In Poland, winter festivals are virtual blizzards. This year's Zadymka Jazzowa festival draws jazz enthusiasts from all over Poland and the world to enjoy the snow-capped mountains and great music. One of its highlights of this year's festival is the evening finale concert at the top station of Szyndzielnia mountain, reachable by cable car, at an altitude of 1000 above sea level.
As a result of a modest initiative of a few jazz enthusiasts, in the span of 10 years "The Blizzard" has become an event that attracts fans from all over the country as well as abroad. Engaged in the organization of the event are actors, musicians, artists, photographers, journalists, with the support of the local council, sponsors and partners of the festival. In 2011, the festival won "Jazz Forum" magazine's readers poll for the best jazz festival in Poland for the second time.
To this day, almost 700 artists from 30 different countries have performed here over the past decade. Some of the most famous names were: Wayne Shorter, Hank Jones, Ron Carter, McCoy Tyner, All Foster, Charlie Haden, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Yellowjackets, Joe Lovano, Dave Doulgas, Terence Blanchard, Kevin Mahogany, Roy Hargrove, David Murray , James Carter, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Henri Texier, Arild Andersen, Till Broenner, Richard Galliano, Nils Petter Molvaer, Erik Truffaz, Roberta Gambarini, as well as Polish musicians Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Urszula Dudziak, Michał Urbaniak, Tomasz Stańko, Leszek Możdżer, Ewa Bem, Anna Maria Jopek and many others.
This year's headliners include Candy Dulfer Group, Joshua Redman Trio, Ahmad Jamal Quartet, Avishai Cohen Trio, CéU (Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças) as well as some equally renowned Polish jazzmen and their bands: Marcin Żupański Chicago Quartet, Tomek Grochot Quintet (along with Eddie Henderson), Piotr Wyleżoł, The Hillbilly Moon Explosion and Big Band of the Music Academy in Katowice.
Following the 11th edition of the festival, the Gazeta Wyborcza daily's Tomasz Handzlik called the event:
One of the most important points on the map of Polish jazz. It is not a hermetic event for connoisseurs of the genre, because its organisers are open to modernity. Drawing inspiration from the most interesting music festivals in Europe, it doesn't focus on the mainstream music of the most famous jazz vocalists and instrumentalists but it also discovers new promising improvised music and interesting styles by interspersing its programme with lighter, club concerts. And this is why it is becoming a leading voice among Polish festivals.
The event is accompanied by a number of additional events - happenings, poster, photography and painting exhibitions. The Jazz Blizzard takes place between February 16 - 20, 2011. For more information and a full programme of the 13th Bielsko-Biała Jazz Blizzard, see: www.zadymka.pl.
Source: press release