ANDRZEJ JAGODZIŃSKI TRIO
One of the best pianists in Poland, composer and arranger Andrzej Jagodziński was born in 1953. He graduated from the French horn class at the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw and, as a student, played in the Polish Radio and Television orchestra. A few years later, he fully devoted himself to the piano and jazz music, after which he collaborated with the most eminent Polish jazz musicians of the 1980s, including Zbigniew Namysłowski, Janusz Muniak, Tomasz Szukalski, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski and Jarosław “Jarek“ Śmietana and performed all over the world. He formed his trio in 1993 with Adam Cegielski on bass and Czesław Bartkowski on drums. A year later, the major turning point in his career came when the album “Chopin“ was released. This record featured compositions by the great Chopin in jazz arrangements. The project's immense success and numerous awards paved the way for “Chopin Once More“ which went gold in 2000. His trio’s collaboration with the Italian pianist Giovanni Mirabassi in 2002 brought Jagodziński back to the international stages, and their “Mirabassi & Andrzej Jagodziński Trio“ became one of the best-selling albums in Japan in 2003. Their next project, “C-minor“ from 2006, gets a Japanese release too. Jagodziński is teaching at the Jazz Department of the State Music School Complex in Warsaw and was awarded the Gloria Artis medal for cultural merit in 2005.
NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA with SIGI FEIGL and LUIS BONILLA
The artistic maturity, expressiveness and permanent dedication to the jazz tradition quickly positioned the National Jazz Orchestra as one of the most influential big bands in the Balkans. The official status as a National Institution in 2024 was a result of years of work, beginning with the big-band concerts in 2016. The Orchestra has developed a unique and contemporary sound under prominent conductors such as Sigi Feigl, Vladimir Nikolov and Emin Dzijan. Meanwhile, the ensemble collaborated with internationally acclaimed musicians like Kurt Elling, Maria Mendes, Donny McCaslin and John Riley. The orchestra at the jazz festival will perform under the leadership of the Austrian conductor Sigi Feigl with Luis Bonilla as a guest soloist. Feigl is considered one of Europe’s leading jazz figures and a pioneer in the development of big-band music and jazz education. He worked with legendary artists such as Art Farmer, Bob Brookmeyer and Toots Thielemans. Feigl is a current professor and the head of the jazz department at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. Luis Bonilla also works and lives in Graz. He shaped his artisanship as a Lester Bowie’s student and a member of his legendary group Brass Fantasy. Bonilla has been a permanent member and a collaborator of some of the most renowned jazz ensembles.