POLISH ARTISTS AT THE EFG LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL

Marcin Masecki  & Alexander Hawkins| Friday 14 November | Purcell Room, 10pm

Jazz in Polish Cinema launch: Knife in the Water screening + live piano set by Marcin Masecki Saturday 15 November | Barbican Cinema, 3pm

Tribute to Jarek Śmietana | Saturday 15 November | JAZZ Café POSK, 8.30pm
Alice Zawadzki | Wednesday 19 November | Royal Albert Hall, Elgar Room, 9.45pm

Tomasz Stańko New York Quartet + Stefano Bollani and Hamilton de Holanda | Thursday 20 November | Barbican, 7.30pm

Leszek Możdżer, Lars Danielsson, Zohar Fresco Trio + Asaf Sirkis & Sylwia Bialas | Friday 21 November | Cadogan Hall, 7.30pm

Gambler’s Hand String Quartet and Sean Noonan  | Friday 21 November | The Crypt, 8pm

Michał Urbaniak | Saturday 22 November | Polish Jazz Café POSK, 8.30pm

The extraordinary musicianship of Polish artists makes for compelling listening at this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival.

A multi-national and ‘astoundingly accomplished’ (Daily Telegraph) trio led by Leszek Możdżer bring the contemporary spirit of European jazz to the Festival, combining classical sensibility with a command of sonic texture and an effervescent spontaneity. Joined by bassist Lars Danielsson and percussionist Zohar Fresco, this is a piano trio of rare distinction.  An opening set features a collaboration between the expressive vocalist Sylwia Bialas – whose music carries echoes of the traditions of Polish music and landscape alongside a European jazz aesthetic – and the soundworld of Israeli percussionist Asaf Sirkis.  Their performance will be the official launch of their new recording, Come to Me.

Celebrated Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stańko brings back his New York Quartet to the Festival, after discovering three skilful musicians -the young Cuban pianist David Virelles, and the edgy rhythm team of bassist Thomas Morgan and the unpredictably brilliant drummer Gerald Cleaver - in the Big Apple while dividing his time between the US and Warsaw. Prepare for a performance of inspirational playing, feisty improvisation and formidable themes derived from his acclaimed ECM double album, Wisława – dedicated to the celebrated poet, essayist and Nobel Laureate Wisława Symborska.

A marriage of two remarkable pianists makes its debut at the Festival this year, as Polish player Marcin Masecki joins Brit Alexander Hawkins in a performance that amalgamates Masecki’s use of jazz, classical music and echoes of Poland’s rich folk traditions with that of Hawkins’ avant-jazz compositional style. Both musicians have been participants in Take Five, Serious’ Talent Development programme.

Virtuoso violinist and saxophonist, composer and arranger - Michał Urbaniak returns to the capital with a formidable career that includes work with Komeda’s ground-breaking Polish quintet in the early 60s, a long association with vocalist Ursula Dudziak, and collaborations with Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller – not to mention a telling contribution to Miles Davis’ classic electric album, TUTU.

A terrific Polish string quartet - Adam Roszkowski and Maciej Afanasjew (violins), Adam Dębski (viola), and Jan Roszkowski (cello) join US drummer and composer Sean Noonan tocombine the aesthetics of modern chamber music, improvised new music and storytelling, as Noonan narrates his tales as if the Irish playwright Samuel Beckett was sitting behind the drums.  This performance includes the premiere of Skarbnik Suites, taking the listener deep into the depths of the salt mines of Silesia, to evoke the Polish mythological legend Skarbnik, the treasurer of all mines.

And for those film buffs who want to explore Polish motion pictures, take a trip to the Barbican cinema where Roman Polański’s 1962 story of sexual tension and rivalry Knife in the Water will be screened. This showing marks the release of a definitive box set titled Jazz in Polish Cinema (Out of the Underground 1958-67) by Jazz on Film Records and includes previously unissued, remastered original soundtracks by Knife in the Water score composer, Krzysztof Komeda, and legendary Polish composer and pianist Andrzej Trzaskowski.  Marcin Masecki plays a short solo set to reflect his own inspiration from Komeda’s music, and the background to Komeda’s film music will be explored in a short panel session.

The Polish Jazz Café pays tribute to a valued friend - one of the great figures of Polish jazz, guitarist Jarek Śmietana, who passed away in 2013. The evening is hosted by acclaimed bassist Yaron Stavi and will include many of Jarek’s friends, including two of his musical colleagues of many years, Adam Czerwiński and Wojtek Karolak.  During a long and distinguished career that included collaborations with many of the key figures in Polish Jazz as well as international artists such as Art Farmer, Joe Zawinul and John Abercrombie, he also recorded the ground-breaking 2004 album, The Story of Polish Jazz, featuring the first ever first Polish jazz rap.   

London-based singer, violinist and composer Alice Zawadzki creates music that is intensely personal, with influences from the soul and gospel music of the American deep South as well as her Polish heritage.  She launches her new recording, China Lane, at the Festival.

For more information on the Polish artists at the Festival, please visit: efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/polish

Polish artists at the EFG London Jazz Festival 2014 are supported by the Polish Cultural Institute in London.

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For information on all EFG London Jazz Festival shows please go toefglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

 The EFG London Jazz Festival is produced by Serious, one of the UK’s leading producers and curators of live jazz, international and new music. Serious produces events that range from major concerts, festivals and national and international tours through to learning and participation programmes, conferences and specially commissioned bespoke events. Alongside its core role as a live music events producer, it works in artist and rights management. Alongside this exists the registered charity, Serious Trust, which has been established to support the next generation of artists and audiences through our artist development, learning and participation and commissioning programmes. serious.org.uk

The London Jazz Festival was created in 1992 by live international music producers, Serious. The Festival emerged from the long-standing Camden Jazz Week which was created in 1970; with the active support of the London Arts Board (now Arts Council England, London). Serious – who had for some years produced the Camden Jazz Week, engineered a transition that saw the evolution of the Festival.  Taking a mix of international and British artists and a commitment to education activity, the London Jazz Festival began to spread its wings. The aims of the Festival still remain the same today; celebrating the place of jazz in a city which is at ease with its rich cultural diversity, and drawing in a multitude of venues across London who present the music, week in, week out, throughout the year.
efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk

EFG International is a global private banking group offering private banking and asset management services, headquartered in Zurich. EFG International's group of private banking businesses operates in around 30 locations worldwide, with circa 2,000 employees. EFG International's registered shares (EFGN) are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. It is represented in the UK by EFG Private Bank, which offers a range of wealth management services in the UK (with offices in London and the Midlands) and Channel Islands.
Practitioners of the craft of private banking.

efginternational.com

The Polish Cultural Institute in London is a diplomatic mission of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland. Based in London, the Institute is dedicated to nurturing and promoting cultural ties between the United Kingdom and Poland, both through British exposure to Poland 's cultural achievements, and through exposure of Polish artists and scholars to British trends, institutions, and professional counterparts. The function of the Polish Cultural Institute is to showcase contemporary Polish culture for Britain's multicultural audience, particularly in London as it is truly the leading global cultural capital. Our programme covers the visual arts, film, theatre, music and literature.
polishculture.org.uk

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