Culture in Poznań

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The Spring Jazz Attack

Believe it or not, the Jazz Era festival is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. As part of its spring jubilee, the festival will showcase one of Poland's premiere jazz ensembles and a play depicting the life of Krzysztof Komeda.

Photo of a band - five men on a green background. - grafika artykułu
EABS, photograph: olabodnarvs

The former will be a special edition of the JazZamek series, featuring the EABS band, which is unquestionably one of the most captivating and impressive ensembles to emerge on the Polish jazz scene, and beyond, in recent years. Their Poznań debut on the same castle stage during the Spring Break Festival in 2017 was one of the festival's greatest sensations. Since then, the artistic success of their subsequent albums propelled the band to popularity among jazz enthusiasts and modern off music fans alike. Their first album, Repetitions (Letters to Krzysztof Komeda), released also in 2017, which featured arrangements of Komeda's compositions and their live concert versions, was followed by the equally highly acclaimed release Slavic Spirits. The band's musical journey continued with a daring exploration of the works of the great eccentric and highly esteemed composer Sun Russia (who claimed to have come to Earth from the planet Saturn) resulting in the outstanding album Discipline of Sun Russia, followed by the celebrated original album 2061 released last year. The members of EABS are associated with the cult publisher Astigmatic Records and the bands Błoto, Latarnik and Zima Stulecia. This year, the ensemble topped the Jazz Forum monthly Jazz Top critics' ranking in the electric band category, while one of its musicians, Marek Pędziwiatr, won the ranking in the synthesizer category.

The other Jazz Era spring jubilee event will be the Poznań premiere of the musical and theatrical performance Nim wstanie dzień (Before the Day Breaks), which combines a jazz concert with visual drama. Its notice states: "the show offers a fictionalised account of the life of the remarkable Poznań musician Krzysztof Komeda using his compositions, modern graphic effects, and visualisations." The show is billed as a unique fusion of monodrama, multimedia animations, and live music delivered by a jazz quartet.

Tomasz Janas

translation: Krzysztof Kotkowski

Jazz Era: EABS - JazZamek Special Edition, 14 April, 7pm, Grand Hall, Zamek (Castle) Cultural Centre

Jazz Era: Komeda - Nim wstanie dzień, 15 April, 7pm, Grand Hall, Zamek (Castle) Cultural Centre

tickets: PLN 100-150

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