 he received an honourable mention at the Jazz Juniors, the first of an avalanche of awards grated to him to date.
In 2011 Leszek Możdżer became the artistic director of Enter Music Festival in Poznań. The artists he invites here demonstrate a similar freshness and openness in their approach to music. During the first edition of the Festival, he played the pieces from his Komeda record, which was a world premiere of the music. In 2012, along with Andrzej Bauer and M.Bunio.S, he performed the Lutosphere project. Leszek Możdżer also performed with Cellonet, playing a piece composed specifically for the Enter Music Festival.
Kwadrofonik was founded in 2006 as a result of a combination of two duos, a percussion and a piano one: Magdalena Kordylasińska and Miłosz Pękala (Hob-Beats Duo) and Emilia Sitarz and Bartłomiej Wąsik (Lutosławski Piano Duo). Together they perform music of the 20th and 21st centuries, transcriptions of symphonic works and their own compositions inspired by traditional, contemporary and popular music.
The band's career began in 2006 with a spectacular victory at the 9th "New Tradition" Folk Music Festival, where the musicians received the Grand Prix, the Audience Award and the Mayor of Warsaw Award. It was then that music critics recognized the ensemble as innovative, setting new trends in folk music. In 2007, Kwadrofonik won the prestigious Special Award of the 3rd European Radio Union (EBU) "Svetozar Stracina" Competition in Bratislava. The award for modernity, innovation and faithfulness to tradition was granted for the first time in the history of this competition. In 2008, the band's debut album, Folklove, was released by the Polish Radio and enthusiastically received by critics. In 2009, the musicians received the Folk Phonogram - a critics' award for the best album of folk music. That very year, the group' compositions were presented in the "Late Junction" programme of BBC3 Radio.
In 2010, during the celebrations of the 200th birthday of Frédéric Chopin, the musicians performed in the renowned Carnegie Hall in New York and in the Chicago Symphony Hall, presenting their project "I Have Been Here. Frédéric"; it combined folk music with Chopin's compositions.
In 2011, they made their debut at the Berlin Philharmonic, presenting, among others, their own version of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring for two pianos and percussion. The same quartet was hosted at Izumi Hall (Osaka) in Japan and at contemporary music festivals in Moscow and Beijing.
In 2013, Kwadrofonik collaborated with cellist Andrzej Bauer and composer Cezary Duchnowski on a chamber version with electronics of the Cello Concerto by Witold Lutosławski. The same year they began cooperation with the jazz singer Dorota Miśkiewicz; SONY Polska released their joint album containing original arrangements of Witold Lutosławski's children's songs to lyrics by Julian Tuwim: Lutosławski, Tuwim - Songs not Only for Children. In 2014, the album became the Golden Record.
In November 2014 - in connection with the Kolberg celebrations - Kwadrofonik together with the singer Adam Strug prepared The Folk Requiem, a composition inspired by Polish traditional funeral music. The relevant record was released in March 2015 by Polish Radio and the National Audiovisual Institute. It received the title of the Folk Phonogram of the Year and was nominated to the Coryphaeus of Polish Music Award granted by the Institute of Music and Dance in the Event category.
2015 saw the first edition of Kwadrofonik Festival, the ensemble's original project dedicated to contemporary chamber music. The year also brought Kwadrofonik the prestigious Polityka's Passport award, granted to the most prominent young creators of Polish culture. that year the ensemble started working on music for a multimedia show commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Poznań Riots of June 1956, directed by Jan Komasa. The show entitled Xenophonia premiered during the Malta 2016 Theatre Festival.
The group’s most recent, multimedia and “inter-generic” project is The Industrial Symphony: a concert of music composed by Angelo Badalamenti, where Kwadrofonik is accompanied by Artur Rojek. The artists, performing Badalamenti to a visionary film footage by David Lynch, transposed it into their characteristic instruments: piano, vibraphone, percussion instruments, and synthesizers.
Apart from projects based on original compositions or transcriptions (including transcriptions of symphonic works such as Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring or Karol Szymanowski's Mazurkas and Harnasie), the musicians also perform compositions originally created for their instruments. These include e.g. works by Bela Bartók, Georg Crumb, Rolf Wallin, and pieces composed specifically for the ensemble by Polish composers such as Wojciech Ziemowit Zych, Wojtek Blecharz, Sławomir Wojciechowski, and Maciej Jabłoński.
In their compositions and interpretations, the Kwadrofonik musicians enter into a unique dialogue, imperceptibly changing the functions of instruments: the pianos become percussion instruments, while the latter take over the role of melody instruments. They are also known for their use of everyday objects during concerts. Such items reveal their far from obvious auditory qualities (pails with water, cell phones, balloons…). Precision of execution, spontaneity, an inspiring approach to musical material and the gift of establishing direct contact with the audience guarantee full satisfaction of the participants with the sound spectacle created by the group. While working on their own compositions, musicians often follow the path of improvisation, experimentation and pursuits in the area of sound in order to make the most of their instruments.
STEVE REICH: MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS
Clarinets: Krystyna Sakowska, Adrian Janda
Violin: Dagna Sadkowska
Cello: Michał Pepol
Vocals: Iwona Kmiecik, Anna Gadt, Joanna Lalek, Danuta Zbirowska
Grand pianos: Emilia Sitarz, Joanna Opalińska, Bartek Wąsik, Bartek Zajkowski
Percussion instruments: Magdalena Kordylasińska-Pękala, Miłosz Pękala, Hubert Zemler, Paweł Nowicki, Piotr Sołkowicz, Radosław Mysłek
The flourishing of new artistic currents and ideas in the 1960s continues to inspire the creators of modern art. Ironically enough, however, the then protest against and negation of - mainly European - tradition, has by now become classical. Minimalism is a case in point, and 1964 may be seen as the breakthrough year for minimal art. Terry Riley creates his opus magnum – In C; it is seen as the first purely minimalist composition due to the unprecedented pulsation and repetition of the sound motifs. Through his work he distances himself from the art of his friend, the precursor of minimalism La Monte Young and his steady drones, played with no specific rhythm.
Steve Reich attempts his first experiments with cassette tapes, resulting in the fully mechanical It's Gonna Rain, characteristic of his art. Music for Eighteen Musicians, composed in the period 1974-76, is still seen as one of the most magnificent works of mature minimalism, ushering in the post-minimalist period in his oeuvre. Written for a large ensemble of percussion instruments, four pianos, four clarinets, a violin, a cello, and four vocalists, the piece proved that the composer's musical ideas can be translated into a fascinating, intriguing sound language that can be appreciated by a wide audience.
The drama of the music moves from brightness to darkness, only to re-emerge in the light. This path is highlighted by harmony, contingent on a series of eleven cords, quite extensive or a minimalist composition.
Kwadrofonik invited for the creation of the first Polish ensemble specialising in performing repetitive music and evoking the tradition of e.g. Steve Reich and Musicians, Ensemble Modern and Amadinda, eminent musicians associated with both new, avant-garde music and classical one (e.g. Kwartludium, Royal String Quartet, Warsaw Modern Duo, Mosaic). Although Kwadrofonik and Guests is composed of many artistic individualities, what is most significant is their nonverbal bond. Coupled with enthusiasm and creativity, it offers the listeners high-quality music set in the contemporary aesthetic sensitivity.
This promises to be a unique and beautiful journey where every single one of us will be engrossed. Let us move away from our mundane reality and enjoy a music that throbs to the rhythm of our world.
Miłosz Pękala
Born in 1990, a pianist and composer, graduate of the Berklee College of Music, one of the most renowned young jazz musicians, acclaimed by critics the “hope of Polish jazz piano music”. After his victory at the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition (2011) in Switzerland, he has performed across the world, his albums being released e.g. by Decca Classics.
Piotr Orzechowski has been successfully exploring classical and improvised music, often blurring the boundaries between the two. This was the case with Experiment: Penderecki, a record debut hailed a phonographic sensation (Decca/Universal, 2012). The record was an attempt to find the core of the K. Penderecki's style by translating the orchestral component of his works into the piano solo. This is also evident in the album released with his band High Definition Quartet: Bukoliki/Bucolics, his original arrangement of W. Lutosławski's music for a jazz quarter (ForTune, 2015). Other phonographic projects he has to his credit include the HDQ released album Hopasa with his compositions (EmArcy Records/Universal, 2013); album Bach Rewrite (Decca/Universal, 2013) recorded with Marcin Masecki to the accompaniment of Capella Cracoviensis, or solo 15 Studies for the Oberek (Decca/Universal, 2014), which creatively analyses individual elements of the Polish dance oberek.
Apart from solo activities as a jazz pianist, he also performs as a soloist with leading Polish orchestras, including Sinfonia Varsovia, the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, the AUKSO Chamber Orchestra, and the Polish Radio Orchestra.
He has collaborated with such giants of contemporary music as Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Krzysztof Penderecki. He has performed with eminent figures of world and Polish jazz, such as Randy Brecker, Avishai Cohen, Victor Mendoza, Michał Urbaniak, and the Oleś brothers. He has collaborated with other great personalities of the world of music, such as, e.g. Adrian Utley from Portishead, Carlos Zíngaro, Agata Zubel, Skalpel, William Bass, Fennesz, and Krzysztof Knittel.
He is valued for his individual, recognizable style, which is the result of moving on the borderline of genres - modern improvised and contemporary music, drawing on the tradition of Romanticism or Impressionism and on the sonoristic trend, and on the other hand attempting bold musical reinterpretations.
Winner of the "Grand Prix Jazz Melomani" in the categories: "Hope for Music lovers" and "Record" for the Hopasa album were nominated for the most important Polish awards: "The Coryphaeus of Polish Music", "Gwarancje Kultury" or "Fryderyk".
Piotr Orzechowski's third solo album, entitled 24 Preludes & Improvisations, is scheduled to premiere in 2017 It will be an attempt to analyse the idiom of improvisation.
Born on 8 February 1984 in Krakow – Polish pianist, arranger, composer, and sideman.
He has performed concerts across the globe, e.g. in Europe, USA, India, Africa, Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula.
He has performed and collaborated with world-acclaimed artists such as Lee Konitz, Jon Christensen, Mino Cinelu, Emil Mangelsdorff, Poogie Bell, Hadrien Feraud, Eivind Aarset, Arild Andersen, Theodosii Spassov, Janusz Muniak, Piotr Wojtasik, Adam Pierończyk, and Zbigniew Namysłowski.
“Listening to the way Paweł Kaczmarczyk gets sounds out of the keys, we can understand what full-blooded, completely engaged jazz piano playing is all about” – Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune.
The artist’s third album Complexity in Simplicity, released by the prestigious ACT Music, opened the door to an international career. The record was recognised as the "Album", and Paweł Kaczmarczyk as the "Pianist" (JAZZ FORUM).
Laureate of “Kulturalne Odloty Gazety Wyborczej” Award in the category “Artist of 2009” and the recipient of "Jazz Oscars" - Grand Prix Jazz Melomani in the categories: New Hope, Artist and Album. Twice nominated to the "FRYDERYK" Award in the categories: Jazz Musician and Phonographic Debut.
Marcin Wasilewski is a pianist highly appreciated not only by jazz music fans. He was hailed by eminent experts and jazz critics in a ranking of the US prestigious jazz magazine Down Beat to be the ‘rising star’ of jazz piano music. Leader of his Marcin Wasilewski Trio.
He graduated from the Grażyna Bacewicz Music School of First Degree in Koszalin and then from the Music High School in the same city. Between 1994 and 1999 he studied at the Faculty of Jazz and Entertainment Music of the Katowice Music Academy.
In 1991, with Sławomir Kurkiewicz he founded the Simple Acoustic Trio (the ensemble’s ultimate composition was established in 1993, when it was joined by Michał Miśkiewicz), with whom he won awards at jazz competitions (Poland, France, Spain, Germany). He performed at many festivals (e.g. Jazz Jamboree 1993, 1994, 1998), and has recorded albums: Komeda (1995), When The Blues Leave (1995), Simple Acoustic Trio (1996), Habanera (2000), Trio (ECM, 2005).
For the past 15 years (1994-2009), Wasilewski and his ensemble have worked with the Tomasz Stańko Quartet. Along with the leader, they participated in a vast number of tours (e.g. three times in the USA), recorded albums for ECM (Soul ff Things, 2001; Suspended Night, 2004, Lontano, 2006). Wasilewski has collaborated with Manu Katche (Neighbourhood, 2006; Playground, 2007).
In 2008, the Trio recorded the album January for ECM (2005 and 2009) under the changed name (Marcin Wasilewski Trio). The artist received for this record the Fryderyk award in the category "Musician" and "Record".
Moreover, Wasilewski has cooperated with many eminent musicians, such as Jan Garbarek, Joe Lovano, Dhafer Youssef, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Tomasz Szukalski, Piotr Wojtasik, Janusz Muniak, Baltica Ensamble, A. M. Jopek, D. Miśkiewicz, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen, Trygve Seim, and Mathias Eick.
In January 2012, Marcin Wasilewski Trio received the Mateusz Trójka Award for the Faithful (ECM) in recognition of the masterful music and respect for tradition. In May that year Marcin Wasilewski got his third Fryderyk Award in the category Best Jazz Musician (the earlier ones in 2005 and 2009).
Marcin Wasilewski Trio received the Fryderyk Award in the category Jazz Album for the following records: Fryderyk 2001 for Henryk Miśkiewicz’s album Lyrics, Fryderyk 2002 for the Tomasza Stańko Quartet Soul of Things, Fryderyk 2005 for the album of Wasilewski Kurkiewicz Miśkiewicz Trio, and Fryderyk 2009 for the album of the Marcin Wasilewski Trio called January.
Born in Italy, in Venice in 1986, Gloria Camapaner is seen by critics and audiences alike as one of the most interesting pianists of the young generation. She began learning piano at the age of four, gave her first recital at the age of five and made her debut as a soloist with the Venice Symphony Orchestra at the age of twelve. Since the beginning of her music education, Gloria Campaner has won first prizes in over twenty national and international competitions for young musicians.
Her dynamic career as a soloist, orchestra and chamber music performer has ensured her presence at some of the largest music festivals on five continents. Gloria Campaner has gained international press acclaim for her "remarkable depth of music, remarkable smoothness, nuance and sense of style that place her among pianists of exceptional ability" (Walter Arlen - Los Angeles Times).
Gloria Campaner won the silver medal at the Ignacy Paderewski International Piano Competition (Los Angeles 2010), where she also received special awards for the best performances of Paderewski's and Chopin's works.
The artist has won the first prize and the Prokofiev Special Prize in the Ibla Grand Prize 2009 competition, after which she held her first tour of the United States and had her debut at the Carnegie Hall in 2010. The pianist is a laureate of many other international competitions, e.g. of the International Piano and Orchestra Competition Cantù (Como 2009), Vlado Perlemuter European Piano Competition (Le Hevre, France 2009), International T.I.M. Competition (Verona 2008), International Piano Competition Rospigliosi – R. Schumann Award (Pistoia, Italy 2008).
On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Liszt, she got the Jury Award at the 11th Concours International de Musique du Maroc in Casablanca and the European Culture Award of the Pro Europa Foundation (Freiburg 2011).
A scholarship holder of the Brahms Foundation in Baden-Baden (2009) and the Societa Umanitaria in Milan (2007).
When at the age of 18 she completed with distinction the conservatory and got an MA summa cum laude under the supervision of Bruno Mezzena from the Music Academy in Pescara, she was selected to participate in many master classes across Europe, e.g. Ticino Musica (Lugano, Switzerland), Accademia Incontri col Maestro (Imola, Italy), Mozarteum (Salzburg), Mannes College (New York), working under eminent musicians, e.g. J. Swann, Jerome Rose, S. Perticaroli, A. Jasiński, P. Gililov, L. Zilberstein, D. Bashkirov, and B. Petrushansky. She dedicated the bulk of the last part of her studies to the interconnections with the Russian school, under the supervision of K. Bogino. At that time, as a soloist she completed the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe under the supervision of Prof. Fana Solter.
Selected recordings from her concerts have been often played by international radio and tv stations, e.g. RAI, Radio Ljubljana, SKY Classica, RTSI, and CNN. More recently EMI has released her debut record with compositions by R. Schumann and S. Rachmaninov.
Gloria Campaner is moreover very active as a chamber musician. She has performed with artists such as J. Moser, I. Gitlis, A. Chumachenco, M. Abbado, M. Kugel, S. Krilov, soloists of the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart, and the La Scala Philharmonics (Milan).
The Vienna-based quartet creates original music, boldly crossing the boundaries between classical, popular and jazz music. Their perfect improvisation, virtuosity and creativity have delighted audiences and critics for years. Four outstanding musicians from all over the world freely bring their own musical ideas and diverse cultural identity to the compositions they play. In this sense, the international musicians – Austrians: Mallinger and Jenner, Croatian Valcic and Taiwanese Liao see themselves as protagonists of the new Vienna string school.
The quarter was founded in 2004. For years, it has recorded music for the prestigious ACT Music recordings. They release records demonstrating divergent styles, such as: Celebrating the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Radiotree feat. Klaus Paier, Celebrating the Mahavishnu Orchestra (Live at Traumzeit Festival), and Radiodream. Their most recent, concert record is Posting Joe – Celebrating Weather Report - live. During their concert tours, from Europe through the USA, the quarter has been widely recognised for their dynamic and thrilling performances.
Oskar Tőrők – a trumpeter, born in 1980 in Humenne (Svk). A graduate of the Jazz Institute in Katowice. After studying at the Classical Conservatory in Košice and Bratislava, he moved to Prague, where he studied at the Jaroslav Jezek Conservatory of Music. He has taken part in many different projects, from dance music to bebop, by: NUO, Vertigo Quintet, MUFF, Dj Niebieski, Jaromir Honzak, Alan Vitous, Miriam Bayle, Ondrej Stveracek Kwintet, Zuzana Dumkova Band, Pavel Fajt, Bucinatores Tentet, Musica Vizita Karel Ruzicka, Martin Zbrożek, Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, Iva Bittova, and Leszek Możdżer. Apart from plyaing the trumpet, Oskar is a pianist and composer. Records with his contribution include: Vertigo Quintet – Vertigo Quintet (Amplión Records, 2005), Vertigo Quintet – Live U Staré Paní (Amplión Records, 2006), NUO – Multimusic Minibigband (Arta 2HP, 2004), Triny – Aven (Indies Records, 2006), Jan Burian – Dívčí Válka (Indies Records, 2006), Tara Fuki – Auris (Indies Records, 2007).
Iva Bittova is a Czech avant-garde violinist, singer and composer who began her career in the mid-1970s in several Czech films.
In the early 1980s she began playing the violin and singing, and her unique way of singing and the performing technique brought her international fame. Bittova's music is a combination of rock and folk music of Eastern Europe.
To perform his new compositions, Możdżer has invited musicians who supplement him in his pursuits of the jazz roots: the German double bass player Dieter Ilg and the US percussion player Eric Allen. The project, prepared specifically for Enter, manifests a need to return to the jazz tradition. The new repertoire differs slightly from the previous works of the pianist and composer and is a reference to the language of mainstream jazz. The hallmark of Ilg's play on the double bass is a symbiosis of lyricism and clarity. This combination is his distinguishing feature on the international stages, where he has performed, among others, alongside Nguyen Lê and Nils Landgren, both well-known to the Polish audience. Eric Allen, although he lives in Poland today, developed his career over the years in Boston, where he was part of Illinois Jacquet Quintet with the great innovator of the double bass Slam Stewart. The meeting of the three musicians on one stage, performing a completely new repertoire of Leszek Możdżer, will be the premiere of this year's Enter Enea Festival.
Leszek Możdżer – composition, piano
Dieter Ilg – double bass
Eric Allen – percussion
Leszek Możdżer first met Iva Bittova during the Codes Festival in Lublin. This spontaneous concert gave rise to a special mini-tour in the Visegrad Group member states within the framework of Bridges-Gesharim program. During the Enter Festival we are given the opportunity to witness another encounter of the artists, so well-known to the Polish audiences, who on a daily basis belong to different music Worlds.
Leszek Możdżer – piano
Iva Bittova – vocals, violin
Oskar Torok – trumpet
The quartet, in which the pianist is accompanied by Maksymilian Mucha on double bass, Marek Pospieszalski on saxophone and David Fortuna on drums, released their first record titled First Album in 2014. The album was very well received by critics and fans. According to the artists, the music played by the band is the result of a long time of absorbing and acquiring knowledge and feelings from the vibrations of the universe which they managed to encounter on their way. The band is inspired by ancient and modern music, folk, classical, avant-garde and even psychotrance, and performs mainly the compositions of its leader.
Jakub Płużek – piano
Maksymilian Mucha – double bass
Mateusz Pospieszalski – saxophone
Dawid Fortuna – percussion
Eric Allen comes from Washington, D.C. and currently lives in Poland. He has been playing jazz music for 30 years. His style of playing was influenced by such musicians as Art Blakey, Max Roach, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, "Papa" Jo Jones, and Jimmy Cobb. He studied jazz art and music theory at Lee Oddis Bass III at the Duke Ellington School for The Performing Arts in Washington, DC, with musicians such as trumpeter Wallace Roney and double bassist Clarence Seay. When he played at the local Blues Alley club in Washington, he was discovered by a jazzman named Illinois Jacquet. Allen moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music. In Boston, he joined the Illinois Jacquet Quintet with the great double bass innovator Slam Stewart. Illinois Jacquet also introduced him to the hi-hat master, drummer "Papa Jo" Jones. Eric played with jazz legend Lionel Hampton.
Dieter Ilg is a double bass player who can skilfully combine apparent contradictions. The musician knows inside-out the world of jazz and classical music. Although he decided to become a double jazz bassist at the age of 16, he studied classical double bass and gained comprehensive knowledge of the history of music. Since then, he has combined these two qualities in different projects, each time demonstrating his excellent technique. He is an excellent stage partner, both as a leader and as an accompanying musician. He exhibits the advantages of the soloist, premium skill and empathy of a band member. Ilg's characteristic performance is a symbiosis of lyricism and expressiveness, which combination is his distinguishing feature on world stages. He has performed alongside Nguyen Le (with whom Enter Festival audiences are well familiar), Dave Liebman, Albert Mangelsdorff, Nils Landgren, and Charlie Mariano. He has recorded several dozen albums. The last three have been released by the ACT recording company.
Well-known to Polish and Enter Festival audiences, Zohar Fresco was born in Israel in a family with Turkish roots. He started playing percussion instruments at the age of six. As a teenager, he became keenly interested in traditional Arabic instruments such as drums and tambourine. With time, with his own development and thanks to his distinctive performance style, he became a percussion player both at home and internationally. He has taken part in recordings of soundtracks to movies such as Kikar Hahalomot, The Fifth Element or The Land of Happiness. Tof Myriam is the first album of his quartet. The album is dominated by ethnic sounds of the Middle East, as always subordinated to fun and rhythm. There are also elements of jazz improvisation and numerous lyrical motifs supplementing the composition.
Zohar Fresco - Tof Miriam, rig, percussion instruments, vocals
Stratis Paradelis - kamancheh, Cretan flauto
Mark Moshayev - percussion
The Chord Nation concert suite was mainly the result of naivety, courage and lack of perspective. There was something real in the creation without regard for the limitations - during the raging economic crisis - in the sounds that were not created due to the low cost of future tours and were not made up with powder and simplified in order to increase the sales of records. I am convinced that music is a collaborative game and creating a band of this size has all the hallmarks of building a community with its own interdependencies, language and values. Since communities benefit from internal diversity, I took the liberty of inviting musicians from 3 different countries with 3 different views on music – classical, mainstream and free jazz. That is why the suite is called Chord Nation.
Leszek Możdżer is one of the pre-eminent Polish jazz musicians, a world-class pianist, an intrepid explorer, and a unique artist who uses his own music language. Versatility, sensitivity and imagination are his signature features. His music cannot be contained within a single genre and he himself does not even bother to do so. Rather than that, he prefers to development in a host of different directions.
Born on 23 March 1971 in Gdańsk, he started playing the piano at the age of five and, having completed all the schools, finally graduated from the Gdańsk Academy of Music in 1996. He grew interested in jazz in his final year of high school and gained his first experience in the band of the clarinet player Emil Kowalski and in the Miłość band of Tymon Tymański. In the early years of his career as a musician he was also a member of the Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet and Eryk Kulm’s Quintessence. In 1993 he received an honourable mention at the Jazz Juniors, the first of an avalanche of awards grated to him to date.
In 2011 Leszek Możdżer became the artistic director of Enter Music Festival in Poznań. The artists he invites here demonstrate a similar freshness and openness in their approach to music. During the first edition of the Festival, he played the pieces from his Komeda record, which was a world premiere of the music. In 2012, along with Andrzej Bauer and M.Bunio.S, he performed the Lutosphere project. Leszek Możdżer also performed with Cellonet, playing a piece composed specifically for the Enter Music Festival.
Leszek Możdżer is one of the pre-eminent Polish jazz musicians, a world-class pianist, an intrepid explorer, and a unique artist who uses his own music language. Versatility, sensitivity and imagination are his signature features. His music cannot be contained within a single genre and he himself does not even bother to do so. Rather than that, he prefers to development in a host of different directions.
Born on 23 March 1971 in Gdańsk, he started playing the piano at the age of five and, having completed all the schools, finally graduated from the Gdańsk Academy of Music in 1996. He grew interested in jazz in his final year of high school and gained his first experience in the band of the clarinet player Emil Kowalski and in the Miłość band of Tymon Tymański. In the early years of his career as a musician he was also a member of the Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet and Eryk Kulm’s Quintessence. In 1993 he received an honourable mention at the Jazz Juniors, the first of an avalanche of awards grated to him to date.
In 2011 Leszek Możdżer became the artistic director of Enter Music Festival in Poznań. The artists he invites here demonstrate a similar freshness and openness in their approach to music. During the first edition of the Festival, he played the pieces from his Komeda record, which was a world premiere of the music. In 2012, along with Andrzej Bauer and M.Bunio.S, he performed the Lutosphere project. Leszek Możdżer also performed with Cellonet, playing a piece composed specifically for the Enter Music Festival.
Leszek Możdżer is one of the pre-eminent Polish jazz musicians, a world-class pianist, an intrepid explorer, and a unique artist who uses his own music language. Versatility, sensitivity and imagination are his signature features. His music cannot be contained within a single genre and he himself does not even bother to do so. Rather than that, he prefers to development in a host of different directions.
Born on 23 March 1971 in Gdańsk, he started playing the piano at the age of five and, having completed all the schools, finally graduated from the Gdańsk Academy of Music in 1996. He grew interested in jazz in his final year of high school and gained his first experience in the band of the clarinet player Emil Kowalski and in the Miłość band of Tymon Tymański. In the early years of his career as a musician he was also a member of the Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet and Eryk Kulm’s Quintessence. In 1993 he received an honourable mention at the Jazz Juniors, the first of an avalanche of awards grated to him to date.
In 2011 Leszek Możdżer became the artistic director of Enter Music Festival in Poznań. The artists he invites here demonstrate a similar freshness and openness in their approach to music. During the first edition of the Festival, he played the pieces from his Komeda record, which was a world premiere of the music. In 2012, along with Andrzej Bauer and M.Bunio.S, he performed the Lutosphere project. Leszek Możdżer also performed with Cellonet, playing a piece composed specifically for the Enter Music Festival.
Leszek Możdżer is one of the pre-eminent Polish jazz musicians, a world-class pianist, an intrepid explorer, and a unique artist who uses his own music language. Versatility, sensitivity and imagination are his signature features. His music cannot be contained within a single genre and he himself does not even bother to do so. Rather than that, he prefers to development in a host of different directions.
Born on 23 March 1971 in Gdańsk, he started playing the piano at the age of five and, having completed all the schools, finally graduated from the Gdańsk Academy of Music in 1996. He grew interested in jazz in his final year of high school and gained his first experience in the band of the clarinet player Emil Kowalski and in the Miłość band of Tymon Tymański. In the early years of his career as a musician he was also a member of the Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet and Eryk Kulm’s Quintessence. In 1993 he received an honourable mention at the Jazz Juniors, the first of an avalanche of awards grated to him to date.
In 2011 Leszek Możdżer became the artistic director of Enter Music Festival in Poznań. The artists he invites here demonstrate a similar freshness and openness in their approach to music. During the first edition of the Festival, he played the pieces from his Komeda record, which was a world premiere of the music. In 2012, along with Andrzej Bauer and M.Bunio.S, he performed the Lutosphere project. Leszek Możdżer also performed with Cellonet, playing a piece composed specifically for the Enter Music Festival.