Leszek Możdżer solo

Jazz superstar, pianist, and composer Leszek Możdżer is coming to Paliesius Manor for the first time! The artist is one of the most interesting Polish jazz phenomena of recent decades, having sparked the greatest revolution in Polish jazz. A spectacular solo performance awaits, so don’t miss it!

Leszek Możdżer is an exceptional pianist and composer. He brought about a mental and stylistic revolution in Polish jazz, unmatched by the work of any other jazzman.

He has framed complex jazz phrases, multifaceted improvisations, the melodic patterns of jazz standards, and the subtlety of compositions within a specific jazz framework—in this jazz, there is no audible effort to overwhelm the listener with abundance, no commercialism, and no arrogance. This became the expressive jazz of Leszek Możdżer. Jazz imagination, interesting improvisational ideas, the subtlety of F. Chopin’s etudes and mazurkas, and inspirations from Krzysztof Komeda—all this creates a new color of jazz piano chamber music in his work.

The artist is one of the most interesting Polish jazz phenomena of recent decades. Initially, he was a member of the band “Miłość,” which belonged to the “Yass” movement. Later, he appeared in many jazz line-ups: in the bands of Emil Kowalski, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Tomasz Stańko, Buddy de Franco, David Friesen, Archie Shepp, Michał Urbaniak, Adam Pierończyk, and Arthur Blyth. The pianist’s extensive discography includes over a hundred albums, released as his own projects or in collaboration with prominent artists. He records and performs with David Gilmour, Nana Vasconcelos, Marcus Miller, John Scofield, Tan Dun, Pat Metheny, and others. Concerts, recordings, and collaboration with composer Zbigniew Preisner brought the pianist great popularity and recognition. Such joint projects as “Requiem for My Friend” and “10 Easy Pieces for Piano” became major artistic events.

The album “Impressions On Chopin”, recorded in 1999, has already become a prime example among recordings inspired by the brilliant Polish composer’s work. L. Możdżer also collaborates with Jan A.P. Kaczmarek (recordings for the Oscar-winning soundtrack of the film “Finding Neverland” and the album “Kaczmarek by Możdżer”), and composes music for film and theater himself. The pianist reveals himself most in solo projects and in his original trio with Lars Danielsson and Zohar Fresco (the album “The Time”, recorded in 2005, achieved Diamond Record status; “Between Us And The Light” (2006), “Live” (2007), and “Polska” (2013) achieved Double Platinum status). In 2017, together with Holland Baroque, he recorded the album “Earth Particles”. In 2021, the album “Just Ignore It”, created together with Lars Danielsson, Zohar Fresco, and Holland Baroque, premiered. L. Możdżer is also the artistic director of the “Enter Enea” festival.

For the soundtrack to Maciej Pieprzyca’s film “Ikar. Legenda Mietka Kosza”, L. Możdżer won the award for Best Music at the 44th Gdynia Film Festival, the “Orły Film Award 2020”, the award for the Best Soundtrack of 2019 awarded by 50 music and film experts at the Krakow Film Music Festival, as well as the “Grand Prix Komeda” at the 9th Film Festival and the “Fryderyk” award in the Album of the Year in Illustrative Music category. The soundtrack was also recognized with the following awards: “MocArty RMF Classic”, “Olśnienia Onetu”, an “Empik Bestsellers” nomination, and a Special Award at the 34th Tarnów Film Award.

Leszek Możdżer reveals himself as the creator of a new jazz style, whose musical sound and atmosphere are built by impression and mood, as well as a unique, original performance style. Perhaps this is why the pianist is considered an eloquent jazz creator of the younger generation: it is a refined artistic proposition made up of the musical impressions and discoveries of L. Możdżer, the most popular Polish jazz musician of today.

Translated from a text by Dionizy Piątkowski, author of the Polish Jazz Encyclopedia