Polish Cultural Institute and B Side Events have collaborated once again to curate a series of short clips from Polish Jazz musicians, recorded in the last few weeks, as part of #PolishCultureKatchUp. The lockdown might be almost over but you can see what they have been up to and what they are into. 

Featuring : Kuba Więcek, Dorota Miśkiewicz, Marek Pędziwiatr from EABS and Jerzy Mączyński. Big thanks to all the artists for inviting us to their homes!

Dorota Miśkiewicz is The Best Polish Jazz Singer 2019 according to the ranking of Jazz Forum magazine and one of the few to sing and record a duo with Cesaria Evora. Their song “Um Pincelada” was greeted with great reception from music lovers all over the world and was also included on the Polish edition of a Cesaria „Rogamar” album. This duet led to another one – with world-renowned pianist Stefano Bollani – released on the Italian album Capo Verde Terra d’Amore.

She is also an author of fabolous all-star project PIANO.PL, performed with her by the greatest Polish pianists (Leszek Możdżer, Marcin Wasilewski among others) and the world-famous Atom String Quartet. The PIANO.PL live concert has been recognized in Poland as the most important jazz event of 2016 and the live album of the concert has been proclaimed the best jazz album of the year. Dorota has also performed with: Nigel Kennedy, David Murray, Louis Winsberg, Kepa Junkera, Tomasz Stanko and the whole range of the Polish music scene – not only jazz.

Last year she started a collaboration with the famous, brazilian guitarist, the icon of latin jazz – Toninho Horta. Their joint album will be released in 2021.

Kuba Więcek is a saxophonist and composer. Despite his young age – one of the most recognizable jazz musicians in the country. Winner of, among others, Fryderyk and Mateusz Trójki for his phonographic debut entitled “Another Raindrop”, which was the first debut in the cult series “Polish Jazz” for 28 years. A graduate of the Rytmisk Musik Conservatorium in Copenhagen. In addition to his trio, he performs with, among others, Kamil Piotrowicz, Piotr Orzechowski and Marcin Masecki. He currently lives in Warsaw, he studies at the Academy of Music in Krakow regularly giving concerts around the world.

Więcek’s second album ‘Multitasking’ released in 2019 in the Polish Jazz series received fantastic reviews and was described as playful and inventive. Kuba Więcek Trio played a fantastic concert with material from the album as part of Polish Jazz London Series last September.

Marek Pędziwiatr is a pianist and composer from Wrocław. He is a leader of sextet EABS, one of the most popular jazz acts in Poland, which we had a pleasure to host for the closing show of last year’s Polish Jazz London Series. EABS’ latest album ‘Slavic Spirits’ received high praise from both music critics and the audience.

Marek is also a member of Błoto – a somewhat accidentally formed band made of 4 musicians from EABS. Błoto made waves recently both in Poland and UK with their album ‘Erozje’ full of hip-hop rhythm and free improv, having been played by the likes of Gilles Peterson. Both EABS and Błoto release their music on Astigmatic Records. Marek is involved in other musical projects under the name Latarnik.

Jerzy Mączyński is a Polish saxophonist and composer. From an early age, he was educated in in both jazz and classical music. A graduate of the Academy of Music in Wrocław, he spent the last year of undergraduate studies in Denmark, at Syddansk Musik Konservatorium. In 2018 he began his master’s studies at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.

The founder of the band “Jerry & The Pelican System” – an alternative musical concept that is taking by storm not only Polish, but also the international scene of instrumental music. The band released their debut album in the prestigious Polish Jazz series last year. He is also a co-founder of one of the most recognizable experimental jazz bands of the younger generation, P.E. Quartet. 

His latest project ‘Jerzy Mączyński Jerry & The Pelican System – Virtual Tour’ is a response to the demand for a virtual cultural offer in the age of coronavirus pandemic. As part of the project, a series of music programs with new compositions will be produced and made available online for free on Jerzy Mączyński’s online channels.