December saw the final days of the largest Polish jazz tour in Asia. The music of Jazz Po Polsku project sounded more than 60 times in China, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia. The Polish art of jazz was witnessed by over 40,000 people.
The tour kicked off in July with concerts by Stanisław Słowiński Quintet. The Cracow-based group gave shows in such Chinese cities as Beijing, Lanzhou, Shanghai and Xi’an. In September and October there were 14 more locations that hosted Marek Napiórkowski Sextet, Rafał Sarnecki Sextet, Paweł Kaczmarczyk Audiofeeling Trio, Michał Milczarek Trio, Kuba Cichocki Quartet and Bogna Kicińska Quintet. Albert Karch – Yuta Omino Project toured in October around Japan and recorded their debut album in the Tokyo Dede Studio. The Jazz Po Polsku tour was closed with some live shows by Grzegorz Karnas Formula. The quartet used this occasion to promote their „Power Kiss” album (Hevhetia records), which includes material recorded last year in China. The group also toured in Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Polish bands played in many prestigious locations. The artists took part in some of the biggest jazz festivals, such as the Beijing Nine Gates Festival, the Shenzhen Oct-Loft Festival, the Penang Island Jazz Festival in Malaysia and Pesona Manado Jazz Fiesta on the Celebes island in Indonesia. They also played in filled-up concert halls like Beijing’s the Culture Palace of Nationality and 9-Theatre, the Xi’an Symphony Hall. The musicians also gave lectures to music academy students in Changchun (the Jilin Academy of Arts), Chengdu (the University of Science & Technology), Jakarta (the Institute of Music Daya), Hangzhou (the Zheijang Conservatory of Music) and Beijing (the Western Academy of Beijing). The tour’s final shows took place in concert clubs. Chinese jazz-enthusiasts could also watch some Internet transmissions, where the Beijing Nine Gates Festival was followed by 20,000 music lovers.
Year 2017 saw China hosting its „Season of Culture” – a project promoting the idea of the new Silk Road and the deepening cooperation with the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). It was attended by 16 countries, including Poland. The Jazz Po Polsku tour was the largest project being part of the Chinese Ministry of Culture’s initiative.
The Asian public reacts really good to Polish improvised music. In Poland it may not seem as something for the masses, while here – it is quite the contrary. In their eyes, our jazz is astoundingly different from the American one, which for them has been genre-defining so far. They are so positively surprised. It results with ever-growing collaboration with the local musicians, both in terms of art and organization – Jakub Krzeszowski, the founder of Jazz Po Polsku project.
The tour’s vital moment was Rafał Sarnecki partaking in a concert given by an international big-band consisting of musicians from 16 different CEEC countries and China. The show was held in a concert hall of the biggest music conservatory in China – the Hangzhou Zhejiang Conservatory. Meanwhile, during the Chongqing Culture Industry Expo – the Sichuan culture fare, people could see the premiere of Grzegorz Karnas’ latest album, entitled „Power Kiss”. The tour has been documented on film by Maciej Głowiński and its premiere will take place in Spring 2018.
The Jazz Po Polsku tour was a part of the 16+1 project (China-CEEC – China and Central and Eastern European Countries) whose main idea is the bilateral collaboration between China and the countries from Central and Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Serbia and Slovakia. The enterprise also promotes the Belt and Road Initiative, which aims at creating a fast transport network connecting with, among others, the EU countries. The year-round Season of Culture has been arranged in China in order to host over 300 events, such as concerts, theatre performances, exhibitions etc.
Since 2014 the Jazz Po Polsku project has already organized more than 150 events in China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam. JPP presents a wide spectrum of young Polish jazz musicians. It helps in establishing cultural collaboration and integrates artists from many countries.
The Jazz Po Polsku Live in Asia 2017 tour was organized in collaboration with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute operating as Culture.pl, the Polish Institute in Beijing and Tokio, the Polish Consulates in Chengdu and Guangzhou, the Polish Embassies in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, the Plateaux Foundation and local partners: the Chinese Jazz Association (CJA), Warta Jazz and Capricorn Connection.
JAZZ PO POLSKU LIVE IN ASIA 2017
STANISŁAW SŁOWIŃSKI QUINTET (China)
Stanisław Słowiński violin, Zbyszek Szwajdych trumpet, Joachim Mencel piano, Justyn Małodobry double bass, Piotr Budniak drums
07.07 Lanzhou, China-CEEC Art Festival,
08.07 Lanzhou, China-CEEC Art Festival,
09.07 Lanzhou, China-CEEC Art Festival,
10.07 Lanzhou, China-CEEC Art Festival,
11.07 Lanzhou, China-CEEC Art Festival,
12.07 Xi’an, Meeting Jazz Club,
13.07 Shanghai, JZ Club,
14.07 Beijing, DDC Club,
Grzegorz Karnas Formula „Power Kiss” album premiere (China)
14.09 Chongqing, Jazz Po Polsku at the Chongqing Culture Industry Expo
15.09 Chongqing, Jazz Po Polsku at the Chongqing Culture Industry Expo
16.09 Chongqing, Jazz Po Polsku at the Chongqing Culture Industry Expo
MAREK NAPIÓRKOWSKI SEXTET (China)
Marek Napiórkowski guitar, Adam Pierończyk sax, Henryk Miśkiewicz bassclarinet, Michał Tokaj piano, Robert Kubiszyn double bass, Paweł Dobrowolski drums
13.09 Xi’an, Silk Road International Arts Festival, Symphony Hall, Xi’an Conservatory of Music
14.09 Xi’an, Silk Road International Arts Festival, Xi’an Concert Hall
RAFAŁ SARNECKI SEXTET (China)
Bogna Kicińska vocals, Rafał Sarnecki guitar, Nathaniel Gao sax, Kuba Cichocki piano, Wang Chen Huai double bass, Xu Zitong drums
15.09 Beijing, Western Academy of Beijing
16.09 Beijing, Western Academy of Beijing
17.09 Beijing, DDC
23.09 Hangzhou, CEEC Big Band, Culture Ministers Summit of China and CEEC
24.09 Hangzhou, Music Academy
25.09 Hangzhou, Music Academy
26.09 Shanghai, JZ Club
30.09 Changzhou, Blank Space
02.10 Jincheng, China CEEC-Art Festival
06.10 Beijing, Culture Palace of Nationality
13.10 Beijing, Nine Gates Festival
15.10 Beijing, Midi School of Music
16.10 Beijing, Midi School of Music
19.10 Changchun, Jilin Academy of Arts
20.10 Changchun, Jilin Academy of Arts
KUBA CICHOCKI QUARTET (China)
Kuba Cichocki piano, Nathaniel Gao sax, Wang Chen Huai double bass, Xu Zitong drums
15.09 Beijing, Western Academy of Beijing
16.09 Beijing, Western Academy of Beijing
23.09 Beijing, East Shore, tbc
27.09 Shanghai, Wooden Box, tbc
BOGNA KICIŃSKA QUINTET (China)
Bogna Kicińska vocals, Kuba Cichocki piano, Nathaniel Gao sax, Wang Chen Huai double bass, Xu Zitong drums
10.10 Beijing, Western Academy of Beijing
10.10 Beijing, DDC, Beijing
11.10 Beijing, Masterclasses at CMA (Contemporary Music Academy)
11.10 Beijing, Good Bait
12.10 Beijing, Bogna Kicinska Trio, CHAO Living Room
ALBERT KARCH – YUTA OMINO PROJECT (Japan)
Albert Karch drums, Yuta Omino double bass, feat. Takako Yamada piano, Momo Otani piano, Hiroyuki Ishikawa trumpet, Christophe Pannekoucke guitar
12.10 Chiba, Clipper
13.10 Fukui, Cafe Ragtime Classics
18.10 Tokyo, inF, feat. Momo Otani
19.10 Shizuoka, Analog/Hamamatsu Jazz Week, feat. Takako Yamada
20.10 Nagoya, Cabarello Club
22.10 Saitama, Salon Honjo
01.11 Tokyo, Bar Time, feat. Momo Otani, feat. Momo Otani & Christophe Pannekoucke
02.11 Tokyo, Dede Studio, recording session
03.11 Tokyo, Mori no Jazz Festival, feat. Hiroyuki Ishikawa
PAWEŁ KACZMARCZYK AUDIOFEELING TRIO (China)
Paweł Kaczmarczyk piano, Jakub Dworak double bass, Dawid Fortuna drums
13.10 Beijing, Nine Gates Festival
18.10 Hangzhou, Vocational Academy
21.10 Xi’an, Jazz Meeting Club
22.10 Changchun, Jilin Academy of Arts
23.10 Changchun, Jilin Academy of Arts
MICHAŁ MILCZAREK TRIO (China)
Michał Milczarek guitar, Bartosz Łuczkiewicz bass, Mateusz Modrzejewski drums
19.10 Shenzhen, Oct-Loft Festival
21.10 Zhongshan, Friends Bar
22.10 Zhuhai, Golden Jazz Academy
23.10 Canton, T:Union
25.10 Chengdu, University of Technology and Science
26.10 Chengdu, University of Technology and Science
27.10 Chengdu, Yanjiyou Bookstore
28.10 Chengdu, Chengdu Textile Collage
GRZEGORZ KARNAS FORMULA (China, Malaysia, Indonesia)
Grzegorz Karnas vocals, Radosław Nowicki sax, Sri Hanuraga, Alan Wykpisz bass, Grzegorz Masłowski drums
25.11 Chengdu, West Village
26.11 Chengdu, Yanjiyou
27.11 Nanjing, University of Arts
28.11 Nanjing, University of Arts
29.11 Shanghai, Yanjiyou
30.11 Shanghai, JZ Club
01.12 Taiping, Mansion V
02.12 Penang, Penang Island Jazz Festival
03.12 Penang, Penang Island Jazz Festival
04.12 Kuala Lumpur, Ambasada RP w Kuala Lumpur
05.12 Kuala Lumpur, No Black Tie
06.12 Jakarta, Institute of Musik Daya
07.12 Jakarta, Yesterday Backyard
08.12 Bandung, TP Jazz
10.12 Manado, Pesona Manado Jazz Fiesta