Long awaited and stylishly stimulating second album from guitarist Przemyslaw Straczek, contains compilation of Przemyslaw's eclectic original tracks and features a rendition of exciting pieces from the legendary Polish rock band, Maanam.
Przemyslaw Straczek Group
Light and Shadow
Label: Es Art, 2010
Catalogue No: CD 0903
Format: CD
Long awaited and stylishly stimulating second album from guitarist Przemyslaw Straczek, contains compilation of Przemyslaw's eclectic original tracks and features a rendition of exciting pieces from the legendary Polish rock band, Maanam. The record is delightfully energetic and represents a number of different styles, which all have influenced and inspired the artist over the years: jazz, Latin American music, blues and modal elements; they all are subtle but cleverly and skillfully incorporated into his music. The amazing fusion of different styles, gives the appropriate background to the guitarist's virtuoso technique and manner, which perfectly blends with memorable inputs from the other members of the band: Jerzy Malek (trumpet), Maciej Garbowski (bass) and Sebastian Kuchczynski (drums).
Tracks:
1. Visa Ve 5:29
2. Nine Dreams 6:31
3. The Met Man 5:58
4. La Havana 5:30
5. Between Night & Day 6:20
6. Light & Shadow 7:41
7. The Wind From Cape Verde 6:30
8. Kocham Cie Kochanie Moje 6:39
Line-up:
Jerzy Malek - trumpet
Przemyslaw Straczek - guitar
Maciej Garbowski - bass
Sebastian Kuchczynski - drums
String Quartet:
Marta Bielawska - violin
Leszek Dzierzega - violin
Karolina Pazdro - viola
Ewelina Mrozek - cello
About:
Przemyslaw Straczek (1976) - jazz guitarist, composer, arranger, producer, educator. Completed studies in music education at the Silesian University in Cieszyn, as well as receiving a degree from the Jazz Institute at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. He is also a laureate of the Marek Blizinski Master Guitarists' Competition in Warsaw, which he won in 2001 and 2003, and the All-Poland Competition for Guitar Improvisation in Kielce, in 2005. From 1998 to 2006 he led his first group, Tres Jazz, with which he recorded the album “The Shape of Melody” in 2004. Since 2006 he has been realizing himself as a leader in various musical projects of his own, including the Przemek Straczek Trio and Przemyslaw Straczek Group, recording two more albums under his own name to date: "Earthly Room" in 2007, and "Light & Shadow" in 2010. He is also the author of a manual for jazz guitarists called "Elementary principles of jazz improvisation on the guitar, parts I and II". In 2008 he was honored with an Individual Award from the city of Jastrzebie Zdroj for extensive achievements in the area of Arts and Culture.
In his music, Przemek Straczek blends elements of mainstream, modal music, Latin-American styles, the blues, and also classical, creating an artistic conception that is his own. He draws inspiration from such artists as Jim Hall, Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Mark Turner, Brad Mehldau, Gilad Hekselman, Lage Lund, Adam Rogers, as well as many others.
Musicians he has recorded and/or works with include Andrzej Zielak, Sebastian Frankiewicz, Maciej Garbowski, Jerzy Malek, Sebastian Kuchczynski, Maciej Adamczak, Andrzej Trefon, Karol White, Michal Kapczuk, and Piotr Schmidt.
Besides a formal musical education, he has expanded his knowledge and abilities through participation in various kinds of jazz clinics and private lessons, both in Poland and abroad, including during time spent in Switzerland and the US, where he became familiar with the teaching methods employed in several of New York's renowned jazz schools. Performing on the club stages of New York, he came into contact with a number of fantastic artists – experiences which left their mark on his music.
He has performed on radio and television shows, as well as playing at festivals such as: Guitar City in Warsaw, the International Jazz Festival in Usti nad Labem (Czech Rep.), Swidnica Jazz Nights, the Krokus Jazz Festival in Jelenia Góra, the Siedlce Jazz Standards Festival, Silesian Jazz Meeting in Rybnik, Tarnogóra Jazz Meetings, The Hot Spring Jazz Festival in Czestochowa, Jazz at the Ruins in Gliwice, Easy Jazz Festival in Żory, Jazz Camping Kalatówki in Zakopane. He has also performed in the Czech Republic, Portugal, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and the United States.
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