As part of the continuation of The Jazz po Polsku. “Around the World” project, the Polish Institute in New Delhi invited the Kuba Wójcik trio to play for Indian audiences in December. 

Kuba Wójcik, guitarist and composer joined by Rafał Różalski on double bass, and Indian jazz drummer, Aditya Bhagavatula (4-13th December) and Karan Chitra Deshmukh (14-15th December) were on tour from 4th to 15th December 2024.

The Kuba Wójcik Trio performed their first concert at the Purana Qila in Delhi at a festival called Panorama Editions. The Panorama Editions is an art salon founded by Sarah Singh, an artist and filmmaker.

The event at Purana Qila was hosted by the Archaeological Survey of India and featured an exhibition on site which included pieces by Polish designer Dorota Kuźniarska. Before the jazz music performance of the trio, the audience could watch a fashion show. The evening included opening remarks by Sarah Singh, Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator United Nations India, Tim Curtis, Director and UNESCO representative in Delhi, and Amitabh Kant from Niti Ayog.

From Delhi, Kuba Wójcik Trio traveled to Kolkata where on the 12th of December they performed at the Calcutta School of Music. There were also performing at the Kolkata Jazz Festival.

The tour in India closed performance on 15th December at the Art Park, Panjim, Goa as a part of the multidisciplinary Serendipity Arts Festival.

The JAZZ PO POLSKU “Around the World” project is inspired by the feats of Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, a Polish traveler who was the first Pole to circumnavigate the World out of his own initiative. Strzelecki went through a remarkable journey in the years 1834-1843, during which he conducted broad geological and geographical research, contributing to the development of knowledge about the contemporary world.

The project is carried out by the JAZZ PO POLSKU Foundation in collaboration with Polish diplomatic missions around the World, as well as with a number of local partners. The honorary patronage over the project has been taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its 2024 partners include: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Polish Institute in New Delhi, Polish Airlines – LOT and the Industrial Development Agency Foundation. Patrons: Polish Radio Programe III, Polish Press Agency, and Jazz Forum Magazine.

About the artists:

Fot. Sisi Cecylia

Kuba Wójcik is a guitarist, composer, educator, and traveler. He is the creator of projects at the intersection of jazz and avant-garde, such as Minim feat. Sainkho, Mad Ship, Kuba Wójcik’s Threak, and a duo with Piotr Damasiewicz. As a solo artist, he explores ambient sounds, combining guitar with electronics. He has released seven albums, including Minim Experiment – Dark Matter, which was recognized as the Debut of the Year 2016, and Minim feat. Sainkho – Earth, which ranked 2nd among all jazz releases in 2020. He has collaborated with artists such as Rolf Kühn, Sainkho Namtchylak, Nils Davidsen, Peter Bruun, as well as the Cracow Improvisers Orchestra and Professor Leszek Kułakowski’s Big Band. He has performed in Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, and Nepal. Kuba is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Gdańsk with a degree in Jazz and Stage Music and a scholarship recipient of the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. In the Jazz Forum critics’ poll, he ranked 3rd among guitarists for the year 2020. He is the organizer of the Spontaneous Composers’ Meetings. He received the Warsaw City Artistic Scholarship for 2021. As a composer, he is interested in the works of minimalists, which he adapts into the contemporary jazz language. He is inspired by nature and traditional cultures and is a jazz guitar lecturer at the Academy of Art in Szczecin.

Rafał Różalski is a Polish double bass player and improviser currently based in Copenhagen. His playing is a radically acoustic and raw expression, blending a wide range of influences including jazz, hip hop, rock, Western classical music, and Polish folk. Rafał is a member of several innovative ensembles such as Alawari, RASP Lovers, Marcel Baliński Quartet (featuring Rudi Mahal), Margaux Oswald’s Collateral Damage, and the Pimpono Ensemble. He is also a key figure in Współgłosy, an improvised musical theatre project that brings together improvisers and a choir of artists with disabilities. In 2022, he collaborated with Mats Gustafsson on the Hidros9 project. Additionally, Rafał co-organizes the “Nørrebro Jazz Extravaganza,” a weekly series of improvised music performances in Copenhagen.

Aditya Bhagavatula is a drummer from New Delhi who started learning drums at the age of 4 under the mentorship of the esteemed Sir Manoj Mavely. He has since become a prominent figure in the Indian music scene, playing with the country’s top funk band, The Revisit Project. Aditya has also performed with renowned acts such as Pineapple Express and Ustaad Ma Zila Khan, among others.

Karan Chitra Deshmukh is a versatile performer and drummer, Multi Percussionist, Vocalist, Composer, Beat Boxer, Actor, blending in all the art  across the world. *A TEDx Speaker; featured in Mtv Coke Studio and Mtv Unplugged globally. His covers of Game of Thrones Tabla version, Bella ciao have received viral response with *15 Million+ views on YouTube and other social media platforms. Worked with renowned composers from around the world such as A.R Rahman, YO YO MA , Salim Sulaiman, Karsh Kale, Papon, Jason Derulo to name a few.