Highlines 2007

Successful debut

Dziennik Polski, Kraków, July 2007

On Saturday at the Szczepański Sq. stage had place the next special concert of the 12th Summer Jazz Festival - European Jazz Night. The program was rich. The concert begun already at 18 hours with small audience. 

As the first performed Polish- Austrian team led by Andy Manndorff guitarist performing every year in Krakow, with Adam Pierończyk on tenor saxophone. Manndorff is an unconventional musician, who get accustomed us to his a bit atonal poetics. 

Marek Bałata - vocalist as a second appeared on the stage with his Chopin program with tenor saxophonist Piotr Baron and ballet dancer Katarzyna Stolarczyk also. Bałata in fine shape. 

Next Austrian representation appeared without Wolfgang Pusching who got a hearth strike. His replacements were trumpeter Thomas Berghammer and saxophonist Thomas Kaufmann. Supported by double bassist Achim Tang and drummer Reinhardt Winkler they played half an hour program in free jazz of 70 ties fashion. Nice reminder.

One of the great musicians also of these times perform in Krakow often and in his cellar "U Muniaka" regularly.

But his Saturday concert was awaiting due to accompanying rhythm section with which he played in legendary Tomasz Stanko quintet. From Boston came bassist Bronek Suchanek, from Frankfurt drummer Janusz Stefański. The combo personnel fulfilled pianist Paweł Kaczmarczyk and German guitarist Helmut Kagerer. Despite calmness of the master, on the stage emotions were boiling artistically and the audience slowly filling the square was eager to listen longer. Following team was representing musicians from Baltic countries, and was led by young, energetic vocalist from Estonia - Sofia Rubina. Accompanying musicians from Latvia and Lithuania though young showed competencies in jazz fusion. It's pity they got 20 minutes only to present. But they had time enough to play interesting mélange of Bob Marley's Stand up and Wayne Shorter's Footprints. Italy with assistance of Italian Institute was represented by a quintet of trumpeter Giovani Amato and saxophonist Masa Ionata. Audience was emerged by already first notes. Jazz Messengers style is liked through its communicativeness and energy. The concert was completed by star like performance of eagerly listen Jarek Śmietana with Wojtek Karolak on Hammond organs. On the square the crowd was enthusiastic, and only restriction of silence at 22,00 hours made that there were no encores. Jazz debut at the Szczepanski Sq. was successful whatsoever. In the next years there should be some chairs and permission to play longer.

by Grzegorz Tusiewicz