PROPHETIC FALL – Strycharski / Wójciński / Szpura

The best sounds don’t always come out of a prepared scenario. Musicians who boldly improvise with sound know this well. We will get to know these artists during a series of shows called Polish Improvised Music. It debuted in 2013 and was warmly received by the audience of Kraków Jazz Autumn, which is dedicated both to the stars of improvisation, and to promising newcomers. The Polish Improvised Music series focuses on the most intriguing initiatives and projects of Polish musicians. Get ready for three shows.

Young innovative Polish musicians who formed a project based on the sounds of the flute, double bass and drums. As Doministry, Wójciński Duo & Paweł Szpura had already had the opportunity to present their music before a wider audience; for instance two years ago at Singer’s Warsaw, the 9th edition of Festival of Jewish Culture in Warsaw, playing at the venue Pardon, To Tu – a place which Szpura is particularly well acquainted with. It was then that they gave a notable performance of improvised music mixed with traditional klezmer music, receiving much praise from a challenging audience. It s no overstatement that each of these musicians is a seeker and an artist without limits. And their live shows are a great reflection of their ever-open minds.

DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI

Musician, composer and performer with a knack for journalism. Strycharski composes music both for theatre and dance performances, as well as for his original projects. Among the many projects worth mentioning are Doministry, his solo project where music meets performance; the futurejazz band Pulsarus (in which he collaborated with Wojciech Waglewski, Mikołaj Trzaska and Adam Pierończyk), Kostas New Progrram, Max Klezemer Band, and BandFx, a combo he created with DJ CueFx. He has also collaborated with Maciej Maleńczuk, Michał Zadara, Jan Peszek, Tomasz Gwiciński, Jerzy Mazzoll, Melba Kolektyw, Franz Hautzinger, Rafał Dziemidok, and the phenomenal Japanese guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi. Strycharski is also one of the few Polish experts on the modern recorder. He is also a vocalist.

KSAWERY WÓJCIŃSKI

In his student days, Wójciński’s playing earned him the nickname of “The Nikifor of the double bass.” This moniker was supposedly given to him by one of his professors at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. There is a lot of truth in that comparison. Similarly to the Krynica-born painter, Wójciński is an artist who shows great sensitivity. His unique musical sensibility opens up a whole world of inspiration to him. Wójciński works with both baroque music and modern improvised music. He’s also a composer and a vocalist boldly experimenting with his voice, which leads him to explore everything from quasi-opera singing to Tom Waits’ bourbon-soaked grawl.

The musician has worked with Mikołaj Trzaska, Raphael Rogiński, Wacław Zimpel, Hamid Drake and Gaba Kulka. He’s also the co-founder of the quartet (and sometimes sextet) Emergency, and the quartet Hera.

PAWEŁ SZPURA

A drummer strongly associated with the scene around Warsaw’s Pardon, To Tu. It is said that Szpura’s style is light, and his playing harks back to the golden age of music, the ‘60s and ‘70s. Szpura plays with sounds as much as he does with his open mind. His music is influenced by rock, free jazz, Arabic, African, Turkish, Jewish and Balkan music. He is truly an extraordinary individual. As Anna Początek from jazzarium.pl notes: “Szpura was not educated in any school of music. Despite this, he has played with the greats: Peter Brötzmann, Pheeroan akLaff, Hamid Drake, Nicole Mitchell, Maria Răducanu and Frank London.” One can feel he has a thread of kinship with artists such as Drake, of Ornette Coleman’s drummer Ed Blackwell. With Drake the audience of Kraków Jazz Autumn witnessed him live in 2012. The band Hera, created by Zimpel, Postaremczak, Wójciński and Szpura, performed then with one of the best drummers in improvised music, Raphael Rogiński on guitar and Maciej Cierliński on wheel fiddle. The performance was recorded and released in the form of Hera’s third album called Seven Lines.

Tickets 30 PLN in advance, 40 PLN on the day of the show

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