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WYNTON MARSALIS

COMES BACK AFTER 27 YEARS

At the beginning of the third decade, the organizers of the LOTOS Jazz Festival of Bielska Zadymka Jazzowej introduced the function of the Resident Artist to the event formula. During the 21st edition it was Pat Methany. In 2020, this function will be performed by an outstanding American musician, composer and teacher, winner of the Grammy Awards and the NEA Jazz Masters Award - Ron Carter. He is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding contemporary double bass players, who in the 1960s was a member of the legendary Miles Davis quintet and then co-created projects for a whole galaxy of world jazz stars, including Herb Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Ron Carter has already performed at Zadymka in 2009, when during an unforgettable concert at the Polish Theater, he received the "Angel of Jazz" statuette (Artistic Award of the Art Theater Association), but this time he will come to Bielsko-Biała and Katowice for longer. During his almost one week stay, he will meet journalists at a press conference, students and adepts of double bass during special master workshops, with Polish musicians during rehearsals for a concert with Big Band and finally with the audience during three concerts: Ron Carter & LOTOS Jazz Festival Big Band at the Bielsko Cultural Center and Ron Carter Quartet and Carter / Galliano in the Concert Hall of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice.

RICHARD GALLIANO

ANGEL JAZZU  

This famous French multi-instrumentalist is one of the most outstanding European artists. It draws inspiration from jazz as well as classical, entertainment and ethnic music. It is in Katowice that he will begin the celebration of the 50th anniversary of his artistic work, which will take place in 2020. Galliano, an accordion and bandoneon virtuoso and an outstanding composer, is an unsurpassed interpreter of Astor Piazzolla's music. He created a distinctive sound known as "new tango musette". He is the most outstanding jazz accordionist who introduced this instrument to jazz improvisation. He has collaborated with many outstanding artists such as Juliette Greco, Charles Aznavour, Chet Baker, Jan Garbarek, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter, with whom he will start the second part of the festival's Gala. Then, the National Polish Radio Orchestra in Katowice will appear on stage, with which Galiano will perform a symphonic concert of Astor Piazzolla "Aconcagua" and a concert he composed entitled "Madreperla".

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JLCO

ANGEL JAZZU  

He is an American jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger, winner of the GRAMMY Award (five times nominated). He is a highly decorated musician, just to mention the honorary doctorate he received from Berklee College. His solo career was preceded by cooperation with a whole galaxy of jazz groups, from the Duke Ellington Orchestra, through Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Donald Byrd, to Miles Davis, with whom he recorded four albums. It was the five-year collaboration with Davis that brought him real fame and the title of the best alcist in the world. Big Miles, bowing to his artistry, gave him carte blanche at concerts, they let him do anything, and by himself removing his trumpet into the shadow of Garrett's saxophone.

He has also participated in productions of contemporary music stars such as: Sting, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Marcus Miller, MeShell Ndegeocello, Q-Tip and Cameo. As a soloist and leader, he has released 19 albums. On Zadymka, he will present material from the album "Do Your Dance!"

A real giant. A total musician who never gives himself a discount wherever he performs, be it a small jazz club in the provinces or Carnegie Hall. He takes the audience into his possession after just a few minutes of the concert. When he enters the stage, we get the impression that a shaman has taken possession of our soul and will hold it in his power as long as he wants to. He doesn't just play. He makes a ritual of conjuring the world around him. Check it out! It's so good it's dangerous! In the finale of each Garrett's concert, there is an exit from the circle of the sacred to the world of the profane - something akin to a slow disenchantment. We get back together, but always different.

As in many other countries and cities of the world, during the concert in Bielsko-Biała, it will certainly invite the audience to leap up from their seats and release their emotions by performing their own dance, as was the case in Klub Klimat at 15 Zadymka Jazzowa in 2013. Such madness is never forgotten.

 

KENNY GARRETT QUINTET "DO YOUR DANCE"
 

Kenny Garrett - Alto and Soprano Saxophones
Corcoran Holt - Acoustic Bass
Vernell Brown - Acoustic Piano
Samuel Laviso - Drums
Rudy Bird - Percussion

KRZESIMIR DĘBSKI

ANGEL JAZZU  

The host of the Polish Jazz Gala will be Krzesimir Dębski, whose contribution to Polish contemporary music cannot be overestimated. He is a giant - composer of music for over 50 films ("With Fire and Sword" - Fryderyk 2000, "In Desert and Wilderness" - an award at the International Film Festival in Pyrgos, Greece; "Kinsajz") and many theater performances, composed over 50 symphonic works and chamber music, he is an outstanding jazz violinist and conductor. The leader of the famous band String Connection, which was one of the most important jazz groups in our country in the 1980s. He has repeatedly won the title of "Best Violinist, Composer and Arranger of the Year" in the "Jazz Forum" magazine polls. In 1985, he was included in the list of ten best jazz violinists of the American magazine Down Beat. He also writes songs, also for children. Perhaps his most famous popular work is Grażyna Łobaszewska's 1984 hit "Time teaches us the weather". It is impossible to count the number of awards he received in Poland and abroad. In 2017, he was awarded the Pro Patria medal for "special contributions to the independence tradition". His work knows no stylistic or genre boundaries, it is a very individual association of everything that is happening in broadly understood contemporary music, so ladies and gentlemen - the giant - Krzesimir Dębski are ahead of us.

The gala will begin with the presentation of the Grand Prize for the Competition Laureate, which will then be presented to the festival audience. After the break, the Artistic Award of the Art Theater Association "Angel of Jazz 2020" will be presented to Krzesimir Dębski. At the artist's invitation, the concert will feature the brothers Marcin and Bartłomiej Oleś, Dawid and Damian Kostka and the Primuz string orchestra. Special guests may also appear on stage ...

KRZESIMIR DĘBSKI - SPECIAL PROJECT

Krzesimir Dębski - violin, piano

Marcin Oleś - double bass

Bartłomiej Oleś - drums

Dawid Kostka - guitar
Damian Kostka - double bass

Jan Bieniasz- piano
Adeb Chamoun - drums

Primuz String Orchestra

Till Brönner

is a jazz trumpet virtuoso from Germany. He is undoubtedly the most outstanding jazz musician from the circle of German-speaking countries. His instrumental artistry as well as his vocal abilities make him often compared to Chet Baker. He composes film music, is a music producer and a respected photographer. Brönner regularly performs on major world stages, for example at Carnegie Hall in New York, at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Tokyo and at major jazz festivals. He has already performed at Jazzowa Zadymka twice: in 2004 with his trio and in 2013 in Benny Golson's band. This time, for the first time in Poland, he will present material from the album "Nightfall", which he will perform together with the outstanding double bass player Dieter Ilg, co-creator of the successes of Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Albert Mangelsdorff, Nils Landgren, Wolfgang Muthspiel and Charlie Mariano. In addition to jazz standards ("Body and Soul"), the repertoire of the album also includes classics of popular music ("Eleanor Rigby" by Lennon and McCartney).

TILL BROENNER & DIETER ILG "NIGHTFALL"

Till Broenner - trumpet

Dieter Ilg - double bass

Dhafer Youssef

Tunisian musician, master of Sufi, qawwali, fusion, jazz, world music, electro jazz, singer and composer. Master of the oud lute, the sound of which in the last decade captivated jazz musicians seeking inspiration in distant cultures. The music of Dhafer Youssef combines the Sufi tradition, the mysticism of the East, and the jazz tradition with the lyricism of Arabic melismatics. During his concerts, listeners will travel to the land of unforgettable sounds and landscapes, which build images like from the fairy tale "A Thousand and One Nights". After his concerts, "souls recover and minds are cleared of civilization deposits."

He has 9 solo albums and many albums recorded with other musicians. In 2008 he recorded in Poland "Jo & Co" with Anna Maria Jopek, Nino Cinelu and Richard Bona for Universal Music.

DHAFER YOUSSEF "SOUNDS OF MIRRORS"
Dhafer Youssef - oud, vocals
Raffaele Casarano - sax
Eivind Aarset - guitar
Adriano Dos Santos - percussion

EVGENY POBOZHIY

For the first time in Poland, Zadymka will present the sensational winner of the International Jazz Competition organized by the Herbie Hancock Institute in Washington. On December 3, 2019, the main prize in the competition was awarded to the 30-year-old Russian guitar virtuoso Evgeny Pobozhiy, who comes from Western Siberia, now living in Moscow, the jurors of the competition were giants of modern jazz guitar: Stanley Jordan, Lionel Loueke, Russell Malone, Pat Metheny, Chico Pinheiro, Lee Ritenour, and John Scofield.

Evgeny Pobozhiy Quartet
Evgeny Pobozhiy - guitar
Tomasz Bura - piano, keyboards

Federico Malaman - double bass

Gergo Borlai - drums

PBUG

Formerly PB Undengroud - the band represents the British Funk scene. It is run by Pete Ray Biggin, MD and songwriter - cult drummer, member of the elite drummerworld.com, a musician known for performing with performers such as Level 42, Incognito, Amy Winehouse, Chaka Khan, Lalah Hathaway and Mark Ronson. Although the other members of PBUG are among the best London session musicians, they present themselves perfectly during their concerts, as evidenced by the nomination for their band to the title of "Best Live UK Show of the Year" for 2013.

The band toured the world and sold out at iconic London clubs such as Ronnie Scott's, Under The Bridge and Jazz Cafe. He was applauded during performances at many renowned festivals, such as Le Defense Jazz Festival in Paris, Enghien Jazz Festival in Belgium and Gronignen Jazz Festival in the Netherlands.

If you remember such bands as Earth Wind and Fire, Tower of Power, where the combination of jazz with soul and funk music was a new dimension of initiation, then get ready for the fire of a similar dimension, although it is a new fire. The wind section, percussion instruments, wonderful male and female vocals create a hellish atmosphere that pulls you into the middle of musical madness. James Brown would be proud of them!

Lakecia Benjamin

She is an American jazz, funk and R&B saxophonist. She is a representative of the young New York scene. She has performed with stars such as Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, The Root and Macy Gray. She played in the White House for President Barack Obama in 2009. She has released three albums so far. Recording and touring with Lakecia Benjamin and Soul Squad, she became known as a musician inspired by the classic sounds of James Brown, Maceo Parker, Sly and Family Stone and the Meters. Her fourth album, which will be released at the beginning of 2020 in the USA, and whose European premiere will take place at Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa, is devoted to the music of John Coltrane - one of the most outstanding jazz artists and reformers.

LAKECIA BENJAMIN: PURSUANCE / THE MUSIC OF THE COLTRANES
Lakecia Benjamin - alto saxophone
David Bryant - piano
Lonnie Plaxico - double bass
Darrell Green - drums
Charenne Wade - vocals

Marta Wajdzik

She is an extremely talented, 18-year-old saxophonist associated with Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa,  , from her youngest years. She took her first jazz "steps" during the concerts of music school students on the Festival Promotion Stage. Then, as a soloist, she took part in the Bielski Jazz Gala at the Klimat club during the 20th anniversary edition of the festival. She also appeared at the gala of the 47th Traditional Jazz Festival "Złota Tarka" in Iława. A year later, as a leader, she presented her original "Marta Wajdzik Project" at Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa and during the Sopot Jazz Festival. Despite her young age, she has already performed with such greats as: Urszula Dudziak, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Robert Majewski and the Golc Brothers. She has received many awards and distinctions, including: (2017) Best Soloist in the Artistic Education Center competition for jazz bands in Warsaw; Best soloist at the 20th Young Jazz and Blues Bands in Gdynia festival; 1st prize at the 10th Tarnów Jazz Contest festival; (2019) 1st place in the soloist-instrumentalist category of the Blue Note Poznań Competition; Grand Prix Junior Młyn Jazz Festival.
Marta is a technically very advanced saxophonist and a composer with a great imagination. She herself composed all the material for the album, which will be released by the Sztuka Teatr Association, and the gala premiere of which will begin with the LOTOS Jazz Festival at the 22nd Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa. The album was recorded with the participation of the best jazz musicians in our country, and its musical director and pianist is Paweł Tomaszewski, dean of the Jazz and Popular Music Department of the Academy of Music in Katowice.

Mitch & Mitch

MUSIC ON THE TOP_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d _ – _ cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_Mitch & Mitch

The core of the band are well-known figures of the Warsaw alternative scene. They practice alternative rock, jazz, country and traditional pop. Their concerts combine the pleasure of playing with musical erudition and an extraordinary, spectacular technique.

Mitch & Mitch

Mitch - guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocal
Mitch - bass, percussion, vocal
Mr. Bitch (formerly known as Mrs. Mitch) - guitars, percussion
Mad Mitch - saxophone, flute, percussion
Mitch The Kid - trumpet, percussion
Spiral Mitch - trombone, percussion
Crackin 'Mitch - vibraphone, percussion
Reverend James Boned Mitch - drums, percussion
The (ðə) Mitch - drums, percussion

JAZZ UNDERGROUND_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d _ – _ cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_EABS

The excellent and increasingly famous Polish jazz septet from Wrocław was founded in 2011 by Piotr Skorupski. Their debut album "Repetitions (Letters to Krzysztof Komeda)" from 2017 turned out to be a publishing revelation on our jazz market. Komeda's little-known compositions have undergone a sonic revitalization, while maintaining the atmosphere characteristic of the composer. The album provoked a lively discussion about the limits of jazz widened by the band once again. In 2019, their second album "Slavic Spirits" was released, containing the band's original compositions.

EABS surprises with freshness, there is nothing in them that we would consider secondary or borrowed. Yes, they take advantage of the jazz past, drawing inspiration from it, but what they play and how they play is so new and surprising that even old players will be introduced to the unpredictable world of sounds. The future of jazz is theirs.

EABS plays Sun Ra cosmic songbook Marek Pędziwiatr - keyboards & vocals
Paweł Stachowiak - bass guitar
Jakub Kurek - trumpet
Olaf Węgier - tenor saxophone
Marcin Rak - drums
Spisek Jednego - samples & percussion

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