Part of the Jazz and Experimental Music from Poland Festival (JEMP), saxophonist Adam Pierończyk and poet/musician Anthony Joseph collaborate for the first time, plus acclaimed Polish duo Mikrokolektyw merge electronica with live instrumentation.
Adam Pieronczyk and Anthony Joseph
Adam Pierończyk – saxophones
Anthony Joseph – voice, poetry
A veteran musician, Adam Pierończyk is one of Poland’s most outstanding and creative saxophonists. Hailed as “a ray of light on the East-European jazz scene” (Allgemeine Zeitung), he was nominated for five Fryderyk awards (Polish Grammy) in 2011, winning the coveted “Jazz Musician of The Year” and “Jazz Album of The Year”. He has also been named Jazz Forum magazine’s “Best Soprano Saxophonist” every year since 2003. Over his twenty year career, Pierończyk has worked with a broad range of musicians from all over the world including Gary Thomas, Archie Shepp, Bobby McFerrin, Greg Osby, Tomasz Stańko, Leszek Możdżer, Ted Curson, and Joey Calderazzo. For the last four years, he has been recording for the esteemed Berlin Label Jazzwerkstatt and is currently the Artistic Director of the Sopot Jazz Festival in Poland.
Anthony Joseph is a British/Trinidadian poet and performer who spontaneously juggles words in a way that is often reminiscent of jazz improvisation. His work tends to focus on jazz-related themes – as seen in Rubber Orchestras, his collection of experimental poems.
Meeting for the first time at this year’s festival, the duo will be fusing Pierończyk’s original jazz compositions with texts by Joseph, showcasing pieces that have never before been performed.
Mikrokolektyw
Artur Majewski – trumpet, cornets, electronics
Kuba Suchar – drums, percussion, electronics
Rising from the ashes of the Polish jazz supergroup Robotobibok, drummer Kuba Suchar and trumpeter Artur Majewski, collectively known as Mikrokolektyw, have been making waves within the European music scene for the past 7 years. Known for their high energy, electronics driven acoustic jazz, the duo possess a stripped down style that has become almost impressionistic, producing complex melodies that emerge more from spontaneity than structure.
Over the years, Mikrokolektyw have enjoyed numerous live collaborations, sharing the stage with Chicago jazz heavyweights like Fred Anderson, Nicole Mitchell, and Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra as well as with international artists such as Matmos, Fennesz, and Sao Paulo Underground. They have also toured in Europe, America and Japan, performing at some of the world’s greatest music and arts festivals including Chicago’s World Music Festival, Krakow’s Unsound Festival, Cerkno Jazz Festival in Slovenia, and the Eurosonic Festival.
Playing at JEMP for the first time, Mikrokolektyw will kick off the 2013 programme with the UK premiere of their latest album Absent Minded. Lauded as their “boldest set so far” and “the next step in the evolution of jazz”, the performance promises to reveal a facet of jazz that is diverse and challenging yet astoundingly beautiful.
