"This is the anniversary edition, so everyone expects special events, and we have planned them", assures Krzysztof Maj, the director of the Impart 2016 Festival Office (Biuro Festiwalowe Impart 2016), which is the organiser of the best, according to the fans, jazz festival in Poland. At least according to the survey which was conducted among its readers by the exclusive Polish print jazz magazine, "Jazz Forum". The participants of the plebiscite chose from as many as 100 festivals, so the title excites even more (for the most interesting last year's edition).
This year's edition (held from 4th until13th of April) may be even better, not only because of the American celebrities that will come to Wroclaw, such as the singer Gregory Porter (recently granted the Grammy Award), Kenny Garrett (who will lead a master class for the students of the Academy of Music (Akademia Muzyczna)), the saxophonist Houston Person (one of the great musicians of the older generation), the trumpeter Terrence Blanchard, and finally — Peter Cincotti playing extremely ambient jazz. "We chose the widest possible spectrum of jazz", admits Igor Pietraszewski, a member of the artistic council of the festival.
Wojciech Siwek, the participant of all the editions, who is preparing a two-volume album on the 50th anniversary of Jazz nad Odrą (together with Bogusław Klimsa), emphasises that his hobby is inviting the rising stars, not only Polish, but also American ones, which is evident in this year's edition. "A great trumpeter, Ambrose Akinmusire and Rez Abbasi, the guitarist, will come to Wroclaw. What is more, the concert of a Japanese jazz pianist, Hiromi, may be a spectacular event. Sometimes she is called the Hendrix of the piano, which becomes clear when you listen to her concert", says Igor Pietraszewski.
A special gala will be organised in the Centennial Hall (Hala Stulecia) for the 50th anniversary of one of the most important Polish jazz festivals. There will appear the artists associated with the "Jazz nad Odrą" festival for the last half of the century.
The legendary jazz club "Rura" will come back to life. "For the time being it will operate at Impart chamber hall, then maybe the club will be reborn somewhere else", secretly hopes Marek Dudek, a member of the Jazz programme council. The young jazz musicians (their names are to remain a surprise) will play in Wroclaw clubs, such as "Mleczarnia" or "Puzzle".
Big Band lovers will be happy about a famous formation of Aleksander Mazur (this time conducted by Marek Pijarowski) with Rolf Liebermann's Concerto for Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra.
The performance of "Rat Pack, so Sinatra with friends" prepared by Capitol Music Theatre (Teatr Capitol), a story about three legendary singers in the '70s (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.) can be a large attraction. The audience will listen to the biggest hits of those years from the repertoire of the singers (such as "Strangers in the Night", "Sway", "My Way"). "After the premiere at Jazz nad Odrą Festival, the performance will appear in the repertoire of the Capitol Music Theatre", adds Konrad Imiela.
The price of the tickets for Jazz nad Odrą Festival will range from several to several hundred zlotys, and they will go on sale in three weeks. The book prepared by Wojciech Siwek and Bogusław Klimsa should be ready two weeks before the festival. The two-volume publication (will be released by c2 in Wroclaw) will be available at a price of about 100 zlotys, and inside you will find not only the memories of all previous editions (including the impressions of the musicians), but also hundreds of unpublished photos. 2000 copies will be printed.
Magdalena Talik
