All of them are skilled enthusiasts, open to improvised music in all its shapes and colors. They describe their music as “the result of many experiences and inspirations of each of the musicians (…) This approach to sound stems from a yearning for freedom, which is the essence of improvised music”. Journalists add that their compositions rely on “an effortless, remarkably peaceful development of a theme, which then evolves into a parade of improvisation, but one that is still within the frames of composition, making the listener fall into a kind of trance”. One also has to applaud their humorous approach to their work – they talk about their compositions as “songs”, and title them things like “Kanalizacja Nb. 1”, “Kanalizacja Nb. 2” and “Kanalizacja Nb.3” (kanalizacja is Polish for sewers).
The throbbing bass groove is the work of Ksawery Wójciński, who plays in Emergency, Hera, Infant Joy, Charles Gayle Trio and Affinity. He has collaborated with, among others, Mikołaj Trzaska, Maciej Obara, Michael Zerang, Satoko Fujii, Nicolle Mitchell, Tim Sparks, Klaus Kugel, Marek Kądziela, Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson, Gaba Kulka, Wacław Zimpel and Raphael Roginski. In 2014 he released his debut full-length album The Soul.
Szymon Wójciński is a talented pianist, composer and arranger. He reached the final of Jazz Juniors Festival in 2002 with the band Emergency. He’s toured with Sylwia Białas and Hans-Peter Salentin in European Jazz Ensemble. Szymon has also worked with Halina Zimmermann, Marek Kądziela, Jarosław Bothur, Paweł Postaremczak, Wacław Zimpel and Robert Rasz.
Maurycy Wójciński is a graduate of the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, where he is also a researcher. The trumpeter has worked with Lena Romul Quintet, the Wrocław Academy of Music Big Band, the Opole Philharmonic Big Band, Deutsch Polnisches Jugend Jazz Orchester, Pernal/Szkil Quintet, Emergency Sextet, Funk’n’tronic, and the Japanese ensemble Quasimode. He has performed with Grzegorz Nagórski, Maciej Sikała and Leszek Możdżer.
Krzysztof Szmańda is one of the founders of Soundcheck. In 2004, the Poznań-based band won the international jazz and blues festival in Usti nad Labem, and, the following year – the Grand Prix at the Jazz Nad Odrą Festival in Wrocław. Szmańda graduated from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Later, he studied at the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, where he honed his skills under the watchful eyes of, among others – Peter Erskine and Leon “Ndugu” Chancler, formerly of Weather Report. He’s played with Zbigniew Namysłowski’s Big Band, Kuba Stankiewicz, Maciej Kociński, Lora Szafran, Włodek Pawlik, Adam Bałdych, Trifonidis Orchestra and Visegrad Jazz Quartet. He is a member of the orchestra at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw.
Tickets 30 PLN in advance, 40 PLN on the day of the show
