This DOUBLE BILL concert features two of the most prominent groups on the ECM label.

Oded Tzur Quartet

Described by Downbeat Magazine as A Volcano on the Ocean Floor Oded Tzur’s music is in pursuit of a hidden universal language. Based in New York, the Israeli born saxophonist studies fundamental connections between ancient and modern musical traditions, a journey manifesting in a band that has been dubbed “The Coltrane Quartet of the 21st Century”.

An ECM Records artist, Tzur is set apart by his use of an original saxophone technique. First presented at Trinity College Of Music, London, and more recently at the Juilliard School in New York, this decade long project is the result of Tzur’s studies with India’s grandmaster of the Bansuri: Hariprasad Chaurasia. The way in which the Indian flute moves seamlessly from one pitch to another inspired the saxophonist to go beyond what was deemed possible on his instrument.

“If a curtain were to be drawn in front of him, no one could tell which instrument was being played! Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia

Oded Tzur, Tenor Saxophone
Nitai Hershkovits, Piano
Petros Klampanis, Bass
Johnathan Blake, Drums

Marcin Wasilewski Trio

“There’s a galaxy of piano trios in today’s jazz universe,” the BBC Music Magazine has noted, “but few shine as bright as Marcin Wasilewski’s”. The Trio is the undisputed star of Polish jazz and for years has been recognised by international critics as one of the most outstanding and the most unique jazz formations of its generation, while enjoying the recognition of jazz fans around the world. In 2024 the Trio will celebrate 30 years together.

As the Marcin Wasilewski Trio, they have already recorded seven albums for ECM, three albums with the late Tomasz Stanko in his Quartet, as well as a number of other collaborations. On the Trio’s seventh ECM album, the multifaceted Polish group illuminates a characteristically wide span of music. Fluidity is the hallmark , allied to the deep listening made possible by more than a quarter-century of collaborative music-making by Trio members.

Musicians already have their own rich record output and numerous cooperations with the stars of jazz world – Trio (Charles Lloyd, Joe Lovano, Nils Petter Molvær) or separately (Branford Marsalis, Jan Garbarek, Manu Katche, Al Foster, Arild Andersen and many others): they are in the evidently growing moment of their career.

The leader of the trio, Marcin Wasilewski, pianist and composer, admired by the audience for extraordinary musical awareness, attention to sound and enormous talent in creating the drama of his compositions, twice appeared (in 2005 and 2011) as a “rising star” of the piano in the Down Beat Annual International Critics Poll. In 2009 he was nominated to Paul Acket Award at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, while in Poland he is the laureate of the biggest number of FRYDERYK Music Award in jazz categories (Jazz Album Of the Year, Jazz Artist Of The Year). The FRYDERYK Awards are presented by the Phonographic Academy and its name refers to the original Polish spelling of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin’s first name. Fryderyk Award status in the Polish public can be compared to the American Grammy and the UK’s BRIT Award.

The newest Trio album was awarded the Fryderyk 2022 statuette in the Jazz Album of the Year category, and Marcin Wasilewski received the Fryderyk 2022 in the Jazz Artist of the Year category! Marcin Wasilewski, thanks to two of this year’s Fryderyks, with eleven statuettes has the biggest number of them in Polish jazz. He won six times as the Jazz Artist of the Year: earlier in 2005, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2019, while the Trio has received Fryderyk Award five times for their albums (Trio- 2005, January- 2009, Spark Of Life- 2015 and Live- 2019 and just En attendant in 2022).

The band is also highly appreciated outside of Poland. In Germany, the band was nominated for the German Jazz Award 2022 (Deutscher Jazzpreis) in the Best International Band category.

The Trio also won three very important categories in the Annual Jazz Forum “JAZZ TOP 2021” Readers’ Poll: the Acoustic Band of the Year, for the Album of the Year: ‘En attendant’ – Marcin Wasilewski Trio / ECM Records / Universal Music and in the Concert of the Year category: for a double tour: Marcin Wasilewski Trio & Joe Lovano ‘Arctic Riff’ Tour 2021 + MWT ‘En attendant’ Tour 2021.

Marcin Wasilewski – piano
Slawomir Kurkiewicz – double bass
Michał Miskiewicz – drums