Sonny Rollins, photo provided by organiser
The festival will begin with an event which will certainly become one of the most important jazz events in Poland – Sonny Rollins' concert.
During the past three years we managed to build the festival which is considered one of the most important jazz festivals not only in Poland, but also in all Europe.
This is owing to the rare formula of the festival: concerts are prepared to our individual order. During the previous three editions, we managed to invite to Wrocław the most prominent international jazz artists and to convince them to write new compositions specially for us.
Pieces of Terje Rypdal from two years ago and of John Surman from 2010 will be published by ECM. We also manage to consequently implement the concept of presenting the brightest stars of jazz. Two years ago, a great event was the concert of the Wayne Shorter Quartet.
Last year – the only European concert of the duo: Gary Peacock and Marc Copland and, in the opinion of many, the most important jazz concert of last years in Poland – the concert of the Charles Lloyd Quartet.
On 6 November 2011, the festival will begin with an event which will certainly become one of the most important jazz events in Poland. Sonny Rollins himself will perform in the Regional Centre for Business Tourism. It will be his only concert in Poland.
The Polish – German jazz marathon, the next edition of the JazzPlaysEurope LABORATORY and masters’ workshops are only a few of the events which will be held during the festival.
The most significant jazz festivals in Europe are interested in cooperating with Jazztopad. This includes an invitation to participate in the initiative called "Take Five Europe", organized by the London Jazz Festival in 1994. Until now, it has consisted in supporting young English musicians – organising workshops, managerial courses, etc. This year, the London Jazz Festival decided to extend this very successful programme to other countries and invited to the narrow circle the biggest jazz festivals in Europe: the Molde Jazz Festival, the North Sea Festival and the Sous Les Pommiers Jazz Festival. This group also includes Jazztopad.
Performers:
Russell Malone – guitar
Jerome Jennings – drums
Bob Crenshaw – bass
Sammy Figueroa – percussion
Sonny Rollins – saxophone
Sonny Rollins
This double winner of the Grammy Award, the winner of the Polar Music Prize (also known as the Nobel prize in music) has been also continuously topping polls held by jazz magazines. Rollins is the last of the jazz giants and the link between contemporary music and the legends.
Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Billie Holiday – Rollins has performed together with the biggest stars. For over fifty years of his career, Rollins has recorded compositions and albums that have become part of the history of jazz. The most significant albums include "Saxophone Colossus", "Tenor Madness" and "Freedom Suite", but there are many other that deserve mentioning.
In 2006, Rollins topped the Down Beat Readers Polls for "Jazzman of the Year", "Tenor Sax Player" and "Recording of the Year" for the album titled "Without a Song". In 2010, he won the title of the "Saxophonist of the Year".
On 2nd of March 2011, Rollins received the 2010 National Medal of Arts from the US President Barack Obama, awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This is the most significant award for musicians in the United States. "Sonny Rollins' melodic sensibilities, playing style, and solos have delighted audiences and influenced generations of musicians for over fifty years and I join the President and the country in saluting him", said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman.
Concert: 06.11, 7:00 pm | Regional Center for Business Tourism
Organiser: The Wrocław Philharmonic
Project is realized within the Cultural Programme of the Polish EU Presidency in 2011.
Event description provided by organisers.