BILATERAL COOPERATION

Last year three Asian bands have been touring in Poland as a part of Jazz Po Polsku. Establishing the model of bilateral cooperation between Polish and Asian musicians, is one of the brightest point in upcoming years. So far, Poland has hosted bands like Jun Xiao Quintet from China, SunJee Lee Quintet from Korea and Imran Ahmed Trio from Bangladesh.

In December 2018, China’s leading jazz guitarist, Jun Xiao with his quintet, toured Poland while attending Jazz Festival in Cracow. They were the first Chinese band, which performed during 42 years of history of the festival, one of the most prestigious in Poland. They played also at the Silesian Jazz Festival, which is organized by the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music, the oldest jazz department in Poland with over 60 years of history.

Then, the Korean saxophone player SunJae Lee with his quintet performed in Warsaw in March 2019. Korean musicians featured with the Polish guitarist Rafał Sarnecki as a part of the Kosmopolityczny project, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Korean and Polish jazz musicians’ collaboration project held in Warsaw, Poland on May 31.

In July 2019, Imran Ahmed Trio from Bangladesh was performing for the first time in Poland. The band played at the Voicingers Festival and club shows in Cracow and Warsaw. Musicians lead workshops for the festival audience. The last performance was held in Warsaw, at the Agnieszka Osiecka Music Studio, Polish Radio on Sept. 27, and received great feedback.