Tickets price: 40 PLN
Grzegorz Nagórski Quartet
Grzegorz Nagórski – trombone, euphonium
Paweł Tomaszewski – piano, organ, keyboards
Mateusz Szczypka – guitar
Michał Kapczuk – bass, guitar bass
Grzegorz Pałka – drums
photo credit: Tomasz Zakrzewski
Grzegorz Nagórski – trombonist, euphonist, composer. His professional debut took place at the 1982 Jazz Pianists Festival in Kalisz, where he played with Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski’s band. He is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Katowice (1993), and the University of Miami, from which he graduated in 1993. During his stay in the United States, he collaborated with the Inter/Outer Continental Jazz Quintet, multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan, and performed with numerous artists, including Ray Charles, Tito Puente, Joe Henderson, Jimmy Heath, Michael Brecker, Maria Schneider, Phil Woods, Slide Hampton, Arturo Sandoval, John Fedchock, and Red Rodney. From 1995 to 1996, during his stay in New York, Grzegorz Nagórski was a member of Charlie Persip And Superband.
After returning to Poland in 1996, Nagórski continued his career, launching collaborations with numerous artists, including Billy Harper, Maria Schneider, Piotr Wojtasik, Adam Pierończyk, Joe Lovano, Billy Cobham, Aga Zaryan, Kirk Lightsey, Michael Philip Mossman, Bobo Stenson, Joakim Milder, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Chick Corea, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Maciej Sikała, Kuba Stankiewicz, Robert Majewski, and Piotr Wyleżoł. In 2000, as a member of the Jazz Big Band Graz (Austria), he collaborated with one of the greatest arrangers and composers of all time – Bob Brookmeyer. This period has brought the Jazz Big Band Graz Plays the Music of Bob Brookmeyer album.
In 2015 he became a member of Piotra Wyleżoł’s Sextet, with whom he recorded Human Things released in 2018. Since 2017, he has been collaborating with Aga Zaryan, a prominent Polish jazz singer, as a musician of her European Jazz Sextet. The collaboration resulted in the 2018 releases of High & Low and What Christmas Means To Me. In 2019 and 2021 he toured with the Norrbotten Big Band led by Joakim Milder and soloists – pianist Bobo Stenson and singer Josefine Cronholm. The artist’s discography encompasses around fifty albums. He has toured the United States, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Croatia, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, and has performed at major jazz festivals in Poland.
He has taught at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, the PWSZ in Nysa and the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music. He is currently working as a professor at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. He was awarded the title of Professor of Musical Arts in 2019.
Grzegorz Nagórski founded his band, the Grzegorz Nagórski Quartet, back in 2006. In January 2008, he released his first album as a leader – Dedication, recorded with an acoustic quartet featuring Łukasz Zyta, Paweł Tomaszewski and Andrzej Święs. In 2009 he was nominated for three Fryderyk Awards, winning the prize for the Jazz Phonographic Debut of the Year in April 2009. In May 2012, his next album – Over and Over, recorded with the same line-up, also managed to repeat that feat.
In 2013, he expanded his sound spectrum to include another instrument, the euphonium, which he plays and records alongside the trombone. Grzegorz Nagórski has participated in creation of over 50 albums. His latest album, The Optimist, recorded with the Grzegorz Nagórski Electric Euphonium Quartet, was released in August 2017 on the SOLITON label. The line-up of the band includes some of Poland’s most outstanding musicians: Paweł Tomaszewski on keyboards, Michał Barański on bass guitar, Paweł Dobrowolski on drums and the leader, playing the euphonium, a truly rare instrument. The combination of dark-sounding euphonium, enriched with a variety of effects, with an electric rhythm section, is a unique proposal on the market of improvised music, not only because of the sound, but also because of Nagórski’s original compositions. It is worth noting that The Optimist received a nomination for the 2017 Fryderyk Award in the Jazz Album of the Year category.
His latest band is the Grzegorz Nagórski Quintet in which he plays the trombone and euphonium as a leader. The band’s line-up features some of the most talented and creative musicians of the middle generation. Paweł Tomaszewski is an acclaimed pianist and keyboardist who has been a member of the trombonist’s band since its inception in 2007. New members of the quintet are guitarist Mateusz Szczypka, double bass and bass guitarist Michał Kapczuk , and drummer Grzegorz Pałka. The new line-up has crystallised fairly recently, and currently focuses on new compositions written by the leader, complemented by songs from the artist’s previous albums.
photo credit: Bartosz Jastal
Paweł Tomaszewski
Pianist, composer, arranger, music producer. Doctor and a professor at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, dean of the Department of Jazz and Popular Music.
He has collaborated with numerous prominent artists, including Nigel Kennedy, Eric Marienthal, Dean Brown, Michael “Patches” Stewart, Michał Urbaniak, Jarosław Śmietana, Anna Maria Jopek, Edyta Górniak, Urszula Dudziak, Kuba Badach, Mieczysław Szcześniak, Grażyna Auguścik, Adam Bałdych and many more. One of the arrangers of Natalia Kukulska’s Czułe Struny, which has won the Platinum Award in 2021. He has recorded more than 40 studio albums as a session musician. Collaborator on Myrczek & Tomaszewski’s Love Revisited, as well as Marta Król & Paweł Tomaszewski Group’s Tribute To The Police projects.
He has won the Grand Prix and individual awards of all the major jazz competitions in Poland, including Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa, Jazz Juniors and Jazz on the Odra. He has performed on stages around the world with Polish and international stars of jazz and popular music, which brought him the Golden Laurel for Skills and Competencies in the field of Culture in 2015. Artist-in-Residence of the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin in the 2021/2022 artistic season.
His piano skills and pieces are characterised by the fusion of different musical styles and traditions.
He participated in numerous television, film and radio recordings as a conductor, music director, arranger and pianist – including projects such as 1920. Wdzięczni Bohaterom, Polish Song Festival in Opole, Solidarity Of Arts in Gdańsk, “Heartbeat” Festival in memory of Andrzej Zaucha in Bydgoszcz, and the Silesian Jazz Festival.
His compositions are featured on both his own and other artists’ albums. Author of four major works: Three Crowns – a suite for jazz sextet and symphony orchestra and soloists, Coincidence – a concerto for jazz quintet and symphony orchestra inspired by Wojciech Kilar’s score to the film Coincidence by Krzysztof Kieślowski, as well as Symphony of the Galaxies and Polish Jazz Symphony for symphony orchestra, big band and soloists.
Creator of the first electronic keyboard instruments class in Poland at the Academy of Music in Katowice.
He has taught the International Jazz Workshops in Puławy, Chodzież, Szczecin, Nysa, Hobart, Brisbane, St. Petersburg and Arkhangelsk.
photo: press materials
Mateusz Szczypka — born in Tychy; jazz guitarist, graduate of the class of Professor Karol Ferfecki at the Department of Jazz of the Academy of Music in Katowice. He has played concerts at numerous festivals in Poland and abroad, accompanying artists such as Janusz Muniak, Grzegorz Nagórski, Brian Charette, Grażyna Auguścik, Grzegorz Karnas, Karen Edwards, Andras Des, Adam Kowalewski, Frank Parker, Manu Domergue, and many others. Laureate of jazz competitions – Guitarcity, Jarek Śmietana Jazz Guitarist Competition, Jazz Improvisation Contest in Katowice and the Tarnów Jazz Contest.
He honed his skills under the eye of great masters, including Scott Henderson, Lage Lund, Mike Moreno and Brad Shepik.
Guitarist of the Silesian Big Band, as well as Szczypka/Kaletka Quintet and Hot Strings Gypsy Quintet. He also works with numerous other bands playing jazz and other genres at concerts and jazz festivals in Poland and Europe. He recorded numerous albums with Big Band Śląski, Cracow Jazz Hub, Aldo Joshua and Mariia Goraievska.
photo credit: Maciej Kanik
Michal Kapczuk — double bass player, bass guitarist. Graduate of the Department of Jazz of the Public Music Schools in Warsaw, where he attended the class of Zbigniew Wegehaupt, as well as Jacek Niedziela-Meira’s class at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. He co-founded a number of musical projects in diverse styles, which brought him several Grand Prix awards at major competitions in Poland and abroad. As a soloist, he won the 2013 Jazz on the Odra Festival’s Jazz Personality Competition, as well as honourable mentions at the 2012 Gnesin Jazz Festival in Moscow, 2009 Krokus Jazz Festival in Jelenia Góra and the 2008 Tarnów Jazz Contest. In 2012, he won the Grand Prix at the 11th ̨International Krokus Jazz Festival with the Michał Kapczuk Trio. He received the scholarship of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage 2012 Young Poland.
photo: press materials
Grzegorz Pałka – born in 1994 in Krakow, drummer. Graduate of the Academy of Music in Krakow – he managed to graduate with honours from the class of Dr. Łukasz Żyta nad Dr. Wojciech Fedkowicz. He currently continues his education as a doctoral student at the Academy. Winner of multiple awards at percussion and jazz contests and festivals in Poland and abroad, including Jazz Juniors, Krokus Jazz Festival, Blue Note Jazz Competition, and International Drumfest. He has been nominated three times for the Fryderyk Award. In 2016 and 2018, he received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for his outstanding artistic achievements.
He honed his skills during master classes taught by prominent instrumentalists, including Billy Drummond, Eric Harland, Marcus Gilmore, Kendrick Scott, Damion Reid, Ari Hoenig, and Dennis Mackrel. He played on the stages of numerous festivals in Europe (JazzAhead, London Jazz Festival, Sopot Jazz Festival, Jazz Jamboree, etc.), Asia (Nine Gates Festival, Ubud Village Jazz Festival, etc.) and North America (All Souls Jazz Festival, Indy Jazz Fest and many more).
His artistic output includes collaborations with many prominent musicians in Poland and around the world: Janusz Muniak, Danny Grissett, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Jacek Niedziela-Meira, Andy Middletone, Dorota Miśkiewicz, Jorge Vistel, Grzegorz Nagórski, Dominik Wania, Rafał Sarnecki, Kuba Badach, Justyna Steczkowska and many others.
