Krakow Jazz Autumn
17-28 November 2024
Another autumn of intriguing sounds awaits us at Krakow Jazz Autumn. This year, we’ll hear some of the most current and exciting developments in improvised music. The program includes 12 concerts, workshops, and 38 artists representing 13 countries across Europe and Asia. Barry Guy, the residency artist and special guest, returns to Krakow. Over the years, our audience has witnessed his work as a composer, improviser, instrumentalist, and mastermind behind unforgettable musical evenings at Alchemia. This time, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of his ensemble, the Blue Shroud Band.
Fot. K. Penarski
The choice to celebrate this anniversary with the Krakow audience is no coincidence. It was here, a decade ago, that this ensemble was formed. Guy and his remarkable musicians premiered the monumental work, “The Blue Shroud,” commissioned especially for the 9th Krakow Jazz Autumn. This concert became one of the most memorable performances in the festival’s history, and this year it will be performed once again as the closing of the Blue Shroud Band residency (23 November at the Manggha Museum). The following evening (24 November), also at Manggha, the full 15-member ensemble will present “all this here.” The evening will begin with the ADAM Quartet’s special appearance, opening the residency’s final night. True to tradition, the finale will be preceded by a series of intimate concerts featuring smaller formations of the Blue Shroud Band at Alchemia (19-22 November).
The 19th Krakow Jazz Autumn offers more than just an anniversary and a residency. We will embark on a journey through the realm of sound – sometimes serene, exploring the spaces between the notes, and other times reaching the edge of intensity. This adventure begins on 17 November at Krakow’s Alchemia with Orro plus One, a duo formed by distinguished improvisers pianist Witold Oleszak and percussionist Aleksandra Rzepka. They describe their approach simply as “the breath before the lion’s roar.” They will be joined by Swiss guitarist Florian Stoffner for this performance. The evening of 24 November will be especially intense. After the Blue Shroud Band’s residency finale, the night continues with an afterparty at Alchemia, where the group Saagara will present their latest work. Musical chameleon Wacław Zimpel has been exploring classical Indian music since 2012, and he will perform with renowned percussionists Giridhar Udupa, Aggu Baba, and Thavil Raja, along with violinist Mysore N. Karthik, delivering music pulsing with Indian rhythms, enriched by synth and sampler sequences, organ sounds, and electronically transformed acoustic instruments.
fot. Dawid Laskowski
The following day, 25 November, will feature a socially and politically engaged set: P/O Massacre, a duo composed of two Russians living abroad – guitarist Anton Obrazeena (leader of Moscow’s noise-rock band Jars) and saxophonist Anton Ponomarev (a member of punk-avant-jazz-noise bands who has also performed with Pussy Riot). Their music is an uncompromising fusion of experimentation and exploration, characterized by intense, heavy sounds. On 26 November, we take a moment to pause and return to a time when the voice was humanity’s only instrument: Anna Gadt, Natalia Kordiak, Marta Grzywacz, and Małgorzata Zagajewska – four vocalists who form VoiceAct – will bring us a unique vocal performance.
The final days of this year’s Krakow Jazz Autumn will be shaped by a series of duo performances. On 27 November, bassist Marcin Bożek, known for his improvisational work with musicians, actors, painters, and dancers, will perform with Marie Takahashi, a Japanese violist who specializes in contemporary and Baroque music. Closing the festival on 28 November is Dual Polarity. Spanish musicians Amidea Clotet and Marcel·lí Bayer, who have been collaborating as a duo for five years, will explore an array of sounds and textures through their instruments – guitar, saxophone, and clarinet – using unconventional articulation methods.
PASS 2024 (for all events of the 19th Krakow Jazz Autumn)
VENUES:
Klub Alchemia, 5 Estery St.
Manggha Museum, 26 Marii Konopnickiej St.