“The wave of jazz is attacking Poland,” wrote Marek Dusza in Rzeczpospolita on June 23. Indeed, the most important Polish jazz festivals did not display any announcements on their websites about moving to the next year.
Sometimes it was necessary to decide to change the date from winter or autumn to summer, but the hunger for listening to good music live strongly motivated the organizers and made the decision easier.
The 24th Jazz Jantar Festival has been planned in the cycle of seasons: spring, summer and autumn. It is true that the May Polish edition of the Jazz Jantar Festival was held online, but it was worth it for 8 great concerts, two of which will soon appear on the YouTube channel of Klub Żak.
From the Blue Note sign
Full summer on Jazz Jantar will start on July 12 with a concert by one of the most outstanding young trumpet players, Ambrose Akinmusire, associated with the legendary Blue Note label. This will be the artist’s second performance at the Żak Club. The musicians will present material from Akinmusire’s latest album “On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment“, inspired by the latest events in the lives of African Americans and the Black Lives Matter movement.
The second American artist from the Blue Note stable, also releasing his albums on his own label, saxophonist Logan Richardson is very well known to the Gdańsk audience (4 times on Jazz Jantar). His new album “Afrofuturism” also refers to the class and racial divisions in modern America. The material was recorded in a studio built in the Charlie Parker house, which Richardson bought two years ago. Logan Richardson’s Quintet will perform at Klub Żak on July 24.
First time in Poland
A discovery for fans of jazz pianism will be Emmet Cohen, who will perform in Poland for the first time. A young (31) pianist during the lockdown created Live From Emmet’s Place, a weekly streaming that had millions of views on the Internet. His “stride” style of playing, referring to the piano style that developed in Harlem in the 1920s, should appeal to jazz fans. We invite you to the Emmet Cohen Trio concert on July 21.
The guys from our city
The Jazz Jantar festival has always been a support for the local jazz scene. The July program included 3 Tricity (or more precisely because of residence: Tricity-Kashubian) groups. First, debutants, i.e. Filip Żółtowski Quartet. The ensemble was founded last year by students and graduates of the Gdańsk Academy of Music. Their concert on July 16 will open the weekend of outdoor concerts, and one of the young musicians, drummer Mikołaj Stańko, will reappear on stage two days later as a member of the new formation of the renowned double bass player Piotr Lemańczyk. The words Electric Band appeared in the name of the band and they describe the character of the music that Piotr Lemańczyk is going to present well.
Another double bass player is the leader of the third Tricity ensemble invited to the Festival. On July 24, Michał Bąk Quartetto will present material from the new album “Fortess“.
Czechs play jazz
2020 was supposed to be the year of the Czech jazz scene at the festival, but for obvious reasons it did not work out. On July 14, we invite you to a concert of the Janoušek-Wróblewski Quartet, created by young residents of Prague, who will propose a fusion of the New Orleans tradition, New York downtown, free jazz or hard-bop, complemented by elements of rock, surf-rock, soul and contemporary music. What is delayed… it will be for good! In the fall, we had to acknowledge the superiority of the pandemic, but at that time young avant-garde jazzmen from the JAMU Academy of Music in Brno and their teacher, Pavel Zlámal & PQ, finished their second album. Reviewer Jan Hocek on jazzport.cz writes directly: “This masterpiece of Zlámal & PQ can be listened to endlessly!” and awarded the album the highest possible rating.
Before
On July 17, the German trio Dell Lillinger Westergaard, i.e. vibraphonist Christopher Dell, drummer Christian Lillinger and double bass player Jonas Westergaard, will also perform on the open-air stage of the Festival (in the background blocks of the Zaspa estate). Together they released three albums, and Martin Schray wrote about “Beats” on freejazzblog.org: “Consciously produced and designed sound is very vivid, powerful, even hyper real. In addition to the instruments, you can hear the musicians’ breathing, which brings the listener even closer to the action. Under these conditions, the songs turn into acoustic riddles. They call it “multi-perspectivity” or “structured improvisation instead of free-jazz gadgets,” as Christian Lillinger put it. “
Polish Jazz Stage
Another artist to be heard at the Festival has played hundreds of concerts in various lineups. His debut album “Facing the Challenge” met with great reception and was nominated for the Fryderyk award in the Jazz Debut of the Year category. “Story of 82” is Krzysztof Pacan‘s second original album. The title of the album refers to the artist’s birthday, it is in a way his musical autobiography, a summary, but also a definition of the direction in which he would like to continue. Krzysztof Pacan Quartet composed of seasoned musicians will perform July 23.
The summer edition of the Jazz Jantar Festival will close on July 25 with a concert by Charles Mingus Group founded by Franciszek Pospieszalski. The musicians will recall the repertoire of the legendary American double bass player Charles Mingus, mainly songs from the albums “Changes One” and “Changes Two”, which are albums from the last years of his career.
– These are albums recorded at the end of his life. It was a very interesting era, where the contrasts of ballads and incredible swing fasts clashed – emphasized the musician. – I think that Mingus also translated his strong character into the albums. He could be ruthless, sometimes possessive and aggressive. He also included his political and anti-racist thoughts in his compositions. But there are also songs dedicated to women – he added.
The Jazz Jantar festival is funded by the City of Gdańsk and thanks to funding from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund as part of the “Music” program, implemented by the Institute of Music and Dance, as well as with the support of GIWK, Żywiec Group, Ziaja Company and Toyota Carter Gdańsk
