30th International Open Air Festival Jazz at the Old Town

July 5th - August 31th, 2024, Warsaw, Old Town Square, 7 PM, free entrance

Organizer:
Fundacja Jazz Art.

Honorary patronage:
Minister Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego, Prezydent m. st. Warszawy

General director, author:
Krzysztof Wojciechowski

Art director, spokesperson:
Iwona Strzelczyk Wojciechowska

Jazz stars, pioneers of the genre and unique projects - the 30th International Open-Air Jazz Festival in the Old Town starts in Warsaw on July 5. It will last until August 31st.

The Old Town Square will once again become the concert heart of the capital and will beat to the rhythm of jazz for two summer months.

It promises to be a very interesting edition. It's special for us, because it's our 30th anniversary! The popular festival created many artists and an impressive audience of its own, gathering around a million people. It is a 30-year history of (soon) unique meetings with icons and aces of jazz. The list of names of artists who played at the festival is impressive.

International stars performed, including such names as: Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, Buster Williams, James Carter, Joey Calderazzo, Archie Sheep, David Murray, Roy Hargrove, Ernie Watts, Jacky Terrasson, Richard Galliano, Scott Hamilton, Lonnie Smith, Dino Saluzzi, Bill Evans, Chico Freeman, Lee Konitz, Jasper van't Hof, Kevin Mahogany, Bill Evans, Mike Stern, Terje Rypdal, Stanley Jordan, Charnett Moffett, Birelli Lagrene, John Pizzarelli, Ulf Wakenius, Jeremy Pelt, Bobo Stenson, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Tord Gustavsen, Enrico Pieranunzi, Stefano Bollani, Antonio Farao, Enrico Rava, Paolo Fresu, Marilyn Mazur, Shai Maestro, Palle Mikkelborg, Avishai Cohen, Lars Danielson, Hiromi, Alfredo Rodriguez, Kyle Eastwood, Omar Sosa, Cyrus Chesnut, Emmet Cohen, Courtney Pine, Denys Baptiste, Hamilton de Holanda, Harold Lopez Nussa.

It was with great pleasure that we presented legends of Polish jazz and outstanding artists, including: Tomasz Stańko, Michał Urbaniak, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Janusz Muniak, Tomasz Szukalski, Jarosław Śmietana, Włodek Pawlik, Sławek Kulpowicz, Adzik Sendecki, Leszek Możdżer, Włodzimierz Nahorny, Wojciech Karolak, Andrzej Jagodziński, Joachim Mencel, Maciej Obara, Piotr Baron, Gary Guthman, Krzysztof Herdzin, Marcin Masecki, Paweł Kaczmarczyk, Piotr Schmidt, Marek Napiórkowski, Krzysztof Śmierzański, Anna Maria Jopek, Ewa Bem, Urszula Dudziak, Grażyna Auguścik, Lora Szafran, Sławek Jaskułke, Adam Bałdych and many others.

Great Polish bands like: The Quartet, Miłość, Dream Team, Laboratorium, String Connection, Young Power, Walk Away, Simple Acoustic Trio, Marcin Wasilewski Trio, Maciej Obara Quartet, Janusz Strobel Trio, Marek Napiorkowski Sextet, EABS ,Weezdoob Collective, RGG Trio, Piotr Schmidt Quintet, Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, Kacper Smoliński Quintet presented their premiere and anniversary projects.

Visit also Facebook website.

Adam Makowicz - solo piano

5 July 2024

Jazz legend, master of improvisation, outstanding piano virtuoso, recognized all over the world. He has over 60 solo albums in his discography and has played alongside the most outstanding figures in world jazz. Soloist of international and domestic orchestras, giving concerts on the stages of the most famous philharmonic halls in the USA and Europe. He plays his own pieces, compositions by Fryderyk Chopin and, above all, the standards of the Great American Songbook. We will hear material from one of the master's latest albums, "Welcome Back, Adam!", which is a kind of bridge spanning the 45 years of artistic activity of the piano virtuoso.

Marek Napiórkowski Sextet

6 July 2024

Napiorkowski's Sextet is one of the largest projects bringing together stars of the Polish jazz scene and a group of personalities that can easily be called Polish All Stars.

Christian Sands Trio

13 July 2024

A revelation of jazz pianism in recent years, pianist, composer, arranger, five-time GRAMMY nominee. He is a rising star of the American jazz scene. It masterfully combines tradition and modernity. He shares the stage with such jazz luminaries as: Christian Mc Bride, Wynton Marsalis, Bill Evans, Kenny Garett, Terenche Blanchard. DownBeat magazine included Sands on the list of artists setting new directions in jazz of tomorrow. Wynton Marsalis called the artist "the jazz star of the future."

Aga Zaryan Quintet

20 July 2024

One of the best Polish jazz vocalists and winner of the most important awards in the music world. Her work is the quintessence of what is best in the history of jazz and is a continuation of the tradition of legendary achievements of jazz vocalists. He owes his international recognition to his unique singing style, with characteristic lightness of phrasing and a warm, matte tone of voice. Aga, with the participation of outstanding musicians, will perform a special, retrospective program prepared for the festival. There will be musical surprises for the audience.

Adam Wendt Quartet The Choice

27 July 2024

The leader has been among the top Polish jazz saxophonists for many years (in Jazz Top Jazz Forum surveys). A long-time musician of one of the best electric bands in Poland, Walk Away. As a soloist and session musician, he collaborated with top jazz and pop stars. "The Choice is a new formation - a carefully selected band, chosen by the leader taking into account the style and musical aesthetics of each musician. All artists are outstanding instrumentalists who also create their own music by conducting their own musical projects. Their joint album "My Choise" was released excellently received by critics and the jazz industry, and is enthusiastically received by the audience.

Niedziela / Schmidt / Bogdanowicz / Biskupski – Freedom Book - Echoes Of Heyday

3 August 2024

Freedom Book - Echoes of Heyday - is a continuation of the Nahorny Trio album Ballad Book - Crumbs Baby. This is an extremely personal exemplification of the work of Włodzimierz Nahorny - a master of lyric poetry, which finds its most beautiful incarnation in ballads. Stylistically subdued music, full of breath, peace and reflection. A creative response to the screaming, noise and rush that surrounds us today. Nahorny Trio with Mariusz Bogdanowicz on double bass and Piotr Biskupski on drums has been operating continuously since 1990. This is the longest existing band in the history of Polish jazz with the same line-up. The new version of the trio has been expanded by the outstanding trumpeter, Piotr Schmidt.

Emmet Cohen Trio

10 August 2024

“He is a rising star of the highest order in the world of jazz.” An award-winning American pianist and composer, he is one of the most important artistic figures of his generation on the New York jazz scene. At only 33 years old, he became a reference point for future generations of jazz musicians. Downbeat Magazine writes about Emmet's pianistic phenomenon: "a stellar, expressive trio representing a kaleidoscopic sense of musical narrative... A master class in stylistic combinations - rhythm and blues, bebop, swing, to contemporary styles - the innovative sound of the future of jazz."

Fabrizio Bosso Quartet We-Wonder

17 August 2024

A pillar of Italian jazz, he is one of the best Italian trumpeters of international renown. Winner of prestigious awards, he has impeccable technique, a great sense of swing, phrasing and a unique, personal sound. With his top quartet, he pays tribute to the icon of soul, Steve Wonder. They reconstruct the artist's famous works in a balance between respect for the originals and their own creation. Energy and vitality, the unique lyricism of the Bosso trumpet, original arrangements and the multidimensionality of the music make this concert exciting.

John Arman Organ Trio

24 August 2024

The band leader is one of the most famous and respected Austrian jazz guitarists of the young generation. His multi-genre work has earned him performances throughout Europe, as well as numerous studio and television recordings as a sideman and bandleader. He collaborated with, among others, Vincennet Herring and Jeremy Pelet. He regularly gives concerts and records as a sideman with various groups and leads the renowned Organ Trio, with which he has performed, among others, with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra. He plays classic jazz in the spirit of Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith to George Benson, but his playing reaches into the present.

Adzik Sendecki Quartet & Ken Norris - In memories of Al Jarreau

31 August 2024

An outstanding pianist, composer and jazz arranger, considered one of the world's best (according to the New York Village Voice, one of the five best pianists in the world). The excellent pianist will be accompanied by the American vocalist Ken Norris, who has an excellent sense of musical harmony and swing. This is a project invented by Adzik Sendecki and Al Jarreau, which the latter unfortunately could not finish due to his death (2017). It is the pianist's personal tribute to the work of one of the most outstanding vocalists, a seven-time Grammy winner. It offers an inspiring new take on his sunny and positive music.