Leszek Możdżer is among the most famous jazz musicians in Poland, although his fame has taken him around the world and going gold and platinum on many records. He has been featured on over 100 albums, including 2011's Leszek Możdżer - Komeda, a tribute to Poland's best-known composer for the cinema. Leszek Możdżer began learning to play the piano when he was five years old. In 1996 he received a diploma from the Academy of Music in Gdańsk. He made his debut in 1991 as part of Emil Kowalski's band. He is best-known for being part of one of the most important bands of the '90s - Miłość.
Możdżer developed an interest in jazz relatively late - at the age of eighteen, as he was finishing his secondary education. He gained his first jazz experience with Emil Kowalski, but the true start of his jazz adventure started from the first rehearsal with the group Miłość in 1991. In 1992-1996 he played with famous saxophone player Zbigniew Namysłowski. He also worked with many excellent musicians: Tomasz Stańko (1992), Buddy de Franco, David Friesen (1995), Archie Shepp, Michał Urbaniak, Adam Pierończyk (1996), and Arthur Blythe (1997).
That same year he received his first individual mention at the International Jazz Juniors '92 Competition in Kraków. An avalanche of prizes followed: 1st place at the International Jazz Improvisation Contest in Katowice (1994); Fryderyk '98 to the jazzman of year 1998; the Gdańsk Mayor Award for outstanding artistic achievement (1999); Ad Astra - the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Award to an outstanding young musician (2001); Polityka's Passport award in the rock-pop-show business category for 2004; Ministry of Foreign Affairs award for promoting Polish culture abroad (2006). Since 1994, he has been regularly recognised as the Pianist of the Year by readers of Jazz Forum magazine. In 2011, he received another Fryderyk for best original soundtrack for the album Kaczmarek by Możdżer, a collection of contemporary film music. A year later he won three Jazz Top awards – Musician of the Year, Pianist of the Year, and Album of the Year (Komeda). In 2013, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
He has been a member of other music groups, including Miłość and the Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet and has recorded film soundtracks with the composer Zbigniew Preisner. He has been invited to play with other leading Polish jazzmen, such as Tomasz Stańko, Janusz Muniak, Michał Urbaniak, Piotr Wojtasik, Adam Pierończyk, Henryk Miśkiewicz, and Anna Maria Jopek. He has also played with Pat Metheny, Arthur Blythe, Buster Williams, Billy Harper, Joe Lovano, Archie Shepp, David Liebman, Charles Fox, Lester Bowie, David Gilmour, Marcus Miller, John Scofield, Steve Swallow, Eddi Daniels, Tan Dun and other jazz stars of world-wide renown. He participates in the LUTOSPHERE project (with Andrzej Bauer and m.bunio.s). Możdżer is also a member of the Możdżer/Danielsson/Fresco jazz trio (together with double bassist Lars Danielsson and Zohar Fresco, a drummer and singer from Israel).
His record Piano became a great jazz hit. His popularity grew further thanks to collaborations with the composer Zbigniew Preisner, which brought about such pieces as Requiem for my Friend (1998) and 10 łatwych utworów na fortepian / 10 Easy Pieces for Piano (1999).