20th Krakow Jazz Autumn

Winter continues to surprise Polish road services, and the Krakow Jazz Autumn has set its sights on lovers of musical improvisation. Festival regulars seem to be well acquainted with the artists performing here, but it is only a matter of time when they are led down an unexpected path. The closing concert of the 20th edition of the festival will feature saxophonist and clarinettist Ken Vandermark and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. The American-Norwegian duo treats the stage like a laboratory – deconstructing and reassembling compositions, freely juggling different musical idioms and maintaining a dizzying rhythmic pace in the process. Since their 2002 album Dual Pleasure, they have been regularly meeting on stage and in the studio in various corners of the world (including the Nordics, North America and Japan) and the history of this musical friendship has been meticulously documented. They are also experimenting with release forms – the album Screen Off was mastered out of amateur recordings of their concerts posted by the listeners on YouTube. The next episode of this rich shared history will resonate in Kraków’s Kazimierz district. (Bartosz Suchecki, Karnet 11/2025)