If fire is the element of music, this year we will have an exceptionally dynamic scene of the Katowice JazzArt Festival. As befits the fiery flames, we paint this edition in the colors of grassy green.

Perversely and provocatively to show the second face of the fesival – workshops and reflective part of the event, which this year is organized with the Silesian Museum.

Social initiatives, discussions, art installations in the urban space, combining arts that inspire jazz and are inspired by jazz – this is our domain for years. We continue the tradition, but without fear of experimenting with new musical forms and extra-musical forms. Welcome to Katowice in April, and as Mats Gustafsson says: „peace & fire”!

Auand Family Exhibition

Vernissage of the exhibition of the independent record label „Auand Records” (IT)

6:00 p.m., Engram Gallery (ground floor, Katowice City of Gardens), free admission

A.L.T.E.R.C.O. (IT)

Piero Bittolo Bon, Manlio Maresca and Stefano Tamborino are the most creative improvisers of the Italian scene. We’re dealing here with a sharp and provocative alto saxophone also involved in Bread & Fox Quintet and Jump the Shark, a guitar that connects downtown and rock with Manual For Errors and the eclectic percussion of the Hobby Horse with its instinctive tendency to discover the new Americas. Musicians meet under the name of A.L.T.E.R.C.O., and as their listeners and enthusiasts claim, they play unpredictably. At any moment, a nice, warm Mediterranean mood can change into an ironic, postmortem nightmare, and the boredom of afternoon hours into a sparkling, lyrical abstraction.

7:00 p.m., Chamber Hall (II floor, Katowice City Of Gardens, room 211), free admission

Brzoska / Marciniak / Markiewicz (PL)

Trio Brzoska/Marciniak/Markiewicz – it’s a musical experiment that combines poetry with an electric guitar and trumpet in open compositions and improvisations. Searching for a place for the consonance of words and sounds in the most optimal formula for them.

9 p.m, Katofonia Club, free admission

Quatuor Machaut (FR)

Polyphonic Messe de Notre Dame from 1365 by Guillaume Machaut for four saxophones? Quentin Biardeu came up for the daring idea of ​​recording the score of the mass by the brass quartet and opening it up for improvisation. The band with Simon Couratier, Francis Lecoint and Gabriel Lemaire focused on the exploration of colors, textures, tones, the richness of harmony and impressions caused by apotheosis – as the mass was called – the fourteenth century. The result exceeded all expectations. A work was created at the meeting point of sacred and spectral music, reflecting the spirit of the past and, at the same time, thoroughly contemporary.

7:30 p.m., St. Mary’s Church, free admission

Zu (IT)

Musicians come from Ostia, while Zu was born in Rome itself. Last year, for their twenty years of existing, the trio released the 18th album – “Ihator”. This is an unusual combination of drums, bass, saxophone and electronics, the effect of which is expressive and constantly evolving music on the border between heavy metal and noise rock.

Zu often invites to projects well-known artists such as Mats Gustafsson, Buzz Osbourne, Mike Patton, Thurston Moore or Takemura. The pope of the avant-garde John Zorn has already managed to canonize the trio: “It’s a powerful music that totally exceeds what most bands do today.”

9:00 p.m., Jazz Club Hipnoza, tickets: 30 PLN

Manlio Maresca / Piero Bittolo Bon / Stefano Tamborrino (IT) + Special Orchestra of children from Special Needs Primary School No. 6 in Katowice (PL)

12.00 p.m., Primary School No. 6 in Katowice, free admission

Eivør (DK)
Konni Kass (FO)

The unique character of the Faroese language (used in the Faroe Islands and, partly in Denmark) and a unique voice in which northern rawness and solid musical education meet. A rich portfolio – from choral practices at the age of 12, to performances with a chamber orchestra and a solo part in the opera “Firra” Krtistiana Blak. Add to that extraordinary vocal expression, literary and compositional talent, ease of adaptation of musical genres (jazz, country, folk, rock, trip-hop), tendency to experiment and experience, because the artist is the author of twelve albums and laureate of many music awards – here’s a portrait of Eivør Pálsdóttir. And a recipe for a phenomenal concert.

7:00 p.m., Rialto Cinema-Theater, tickets: 40 PLN

The KutiMangoes (DK)

Afro jazz beat from the North. No one did it before the Danes, but many tried, including Stewart Copeland in his “Rhythmatist”. No one has combined West African music with European tradition in a way that would not look like musical anthropology. The Danish sextet does not sound like an African sextet, it is authentic, consistent in creating “global expression.” As Gustav Rassmusen, co-founder of the band, says – “they are interested only in creating music, sharing music and connecting people through music”. The debut album “Afro-Fire” and released two years later “Made in Africa” ​​were nominated for the Danish Grammy many times. “Afro Fire” won in the categories “Best World Music Album” and “Best World Music Track”.

9:00 p.m., Jazz Club Hipnoza, tickets: 30 PLN

Stryjo (PL)

It can be said that the formation only plays premiere songs. Three talented instrumentalists with different temperaments – Michał Bryndal, Nikola Kołodziejczyk and Maciej Szczyciński, rely solely on interaction, musical intuition, talent and real time. Stryjo improvises from the first to the last bar, but it does not come out of sonoristic free jazz, but a solid, musical narrative.

If the motto of their last album, A Vista Social Club was “no labels, no producers, no promotion”, then “here and now” defines the band from the beginning. Each Stryjo concert is a unique event. Literally and figuratively.

3:00 p.m., Jazz Club Hipnoza, tickets: 20 PLN

▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒ (CA)

Koncert niespodzianka.

Surprise concert.

4:30 p.m., Katowice Sound Department Studio (Katowice City of Gardens, 2nd floor, room 204), free admission

Ganavya + Rajna + Pianohooligan (US/IN/PL)

The American artist of Indian descent Ganavyi Doraiswamy specializes in revitalizing forgotten, traditional instruments: jalatharangam and veenai, cataloging mudras (hand gestures), recontextualizing abhangas – religious poetry created by Hindu Maharashtrians, and above all in carnival music.

In addition, she is a dancer, performer and PhD student of the interdisciplinary department of Harvard. She cooperated, among others with Danilo Perez, Javier Limon, James Newton, Wadada Leo Smith and Placido Domingo. Last year, her debut album “Aikynam: Onnu” was released. Aikines in Sanskrit and Tamil mean “identity”, harmonious unity and symbiosis of many worlds.

At the festival, Ganavya will perform in the trio with Rajna Swaminathan, a mridanga specialist and Pianohooligan, or Piotr Orzechowski, a true enfant terrible of Polish jazz pianism

6:00 p.m., Jazz Club Hypnosis, tickets: 40 PLN

RIMBAUD# 4 (FR/LU)

Artur Rimbaud constantly inspires. In 2015, there were two significant musical projects: “Rimbaud” by Mikołaj Trzaska and “Rimbaud # 4” of four outstanding artists: George Ruby, Michael Pilz, Daniel “D-Flat” Weber and vocalist Elodie Brochier. Their previous album “Deuxieme Bureau” was recognized as the album of the year 2011 by The New York City Jazz Record.

Rimbaud # 4 is part of the larger concept of “Instant Composings”, which means evolving living compositions, living musical organisms. We should expect to see very intense improvisations, a large dose of avant-garde poetry, phenomenal vocals by Brochier, bold sounds of bass clarinet and prepared piano. All this to give away the adventurous and revolutionary spirit of the poet.

8:00p.m., Rondo Sztuki, tickets: 20 PLN

Katowice Music Radar

Guest: TBA

A series of meetings for representatives of the regional music community and people interested in the development of Katowice music.

5:30 p.m., Katowice Sound Department Studio (Katowice City of Gardens, 2nd floor, room 204), free admission

Amir ElSaffar with Hafez Modirzadeh (US/IR/IQ)

Ornette Coleman w wersji bliskowschodniej – tak Jazz Times anonsował duet trębacza Amira Elsafara i saksofonisty tenorowego Hafeza Modirzadeha. A New York Times określił ich muzykę z albumu „Radif Suite” jako zuchwałą polifonię. Spróbujmy sobie bowiem wyobrazić dobry, amerykański jazz spod znaku Colemana i Cherry, w połączeniu z tradycyjnie arabskimi wzorcami melodycznymi – irackim maqam i perskim dastgah. Wyobraźmy sobie jazz, którego system tonalny i rytmiczny wystrzelono w kosmos. Tylko tak można określić praktykę tej dwójki muzyków, opracowaną przez nich technikę manipulowania wysokością dźwięków, odtwarzania arabskich mikrotonów i ozdób, reorientację tonalną. To całkowicie nowy, wspaniały świat. To „nowa gramatyka kompozycji”.

Ornette Coleman of the Middle Eastern – this is how the Jazz Times announced the duet of trumpeter Amir Elsafar and tenor saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh. Moreover, the New York Times described their music from the album “Radif Suite” as a bold polyphony. Let’s try to imagine good American jazz from Coleman and Cherry, combined with traditional Arabic melodic patterns – Iraqi Maqam and Persian Dastgah. Imagine jazz, whose tonal and rhythmic system was shot into space. This is the only way to determine the practice of these two musicians, their technique of manipulating the pitch of sounds, playing Arabic microtones and ornaments, and tonal reorientation. It’s a completely new, wonderful world. This is “a new grammar of the composition”.

7:00 p.m., chamber hall in Katowice City Of Gardens (second floor, room 211), tickets: 20 PLN

Fire! Orchestra „Arrival” (SE)

The story has started with a spark – a classic trio composed by Mats Gustaffson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werllin. After the release of three albums (with the participation of Jimi O’Rourke), the trio reached for a more extensive composition and formula in the style of Sun Ra or Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra, inviting almost thirty musicians, including five vocalists. The project kindled for good. Today, the Fire Orchestra is associated with unusual free jazz and rock energy, the freedom of improvisation, experimental electronics from noise, and above all with the discs: “Exit”, “Enter”, “Rituals”, which outclassed the competition. “Music is like living, but better” – it is how Mats Gustaffson finished one of the interviews. We can trust the first saxophone of Sweden.

In Katowice Fire Orchestra will play the premiere material “Arrival”.

9:00 p.m., concert hall in Katowice City Of Gardens, tickets: 50 PLN

BNNT (PL) + Mats Gustafsson (SE)

Duo of Konrad Smoleński and Daniel Szwed is more of an artistic group than a standard band. They combine music with visual arts, theater activities and even publishing activities. The creators define their practice as an “audioperforming project”. Their favorite word is soundbombing – BNNT attacks mainly in urban space. After the noise-rock EP, the MULTIVERSE album was finally released, where musicians hosted Stine Janvin Motland and Mats Gustafsson. Imagine the titles from Emil Cioran’s writings and the cosmic, polyrhythmic journey of parallel worlds, trance drone and condensed percussion.

This is what the new “shamanic” face of BNNT looks like. The duet’s concert will feature Mats Gustafsson’s saxophone well-warmed after The Fire! Orchestra gig.

11:59 p.m., Silesian Museum – former forge (Katowice Culture Zone), concert only for passholders.

Wildbirds & Peacedrums (SE)

Wildbirds & Peacedrums are: a charismatic vocalist Mariam Wallentin and drummer Andreas Werliin.

The unstoppable and expressive cane-sounding voice of Mariam Wallentins ranks somewhere between Bessie Smith and Mary Margaret O’Hara, accompanied by Andreas’s percussive play, sparing but full of energy and impressive.

Detention ward in Katowice (Mikołowska 10 Street), concert for the prisoners