Możdżer Danielsson Fresco

Polish pianist Leszek Możdżer, a longtime star in his home country, spreads his fame worldwide with Polska, recorded with musical soulmates Lars Danielsson, one of the best jazz bassists in the world and Israeli percussionist Zohar Fresco. The sound on Polska is as much a product of these two musicians as creative mastermind Możdżer himself. Polska's grand finale is a version of Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced? featuring the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

“Three men, three pianos, one emotion – jazz”. These were the words with which German national TV news succinctly summed up the piano summit on 31st May 2016 in a sold-out main hall of the Berlin Philharmonie. And the TV news reporter continued: “Iiro Rantala, Leszek Możdżer, Michael Wollny. Each in a class of his own. Together, they’re a miracle”. Is there perhaps an element of déjà vu in this story? Yes, certainly. Because these were the same three jazz piano greats who had performed at the very first ‘Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic’ in December 2012, the event which triumphantly set in motion the concert series curated by Siggi Loch at the German capital city’s classical music shrine.

10 Easy Pieces For Pian is a 2000 album performed by pianist Leszek Możdżer, composed by Zbigniew Preisner. This was released by EMI Classics.

“Three men, three pianos, one emotion – jazz”. These were the words with which German national TV news succinctly summed up the piano summit on 31st May 2016 in a sold-out main hall of the Berlin Philharmonie – a concert which can now be experienced exclusively on vinyl. And the TV news reporter continued: “Iiro Rantala, Leszek Możdżer, Michael Wollny. Each in a class of his own. Together, they’re a miracle”. Is there perhaps an element of déjà vu in this story? Yes, certainly.

'Never change a winning team' – The old sporting wisdom can also be applied to music: When soul mates and perfectly matched musicians find one another, they are well advised to stick together. 'Liberetto II' by the exceptional Swedish bassist and cellist Lars Danielsson is the living proof. Three years ago he found a quartet with the former e.s.t. drummer Magnus Öström, the British guitarist John Paricelli and most of all as a new dream team duo with Armenian pianist Tigran. It interpreted his compositions and realised his musical ideas more precisely than probably any ensemble before it.

Over the past few years Swedish bassist, cellist, composer, and arranger Lars Danielsson has matured into one of the most important voices in European jazz. He has played alongside such international stars as Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker, John Scofield, and Charles Lloyd, led his own quartet, worked as musical producer for Caecilie Norby, Viktoria Tolstoy and the Danish Radio Orchestra, and, most importantly, recorded three CDs under his own name for ACT. These recordings reveal Danielsson’s unmistakeable originality, his music’s amazing openness, and his wide-ranging creativity.

Some people talk a lot, whereas others keep hold of what is important, and only need a few words to get to their point. The same is true in music. Lars Danielsson and Paolo Fresu, who have now teamed up, are two musicians who choose the notes they play with extreme care. “Summerwind”, their first joint studio project, brings the Swedish master bassist/cellist’s gorgeous sound on both instruments and his fine sense for simple and haunting melodies into a partnership with the bright, airy tones of one of Europe's most lyrical trumpeters whose way of “playing it cool” has such distinctive expressiveness.

In May 2014, the innovative and inventive concert series Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic headed east on a musical journey to the jazz stronghold of Poland. Piano virtuoso Leszek Możdżer, revered like a pop star in his homeland, shines on this live recording as he is accompanied by a trio and the Atom String Quartet. Together, Możdżer and his bandmates conjure up a celebrated concert evening that once again shows that a mix of jazz, classical and folk music provides important impulses for the future of European jazz and Poland.

On "Silent Ways", Danish vocalist Caecilie Norby interprets her favourite singer/songwriter melodies, from Bob Dylan to Paul Simon, CCR to Soundgarden, charging them up with classical and jazz influences. The almost chamber musical, tranquil form hinted at by the album's title is classical, as is the emotional expressiveness of her interpretations. The jazzy approach lies in her singing technique, in the arrangements and the hand-picked musicians in the band improvising magically together.