Three Polish groups are part of the lineup at this year's Jazz Showcase in Hungary. Nikola Kolodziejczyk Trio - Stryjo, Maciej Obara Quartet and Marcin Wasilewski Trio join the most promising young musical talents from Hungary and the region
Over three days, the festival offers rich overview of jazz's most exciting projects of recent years. Poland is represented by three intriguing groups. Nikola Kołodziejczyk presents his Stryjo project, with Maciek Szczyciński on double bass, Michał Bryndal on drums and Kołodziejczyk on piano. Kołodziejczyk was born in Kraków in 1986, received a classical education in piano performance and composition, later joining Kazimierz Chludek's ensemble. He has won a number of prizes and scholarships, presenting a style of jazz that is upbeat and experimental, with elements of folk and mystical sounds.
The Maciej Obara Quartet premiered its first album "Equilibrium'' at Wrocław's Jazztopad Festival in November 2011. The quartet project is the latest in many musical projects initiated by top-tier jazz musician Obara, whose career has boasted collaborations with Polish jazz legend Tomasz Stańko and New York-based saxophonist Antoine Roney. The Maciej Obara Quartet is compoased of Maciej Grabowski on bass, Krzysztof Gradziuk on percussion and Dominik Wania on piano. Their sound has been called a new look at musical energy, placed in a harmonic context, with a European rhythm.
Marcin Wasilewski Trio is among the most recognisable names in Polish contemporary jazz. The trio was started up by Wasilewski and Sławomir Kurkiewicz in Koszalin in 1990 as secondary school students, creating the Simple Acoustic Trio together with percussionist Michał Miśkiewicz. They've won prizes and critical acclaim all over the world, also recording in New York City with prominent local musicians, creating a sound characterised by a great deal of energy and exciting interaction between all three members.
The three bands perform on the first day of the festival, the 13th of January, from the afternoon until the evening. For a full programme, see: mupa.hu.
Source: polinst.hu, maciejobara.com, music.thinkbay.net, www.artribute.de