Kasia Pietrzko Trio - Norwid (2022)

The two distant worlds of contemporary jazz and Polish romanticism paradoxically form a completely new and fascinating quality.
Kasia Pietrzko and Maciej Kadziela present, on this new release from The Fryderyk Chopin Institute (NIFC), the surrealist vision of the Polish Romantic, Cyprian Kamil Norwid. A vision that links his times to our own. This new CD features arrangements by Pietrzko and Kadziela to verse read by Andrzej Chyra, and continues a fine tradition of combining jazz with poetry, which in Europe stretches back to the 1950s. Their arrangements foster natural reflection, a slowing of the narrative that enhances the resonance of the verse. It is an approach that is favoured by Andrzej Chyra's unhurried recitation, restrained in its expression and dwelling on key phrases.

Norwid's poetry represents Polish romanticism. It is highly personal, ahead of its time in both content and form, but also strongly rooted in the history of the Polish emigre community in Paris, of which Chopin was one of the pillars. Nowadays, we rarely turn to Norwid's verse. And yet the questions he poses, the visions he spreads out before us, the problems he ponders are relevant to our generation too.

Kasia Pietrzko is a Polish pianist, composer, and arranger. She made a striking debut in 2017 with her trio album "Forthright Stories" (recorded with Corcoran Holt on bass and Piotr Budniak on drums) and was hailed a sensation by critics and audience alike. Her performance at Sopot Jazz Festival that year, at the invitation from Greg Osby, got a mention in Downbeat Magazine. In the opinion of distinguished Polish jazz musicians, she is characterized by her improviser's instinct, harmonic imagination and tonal creativity.

Kadziela is one of the leading Polish saxophonists, a graduate of Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. Thanks to a scholarship from the Idella Foundation he studied at Columbia University and with such figures as Steve Coleman, Jerry Bergonzi, Gary Thomas and Jeff Tain Watts. A laureate of many prizes and distinctions, with a sizeable discography (including as leader), he is also co-founder of ZK Collaboration, one of the most interesting formations on the Polish jazz scene of recent years.