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About us
Zabrze Jazz Association is one of the most active and creative associations existing in Upper Silesia. This utterly grassroots music initiative of fans of this “no border music” has been animating cultural life of Upper Silesia through music events of highest quality for more than 20 years.
Among these, JAZ Festival of Improvised Music is considered to be the most important and tangible success. Festival concerts were held in various cities of Upper Silesia, both in professional concert halls and postindustrial premises, 170 metres below the ground as well as outdoor.
The JAZ Festival of Improvised Music aims to present the brand new and emerging trends in improvised music to the wide audience. Next to jazz, there are lots of other kinds of music performed on the festival stage: classic and contemporary, folk and world, rock, experimental and electronic. Moreover, we often invite multi- and intermedia artists experimenting with music, image and space simultaneously.
In the long history of the festival we had a chance to admire both world-renowned masters as well as those artists who only just entered professional music world. Among outstanding musicians who performed on the festival stage there were: Tomasz Stańko, Maciej Obara, Julian Gembalski, Motion Trio, Leszek Możdzer, Piotr Wojtasik, Adam Pierończyk; Robotobibok, Simple Acoustic Trio, Marek Moś AUKSO Chamber Orchestra, Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa, Salif Keita (Mali), 29th Street Saxophon Quartet (USA), Eklery Eskelin with Andrea Parking&Jim Black (USA), Randy Brecker & the band, Gilad Amon & the Orient House Ansamble (Il, UK), Barbara Morgenstern (DE), Pavel Jakub Ryba Band (CZ), Rafael Cortés ( ES ) Guichen Frères (FR) and many others.
Zabrze Jazz Association co-operates with many institutions and associations, such as: Miejski Ośrodek Kultury Zabrze (Municipal Culture Centre), Stowarzyszenie Kopalnia Sztuki (The Main of Art Association), Ars Cameralis Cultural Institution, Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, Zabrze City Hall and others.
Zabrze Jazz Association has organized many events outside the main festival, such as: a series of concerts “Chopin and Jazz”, British Fusion Festival co-organised with Ars Cameralis Cultural Institution (with Andy Shepard, Django Bates and Courtney Pine), concerts within Ars Cameralis Festival (i.e. Orchestre National de Barbès). Co-operation with Alliance Française resulted in magnificent concerts of a prominent French violinist Didier Lockwood.
In addition to all this, Zabrze Jazz Association supports young promising musicians. It is worth mentioning that Maciej Obara, today one of the best sax players of the young generation, played his first concert at JAZ Festival. Also, Piotr Damasiewicz, a trumpet player and the winner of “Fryderk” prize in the category “Best jazz début” in 2013 as well as Marcin Masecki, well-known for his unconventional attitude towards classical music of Bach and Mozart, played their concerts here at the early stage of their professional careers.
Last but not least, Piotr Wyleżoł, Grzegorz Grzegorski and Adam Kowalewski, currently the members of Nigel Kennedy’s band, performed at JAZ Festivals while still being students of the Jazz Department at The Music Academy in Katowice.
All these activities have allowed Jazz Zabrze Association to play crucial role in the regional environment of cultural and music animators, being the best guarantee of the highest quality of its events.
