19 | 9 | 1999
Price 17.50 USD
Performed by: Leszek Mozdzer - acoustic piano Adam Pieronczyk - tenor and soprano saxophones, zoucca / Recorded: Recorded live in Vinnitsa, Ukraine on September 19, 1999 / About: Leszek Mozdzer (pronounced Mozhdzher) is one of the greatest keyboard talents on the Polish music scene today. Born in 1971, he has been playing the piano since he was five. He graduated from the Stanislaw Moniuszko Conservatory in Gdansk in 1996, having developed his interest in jazz at the age of 18 at high school. He started his jazz career by joining the band of clarinet player Emil Kowalski, but he considers that his true development began with the Milosc Band in 1991. A year later, he received an individual citation from the Jazz Junior 92 International Competition in Krakow, followed immediately by many other prizes, including the Krzysztof Komeda Prize 1992 from the Polish Culture Foundation, the First Prize of the International Jazz Improvisation Competition in Katowice in 1994, the Mateusz Swiecicki Prize from Polish Radio 3, the Mayor of Gdansk s medal for outstanding artistic achievements, and the Fryderyk Prize for Jazz Musician of 1998, as well as many citations in the magazine Jazz Forum, including being nominated six times as Best Pianist between 1993 and 1998. During the six years in which Mozdzer led Milosc, it became the most popular jazz group in Poland. He recorded six albums with the group, including two with the American trumpeter, Lester Bowie. At the same time, he was a star attraction of the Zbigniew Namyslowski Quartet. Mozdzer has performed with many outstanding Polish jazz musicians, including Tomasz Stanko (Farewell to Mary), Janusz Muniak (One and Four), Michael Urbaniak ( Live in Holy City), and Piotr Wojtasik (Lonely Town, Quest). He has also collaborated with such international stars as Arthur Blythe, Buster Williams, Billy Harper, Joe Lovano and Archie Shepp. Mozdzer has recorded 30 CDs, including four under his own name, the best known of which is Chopin Impressions. Leszek Mozdzer has given concerts in Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, USA, Hungary and France. At the prestigious Piano Festival in Chartres, his jazz interpretations of Chopin s pieces received a standing ovation. Since 1992 he has been a regular collaborator with Zbigniew Preisner, taking part in the recording of many of the composer s film scores. 10 Easy Pieces for Piano, a suite of piano improvisations, was specially written by Preisner for Mozdzer. (Mozdzer bio courtesy of EMI Classics) Adam Pieronczyk is a Polish tenor/soprano/alto/zoucra player. As a leader and member of numerous groups and projects Pieronczyk: - won the top position in the annual "Jazz Forum" magazine ranking as The New Hope Of Polish Jazz (1997), - was nominated for the Polish Music Award "Fryderyk" as The Best Jazz Artist Of The Year (1997,1998), - has been given the prize of the Musician Union in Poland as The Best Artist Of The Year (1999), - was voted in the main Polish daily newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza" one of the most influential jazz musicians in Poland ("Five main jazz musicians for the XXI century in Poland" / 2000), - has been given the jazzfestival prize of Bielsko-Biala Angel Of Jazz (2003), - won the top position in the annual Jazz Forum magazine ranking as The Best Soprano Saxophonist Of The Year (2003-2006), Pieronczyk"s records have been also noticed as remarkable productions: - Digivooco (Adam Pieronczyk Digivooco feat. Gary Thomas) was voted in the jazz forum magazine ranking Album of the Year (2001), - "Few Minutes In The Space" ( Adam Pieronczyk Trio ) was nominated for the Polish Music Award "Fryderyk" as The Best Jazz CD Of The Year (1997), - "Live In Sofia" (Duo with Polish piano player Leszek Mozdzer)