In December, Kuba Wójcik – guitaris and composer, well known on Poland’s jazz and avantgarde scene, will come on tour in India. He will be joined by Rafał Różalski on bass and on of the most talented young Indian jazz drumer, Aditya Bhagavatula and Karan Chitra Deshmukh. They will perform in New Delhi, Kolkata and Goa. The tour is organized within the JAZZ PO POLSKU “Around the World” and will take place from 4 to 15 December.
Guitarist Kuba Wójcik, well known on Poland’s jazz and avantgarde scene, stand out with his musical individualism and artistic independence. Starting December 4, he will continue his musical journey to India and performe for the second time of the year. The tour will launch on December 4 in New Delhi with 3 performances at the Piano Man Jazz Club. The Trio will also attend in Kolkata Jazz Festival on December 13, one of the oldest jazz festival in the country. Kuba Wójcik Trio will perform also at the Serendipity Festival in Goa.
Wójcik’s artistic journey in India kicked off in 2023 during his trip to the Himalayas, and developed in spring 2024 during the tour with trumpet Player, Piotr Damasiewicz. This time he will be touring with Polish bass player, Rafał Różalski, and Rising Young star of Indian jazz, a Drummer Aditya Bhagavatula. The Kuba Wojcik Trio focus on the exploration of Polish and Indian cultures and to combine own sound with local inspirations.
„Our goal is to transcend musical and mental boundaries by drawing inspiration from the variety of cultures and environments. We want to create unique projects in collaboration with local musicians from India, establishing firm bonds between different musical worlds,” says Kuba Wójcik.
Kuba Wójcik Trio live shows in India are part of the JAZZ PO POLSKU “Around the World” Project, inspired by the feats of Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, a Polish traveler who was the first Pole to circumnavigate the World out of his own initiative. Strzelecki went through a remarkable journey in the years 1834-1843, during which he conducted broad geological and geographical research, contributing to the development of knowledge about the contemporary world.
The JAZZ PO POLSKU “Around the World” Project has taken a form of an international concert tour that will see Polish artists perform on 4 continents. The project launched in May 2023 and will continue until the end of 2025. It has so far included over 120 events in 15 countries, participated by 12 bands, also in India in April 2024 (Kuba Wójcik and Piotr Damasiewicz).
The JAZZ PO POLSKU “Around the World” Project is carried out by the JAZZ PO POLSKU Foundation in collaboration with Polish diplomatic missions around the World, as well as with a number of local partners. The honorary patronage over the project has been taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its 2024 partners include: Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Polish Institute in New Delhi, Polish Airlines – LOT and the Industrial Development Agency Foundation. Strategic partner is: Marshal’s Office of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Patrons: Polish Radio Programe III, Polish Press Agency, and Jazz Forum Magazine.
Kuba Wójcik Trio Live in India 2024
Kuba Wójcik – guitar; Rafał Różański – double bass; Aditya Bhagavatula – drums (4-13 Dec.) / Karan Chitra Deshmukh – drums (14-15 Dec.)
04.12 New Delhi, Purana Qila, Panorama Editions
04.12 New Delhi, The Piano Man
05.12 New Delhi/Safdarjung, The Piano Man
06.12 Gurgaon, The Piano Man
12.12 Kolkata, Calcutta School of Music
13.12 Kolkata, Kolkata Jazz Festival
14.12 Goa, The Flying Goat
15.12 Goa, Serendipity Arts Festival
Kuba Wójcik Trio is the ensemble of the acclaimed Polish guitarist and composer Kuba Wójcik, known for creating unique fusions of jazz with traditional music from various parts of the world. In his work, he has collaborated with such extraordinary artists as the shamanic vocalist Sainkho Namtchylak, as well as musicians from Nepal. Recently, he has focused on working with musicians from India, exploring its exceptionally rich musical traditions and blending them with his original jazz compositions. This exploration led to a tour in India in April this year, during which he had the opportunity to collaborate with outstanding local musicians. The trio will return for another tour in December this year. The band features the brilliant Polish double bassist Rafał Różalski, who resides in Copenhagen, and the rising star of Indian percussion, the incredible Aditya Bhagavatula. The trio will perform original compositions by the leader, combining modern jazz with avant-garde and Indian musical influences.
Kuba Wójcik is a guitarist, composer, educator, and traveler. He is the creator of projects at the intersection of jazz and avant-garde, such as Minim feat. Sainkho, Mad Ship, Kuba Wójcik’s Threak, and a duo with Piotr Damasiewicz. As a solo artist, he explores ambient sounds, combining guitar with electronics. He has released seven albums, including Minim Experiment – Dark Matter, which was recognized as the Debut of the Year 2016, and Minim feat. Sainkho – Earth, which ranked 2nd among all jazz releases in 2020. He has collaborated with artists such as Rolf Kühn, Sainkho Namtchylak, Nils Davidsen, Peter Bruun, as well as the Cracow Improvisers Orchestra and Professor Leszek Kułakowski’s Big Band. He has performed in Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, and Nepal. Kuba is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Gdańsk with a degree in Jazz and Stage Music and a scholarship recipient of the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. In the Jazz Forum critics’ poll, he ranked 3rd among guitarists for the year 2020. He is the organizer of the Spontaneous Composers’ Meetings. He received the Warsaw City Artistic Scholarship for 2021. As a composer, he is interested in the works of minimalists, which he adapts into the contemporary jazz language. He is inspired by nature and traditional cultures and is a jazz guitar lecturer at the Academy of Art in Szczecin.
Rafał Różalski is a Polish double bass player and improviser currently based in Copenhagen. His playing is a radically acoustic and raw expression, blending a wide range of influences including jazz, hip hop, rock, Western classical music, and Polish folk. Rafał is a member of several innovative ensembles such as Alawari, RASP Lovers, Marcel Baliński Quartet (featuring Rudi Mahal), Margaux Oswald’s Collateral Damage, and the Pimpono Ensemble. He is also a key figure in Współgłosy, an improvised musical theatre project that brings together improvisers and a choir of artists with disabilities. In 2022, he collaborated with Mats Gustafsson on the Hidros9 project. Additionally, Rafał co-organizes the “Nørrebro Jazz Extravaganza,” a weekly series of improvised music performances in Copenhagen.
Aditya Bhagavatula is a drummer from New Delhi who started learning drums at the age of 4 under the mentorship of the esteemed Sir Manoj Mavely. He has since become a prominent figure in the Indian music scene, playing with the country’s top funk band, The Revisit Project. Aditya has also performed with renowned acts such as Pineapple Express and Ustaad Ma Zila Khan, among others.
Karan Chitra Deshmukh is a versatile performer and drummer, Multi Percussionist, Vocalist, Composer, Beat Boxer, Actor, blending in all the art across the world. *A TEDx Speaker; featured in Mtv Coke Studio and Mtv Unplugged globally. His covers of Game of Thrones Tabla version, Bella ciao have received viral response with *15 Million+ views on YouTube and other social media platforms. Worked with renowned composers from around the world such as A.R Rahman, YO YO MA , Salim Sulaiman, Karsh Kale, Papon, Jason Derulo to name a few.