Leaves might be falling from the trees, but jazz is in full bloom in Kraków!
Bartosz Suchecki, “Kraków Culture” magazine
While in the summertime we tend to spend most of our days outdoors, in the autumn it’s time to get back inside into concert halls and club basements. They provide the perfect cosy surroundings for jazz fans to listen to their favourite music. And the genre goes from the joy of exploring new talent (Jazz Juniors) and celebrating accomplished masters (Kraków All Souls “Zaduszki” Jazz Festival) to admiring timeless individualists (Krakow Jazz Autumn).
A world without borders
The Jazz Juniors competition provides a fresh take by bringing in new jurors every year who assess competing artists without knowing their name, gender or nationality. “This year’s jury is very special, because for the first time it features a master of African music: the Moroccan Majid Bekkas, maestro of Gnawa music. I have also brought in the American guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly, one of the most fascinating and original virtuosos of the instrument working today. Three individuals, three continents – I am fascinated by the verdict!” says Adam Pierończyk, the festival’s artistic director. Musicians who are best received during the final auditions not only become important elements in the festival’s records (such as Leszek Możdżer and Piotr Orzechowski): they also have an opportunity to rapidly develop their career. As well as the main prize and individual distinctions such as the Janusz Muniak Prize for most interesting instrumentalist and the award for outstanding double bassist founded by the Andrzej Cudzich Foundation, young musicians may secure concert tours and recording sessions.
During the Jazz Juniors festival at the Nowa Huta Cultural Centre and Cricoteka, we will hear a concert bringing together all the jurors of the competition, quartets of the German trombonist Nils Wogram and the American trumpeter Peter Evans (performing solo and accompanied by Polish musicians), and saxophonists including a solo performance by Seamus Blake from Canada and the Austrian Wolfgang Puschnig accompanied by Polish jazzmen.
Latest opening
Europe’s longest-running jazz festival is changing its formula. “We want Kraków to remain an important element in the history of jazz while providing a space for development for young artists,” promises Ireneusz Raś, director of the current committee organising the Kraków All Souls “Zaduszki” Jazz Festival. Events held as part of this year’s 66th event, under the banner “Jazz for All”, are presented on the stages of the Małopolska Garden of Arts, the Nowa Huta Cultural Centre and the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre. Creators of the documentary Melomani Forever introduce the history of jazz in Poland, while the Jazz Band Ball Orchestra, Boba Jazz Band and Old Metropolitan Band present the Traditional Jazz Garden: Back to the Roots. Over the following days, Marek Stryszowski and his guests present the programme A Laboratory After Your Fiftieth, Marcin Masecki and Capella Cracoviensis examine the Star of All Souls, and the Story of Polish Jazz – Second Edition showcases Poland’s finest jazz musicians including Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski, Krzesimir Dębski, Henryk Miśkiewicz and Aga Zaryan paying homage to Jarosław Śmietana. The evening will also feature the presentation of the Gold Stars of Helicon. The concert programme will be accompanied by traditional jam sessions at Kraków’s jazz clubs.
International improvisation
The spirit of free improvisation continues to inspire the Krakow Jazz Autumn. The main protagonist of the 16th Cracovian festival is once again the British improviser, composer and double bass virtuoso Barry Guy with his 14-strong collective Blue Shroud Band. During their residence at Alchemia, the musicians appear in small ensembles, culminating with a performance of the full line-up at the Nowa Huta Cultural Centre presenting a premiere of Guy’s latest composition. “Following the ensemble’s dazzling performance of The Blue Shroud in recent years there came a time to find texts which would take me on a new compositional journey,” says Guy. The inspiration of the composition all this this here are the poems by Irish authors Samuel Beckett and Barra Ó Seaghdha, as well as Japanese haikus from the Edo period.
The programme also features the Polish/Korean audiovisual project Wandering the Sound(scape): Citimprovisation – The Sounds in Between. Expanded soundscapes serve as an equivalent of music scores for improvisers. The first two parts of the project present compositions “featuring” Kraków and Seoul, respectively, while the third instalment explores both cities. The entire thing will be presented to the public as a music video featuring recordings of excerpts from the interview with project leaders Rafał Mazur and Sunjae Lee.
Is that all? Of course not! In Kraków, you can follow in the footsteps of jazz without end and regardless of the time of year – just head to the Old Town and listen out to the jazzy sounds from the myriad clubs!
Photo: Barry Guy by Francesca Pfeffer
A version of this article appears in Autumn ’21 edition of “Kraków Culture” magazine.
