The Central European Jazz Connection performs in Prague as part of the celebrations marking the twentieth anniversary of the formation of the Visegrad Group – a regional alliance between the nations of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary
The jazz ensemble is comprised of its Polish founder and pianist Kuba Stankiewicz, along with some of Central Europe's finest jazz musicians: Slovakian guitarist and arranger, Matúš Jakabčic; Hungarian trumpeter, composer and arranger, Kornél Fekete-Kovács; Czech double bassist Jaromír Honzák - whose album Little Things won the award for Best Jazz Album 2009 and was released in collaboration with the Polski salon / Polish salon series - and Slovakian drummer Peter Solárik. In addition to the group's regular setup, Slovenian saxophonist Primož Fleischman will appear as a special guest. The group's repertoire is formed from contributions by all of its constituent members.
Stankiewicz's reputation as one of Poland's finest jazz pianists has been undisputed for a number of years. He distinguishes himself through an individual approach to composition, sensitivity for tone colour and an intuitive feel for dynamics and range. He made his professional debut playing in ensembles lead by
Jan "Ptaszyn" Wróblewski and
Zbigniew Namysłowski (1985-87), with whom he toured the USA and Mexico, also appearing on the records Open and Song of Innocence.Stankiewicz studied for a diploma in piano performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston before spending time touring the States with the Artie Shaw Orchestra. He's a laureate of the Oscar Peterson Award and a semifinalist of the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, held in Washington, and his album Northern Song was voted Album of the Year in a survey by readers of Jazz Forum in 1993.
The group's concert takes place in the Museum Hall on Vítkov Hill at 19:00 on February 16, 2011, at 19:00. Between 18:00 and 18:45, concertgoers have the opportunity of visiting the exhibition ‘Křižovatky české a československé státnosti', as well as sampling views of Prague by night from the museum terrace.
The concert is jointly organised by the Polish Institute in Prague, the Czech Centre in Prague, the Hungarian Cultural Centre, the Slovakian Institute and the National Museum in Prague.
Source:
www.polskyinstitut.cz,
pl.chopin.nifc.pl