Jazzy tunes at Piec Art

Two interesting concerts will be held next week in Piec Art, one of the most active and smoothest jazz clubs in Krakow.

On Wednesday, October 10, Wlodzimierz Kiniorski and Dariusz Markaruk will give one of their innovative concerts. Kiniorski plays an incredible array of instruments – clarinet, sax, Indian flute, electric guitar and drums. He also sings. Jacek Wudarczyk’s visual art projections will accompany the music. It will be the first time that Piec Art has offered such a “multimedia performance.”

Kiniorski and Makaruk started their band in 2001. Their style is jazz improvisation combined with electronic sounds inspired by contemporary music and elements of European and Asian ethnic music.

Two days later, on October 12, the trio of Piotr Wylezol, Michal Baranski and Lukasz Zyta will serve up more traditional – but still outstanding – jazz. Wylezol will be on piano, Baranski on the double bass and Zyta on the drums. Piano fans will be thrilled by Wylezol’s work not only because he’s a top musician but also because Piec Art has a grand piano, despite its small stage.

The club offers jazz every Wednesday and sometimes on a Thursday or Friday. Krakow has always been a jazz town, and Piec Art, founded in 1999, hosts some of the best groups around. Its reputation as one of the finest jazz clubs in Poland is largely due to its first owner, Wladyslaw Dadak, a jazz lover and music collector. He and pianist Wojciech Groborz were able to lure renowned Polish and international jazz musicians to the club. Groborz was the leader of Piecestra, a jazz band that once performed at the club almost every night.

The current club operators, Kinga Cierniak and Tamara Kalinowska, are keeping its jazz spirit alive. The two are fixtures of the local music scene, having been associated with the famous Cellar Under the Rams cabaret.

Piec Art not only boasts jazz masters but also emerging artists, many of them students at the Krakow School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. It has attracted such “household names” in jazz as Tomasz Stanko, Andrzej Cudzich, Dorota Miskiewicz, Janusz Muniak, Adam Pieronczyk, Jaroslaw Smietana, Piotr Wojtasik, David Freisen, Eddy Henderson, Nigel Kennedy, Brad Terry, Victor Lewis, Gary Thomas and Kazuhisa Uchihashi.

It also takes part in important jazz events outside the club. They include Jazz Juniors’ International Competition of Young Jazz Bands, the International Summer Jazz Academy, the Masters and Youngsters Jazz Festival.

Piec Art is in a basement of the mansion on ul. Szewska, close to Rynek Glowny. A 16th-Century portal leads to the concert room. Cozy interiors feature displays of photos and musical instruments, but the most unique decoration is a tile stove next to the bar. Details of coming jazz concerts can be found on the web site:
www.piecart.pl

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