We invite you to a unique concert that will go down in the history of Polish jazz. Two true legends will perform on the stage of the Kijów Cinema – Adam Makowicz and Leszek Możdżer. As part of the inaugural concert of the jubilee 30th edition of the Summer Jazz Festival Kraków, an evening full of musical artistry and artistic magic awaits us.

Adam Makowicz – a master of the piano, a world-famous virtuoso, whose style combines classical sensitivity with a passion for jazz. His unique technique and sense of improvisation have delighted audiences for years, making each concert an unforgettable experience.

Leszek Możdżer – a phenomenal pianist and visionary of Polish jazz, who constantly pushes the boundaries of the genre, combining tradition with modernity. His performances are a combination of virtuosity, emotion and incredible expression.

Kijów Cinema will become an arena for the meeting of two generations and two extraordinary stage personalities. This evening will be full of harmony and dialogue between musicians who know exactly how to enchant the audience.

Leszek Możdżerphoto by Sisi Cecylia

Adam Makowicz

One of the few Polish musicians who conquered America. He began his career in Krakow, playing in the Helikon jazz club. From the very beginning, he was oriented towards modern jazz – in the 1960s, together with Tomasz Stańko, he co-founded Jazz Darings, considered by Joachim E. Berendt to be the first free jazz band in Europe. He shone with his talent and versatility in Michał Urbaniak’s Constellation (he played the clavinet and Fender piano), while “Newborn Light” (Columbia, 1974), recorded with Urszula Dudziak, caused a sensation in the States and received five stars in the “Down Beat” magazine. In the mid-70s, and more precisely since the album “Live Embers”, the artist focused on a solo career. During this period, he radically changed his style. He focused on standards, performing them in the aesthetics of classical jazz pianists of the 30s and 40s, especially Art Tatum. His musicality, incredible piano technique (he was sometimes called a pianist with two right hands), virtuoso sense and magical contact with the audience opened up the American market for him. In the USA, he performed with jazz stars, played in all the most prestigious clubs and concert halls. America became first his second home, then his first home.

For over forty years, his style has not undergone any fundamental change, which can be considered a sensation. The artist developed certain elements (harmony, rhythm), interpretative details, expanded his repertoire (m.in to include works by Berlin, Gershwin, Chopin), but he remains faithful to the main principles of the adopted aesthetics to this day. His playing emanates optimism, humor and the joy of creating live music. He is probably the only jazz musician who has performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with his own improvised cadenza. And although he specialises in solo performances, he sometimes collaborates with other artists, e.g. with Leszek Możdżer – the duo Makowicz Możdżer achieved spectacular success, playing at Carnegie Hall (2004); the performance of both musicians was recorded on the album “Makowicz vs. Możdżer at the Carnegie Hall”. During this year’s Summer Jazz Festival Krakow, excellent pianists will join forces again. This may be the only opportunity to hear them together.

Adam Makowicz will also give a solo concert at the Krakow Philharmonic.

Leszek Możdżer

The most recognizable artist of the Polish jazz scene, an important figure of European jazz, a piano virtuoso, an excellent composer, arranger, an artist with a distinct personality and broad horizons. His music, perfect in terms of technique, deeply rooted in the tradition of European classics, impressing with the richness of forms and sublime colors, brings the listener to a completely new level of emotion.

He is a graduate of the piano class at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk. As a jazz musician, he made his debut in the cult band Miłość, with which he recorded several albums. He has collaborated with m.in. Zbigniew Namysłowski, Tomasz, Stańko, Michał Urbaniak and Adam Bałdych (album “Passacaglia”, 2024), as well as with world jazz stars: David Friesen, Pat Metheny, Arthur Blythe, Buster Williams, Billy Harper, Joe Lovano, Archie Shepp, David Liebman, Lester Bowie, Marcus Miller, John Scofield.

Chopin’s work occupies an important place in Możdżer’s music – in 1994 the pianist’s album “Chopin – impressions” was released, and in the following years three other albums with jazz versions of our romantic’s compositions; Możdżer also performs the Chopin repertoire (m.in. Revolutionary Etude) in the original version. Concerts and recordings with Lars Danielsson and Zohar Fresco brought him great popularity – the albums “The Time”, “Between Us and the Light”, “Pasodoble” were enthusiastically received by fans and quickly became bestsellers, achieving the status of a diamond and platinum record. The artist’s collaboration with the Holland Barogue chamber orchestra (albums “Earth Particles”, 2017 and “Just Ignore It”, 2021) also brings excellent results.

Leszek Możdżer is a pianist who, from the beginning of his career, has been breaking the usual conventions, constantly expanding the formula of jazz, effectively blurring the boundaries between genres, which makes his art appeal to jazz fans, concert hall regulars, and listeners who usually avoid improvised music.

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Namysłowski with highlanders – reactivation

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the recording of one of the most original and surprising projects of Zbigniew Namysłowski, combining jazz with highlander music. The artist has always believed that Podhale musicians, like jazzmen, swing, what’s more, in his songs he often used highlander motifs and scale (m.in. Piątawka, Siódmawka, albums “Kujaviak goes funky”, “Polish Jazz – Yes”), but he never played with musicians “from the Tater”. So he decided to see how such a “confrontation” would work live. And so it happened – together with his Quartet and the band of the primordial Karpiela-Bułecki, he recorded material that appeared on the album “Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet i kapela górali Zakopiański” (or “Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet & Zakopane Highlanders Band”); the album was released by the Austrian label Koch Jazz in 1995. The album delighted fans and critics, and Namysłowski and the highlanders set off to conquer the world. They were warmly applauded everywhere, but the biggest shock was in Mexico, where no one had seen or heard anything like it before.

After 30 years, Jacek Namysłowski, Zbigniew’s son, an outstanding trombonist and leader, who cooperated with his father for years, returned to the project. At the Festival, he will play (note: alto and soprano saxophone) with his band, a band and a highlander band led by the tireless Karpiel-Bułecki.

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Aldo Joshua as Elvio Ghigliordini Quintet
Manuel Margini, Bertil Lagerman – Jam session (Italy)

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