The second Polish Jazz Festival runs Sept. 11-27 at Cadogan Hall, Kings Place and Union Chapel, organizers said. The lineup reflects a scene shaped by pioneers such as Krzysztof Komeda, Tomasz Stańko, Urszula Dudziak and Michał Urbaniak, whose influence organizers say continues to push Polish jazz toward electronic, experimental and hip-hop territory.
"The second edition of the Polish Jazz Festival will not only showcase outstanding artists but also tell the story of a scene that has long remained one of the most original and dynamic parts of European musical culture", organizers said in a statement, adding that stylistic diversity remains a hallmark of Polish jazz.
Cadogan Hall will host most of the festival's marquee performances. Opening night Sept. 11 pairs the Wrocław band EABS, performing a set inspired by the Stańko-Trzaskowski album "Wstęp wzbroniony", with the Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, led by bassist Wojtek Mazolewski, whose sound fuses improvisation with rock, funk and electronic music.
The following night brings two of Poland's leading female vocalists to the same stage. Singer Kayah performs "Jazzayah," a jazz reworking of her own songs and jazz standards, joined by musicians Jan Smoczyński, Michał Barański and Michał Miśkiewicz. Urszula Dudziak, who has performed internationally for more than six decades, closes the evening.
Cadogan Hall's final festival date pairs pianist Leszek Możdżer — known for blending jazz with film, classical and improvised music — with Mariusz Szypura's interdisciplinary project "Chopin Residue".
Union Chapel offers a genre-crossing bill Sept. 13 featuring pianist Marcin Masecki, who moves between jazz, classical music and experimentation, alongside Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa, a group that has reworked Polish folk traditions since the late 1990s through old instruments and modern rhythm and improvisation.
The festival concludes Sept. 27 at Kings Place with the quartet Kosmonauci, representing a younger generation blending jazz improvisation with hip-hop, drum'n'bass and urban music influences.
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Source: PAP