Andrzej Trzaskowski \u2013 A Contextual Reappraisal<\/em><\/p>\nAndrzej Trzaskowski was a pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, musicologist, music writer, music critic, educator, leader of numerous influential ensembles, and a prominent jazz musician. He was one of the most distinguished figures in Polish jazz, active on both the Polish and international music scenes for nearly five decades. He is widely recognized as a pioneer of the Polish jazz avant-garde and an innovator in the fields of musical form and sound.<\/p>\n
A musician with extensive professional training, exceptional erudition, and intellectual discipline, Trzaskowski possessed a profound knowledge of composition, which enabled him to express himself through a highly sophisticated and heterogeneous musical language across a broad range of genres and artistic domains, including jazz, ballet, orchestral, chamber, film, and theatre music.<\/p>\n
A presentation of his distinctive and multifaceted body of work, considered in the context of current developments and trends in contemporary jazz, may provide a significant source of inspiration for the further development of this art form. The primary source material for the lecture will comprise numerous examples of musical notation illustrating a variety of compositional techniques and approaches to arrangement, drawn from the artist\u2019s previously unpublished scores.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
dr Mateusz Brzostowski<\/strong>, The Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Pozna\u0144
\nPaper:<\/strong> Dynamics and Articulation as Elements of the Performance Language in Drum Set Playing<\/em><\/p>\nThe lecture focuses on the role of dynamics and articulation in shaping the drummer\u2019s individual performance language. It is based on the assumption that these parameters extend beyond their technical and rhythmic dimensions, serving as a significant means of musical expression, interpretation, and communication.<\/p>\n
The presentation addresses the interrelationships between dynamics, articulation, phrasing, and groove, and their influence on the shaping of timbre, pulse, tension, and the emotional character of musical expression.<\/p>\n
The presentation will also touch upon the concepts of micro-dynamics and micro-rhythm, understood as subtle variations in intensity and the temporal distribution of sounds that influence the perception of the naturalness and organic quality of groove.<\/p>\n
The analysis will be supported by visual and graphic examples, as well as audio examples.<\/p>\n
Selected examples will demonstrate strategies for shaping dynamics, articulation, phrasing, timbre, and drum set orchestration, as well as their significance in different stylistic and performance contexts.<\/p>\n
The aim of the lecture is to demonstrate how the conscious control of performance parameters can transcend the drum set\u2019s rhythmic function and become a means of constructing an individual artistic expression.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
dr hab. Marek Batorski, prof. UKEN,<\/strong> University of the National Education Commission, Krak\u00f3w
\nPaper: <\/strong>Jazz and the Sound of Painterly Form: Selected Examples of Harmonic, Sonic, and Coloristic Transpositions in Contemporary Painting<\/em><\/p>\nThe scope of the paper includes:<\/p>\n
– Score Analysis: An analysis of musical scores from modal jazz recordings by Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Oliver Nelson, Wayne Shorter, David Liebman, and Jane Ira Bloom.<\/p>\n
– Artistic Exploration: An introduction to the work of prominent visual artists whose creative practices engage with musical notation, including Wojciech Bruszewski, Milan Kn\u00ed\u017e\u00e1k, J\u00f3zef Robakowski, and Bogus\u0142aw Schaeffer.<\/p>\n
– Comparative Analysis of Notation: An analysis of musical notation in modern European and American painting.<\/p>\n
– Synesthetic Analysis: A musical and visual analysis of works by Franti\u0161ek Kupka, Wassily Kandinsky, and Nicolas de Sta\u00ebl.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
dr hab. Leszek Wi\u015bniowski, <\/strong>The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krak\u00f3w
\nPaper: <\/strong>Poetry and Improvisation: Models of Text\u2013Music Synthesis in 20th- and 21st-Century Polish Jazz<\/em><\/p>\nThis paper explores the presence of poetry in Polish jazz of the 20th and 21st centuries and the changing relationship between text and improvisation. Its point of departure is Krzysztof Komeda\u2019s projects Jazz and Poetry and My Sweet European Homeland, which established one of the most important models of dialogue between the spoken word and jazz. Against this background, later projects will be discussed in which poetry functions as compositional material, a basis for recitation, a source of instrumental inspiration, or a point of departure for free improvisation.<\/p>\n
The analysis focuses on several models of interaction between poetry and jazz: from setting poems to music and combining recitation with improvised instrumental commentary, through an equal dialogue between word and improvisation, to the use of poetry as inspiration for instrumental composition.<\/p>\n
The aim is to identify the principal models of text\u2013music synthesis and to show how the function of poetry in jazz has evolved: from a verbal layer subordinated to composition to an autonomous element co-creating musical form and interacting directly with improvisation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
prof. dr hab. Mariusz Bogdanowicz<\/strong>, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin
\nPaper<\/strong>: Jazz Programs in Higher Education as Hubs Connecting Poland\u2019s Jazz Scene<\/em><\/p>\nUntil the end of the 20th century, the Polish jazz scene was exceptional in terms of community integration. The jazz movement centred around concert agencies, festivals, and student clubs, which provided a natural meeting ground for musicians, organizers, and audiences. However, as the music market underwent changes in subsequent years, this cohesion gradually diminished. In light of these shifts, music academies offering jazz and popular music programs should assume a leading role in shaping the community.<\/p>\n
This argument is supported by an analysis of activities beyond the curriculum \u2014 such as collaborations between academies and cultural institutions, student initiatives, academic clubs, and projects involving partnerships between faculty and students. The Polish Jazz Association and other similar organizations, as well as jazz clubs and foundations, continue to play a vital role in shaping the jazz community. Their activities extend well beyond concerts, encompassing competitions, workshops, recording and publishing activities, documentation, international exchanges, and community building around jazz.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
mgr Maksymilian Wilk
\n<\/strong>Paper:<\/strong> Factors Determining the Performance of Jazz Musicians: Results of a Qualitative Study Based on Interviews with Jazz Musicians<\/em><\/p>\nThe paper is based on the master\u2019s thesis entitled Factors Determining the Performance of Jazz Musicians<\/em> and presents the results of an original qualitative study conducted through individual in-depth interviews with twelve jazz musicians. The aim of the study was to identify the factors that, from the perspective of performing musicians, influence the course and quality of musical performance, with particular emphasis on the specific nature of improvisation. The analysis examined, among other aspects, the importance of preparation and instrumental practice, performance experience, emotional processes, coping with stress and mistakes, spontaneity, relationships between musicians, and the development of an individual performance language.<\/p>\nThe collected material indicates the multidimensional nature of jazz performance, which cannot be reduced solely to the level of technical competence. Experience, musicians\u2019 responses to performance situations, psychological and interpersonal factors, and the ability to respond to the changing course of the musical narrative also play a significant role. The paper attempts to interpret these interrelationships and to present jazz performance as a process in which technical, cognitive, emotional, and social factors remain interconnected.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Prof. Pavel Wlosok<\/strong>, Western Carolina University
\nPaper:<\/strong> Modern Audio Mixing Techniques for a 21st-Century Independent Musician<\/em><\/p>\nThe landscape of music production has undergone a paradigm shift in the 21st century, moving from high-budget commercial studios to versatile, software-driven home studio environments. This paper examines modern audio mixing techniques tailored for the contemporary independent musician, focusing on the convergence of digital efficiency and analog methodology.<\/p>\n
While “in-the-box” (ITB) processing and artificial intelligence-driven equalization offer unprecedented convenience, the physical implementation of both vintage analog and modern hybrid outboard gear remains essential for achieving competitive commercial-grade sonic fidelity.<\/p>\n
This study evaluates how independent artists bridge this gap by integrating classic tube compressors, solid-state preamps, and modern hardware processors into decentralized hybrid home setups.<\/p>\n
By analyzing the strategic routing, impedance matching, and physical workflow of outboard gear, as well as dynamic stem mixing in a traditional stereo-listening environment within standard CD and digital audio production, this paper demonstrates how combining the warmth of analog hardware with the precision of digital recall optimizes acoustic depth. Ultimately, this research provides a technical and theoretical framework for modern musicians seeking to maximize efficiency, creative control, and harmonic richness in their mixing and mastering practices.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
prof. Jamie Baum<\/strong>, Manhattan School of Music
\nPaper: <\/strong>Hubert Laws \u2013 Why Has He Been the Most Emulated Jazz Flutist?<\/em><\/p>\nThis presentation examines the artistic, technological, and cultural factors that contributed to Hubert Laws\u2019 emergence as the most emulated and widely recognized jazz flutist of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Musical examples will support each of the following arguments.<\/p>\n
First, advances in sound reinforcement\u2014microphones, amplification, and PA systems\u2014enabled the flute to project with greater volume and compete effectively with other instruments. Second, Laws\u2019 early experience playing piano in his Baptist church, absorbing R&B and hymns, followed by his work on alto and tenor saxophone with groups such as Mongo Santamaria, provided a strong foundation in jazz feel, articulation, phrasing, and language. His classical flute training, meanwhile, supplied a level of tone production, articulation, and technical control uncommon among saxophone doublers.<\/p>\n
Laws also incorporated classical rhythmic concepts and articulations into his jazz vocabulary, distinguishing his phrasing from the predominantly eighth-note language common at the time. At the same time, changing attitudes toward jazz instrumentation created greater acceptance of the flute as a lead voice. Laws recalled the inspiration of the Australian Jazz Quartet\u2019s unusual flute-bassoon-bass-drums instrumentation.<\/p>\n
Finally, his 1961 meeting with Chick Corea at Juilliard, and their subsequent Atlantic recordings, The Laws of Jazz, Flute By-Laws, and Law\u2019s Cause, further shaped his musical development. Corea\u2019s melodic clarity, technique, and affinity for Latin music complemented Laws\u2019 distinctive approach to the flute.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\ndr hab. Tomasz Pruchnicki<\/strong>, The Karol Lipi\u0144ski Academy of Music in Wroc\u0142aw
\nPaper:<\/strong> Pentatonics: In Search of Inspiration<\/em><\/p>\nI would like this brief talk to be more than just a theoretical exploration of pentatonic scales and their derivatives; I hope it serves as a formative experience, offering inspiration to those interested in enriching their musical language \u2013 whether in improvisation or composition \u2013 across the realms of melody, harmony, and rhythm.<\/p>\n
While exploring the main topic \u2013 how this musical structure emerges daily \u201cbefore our eyes,\u201d or rather \u201cbefore our ears,\u201d \u2013 we may, by examining the origins of the pentatonic scale and the construction of its derivatives, discover intriguing new directions or methods for organizing musical material.<\/p>\n
At times, creating based purely on auditory inspiration is a highly creative process. However, drawing on my own experience and that of others, I know it is often worthwhile to study the path that led to a particular structure and then consistently extend it from where we currently stand. This allows us to perceive shapes and timbres \u2013 or \u201ccolors\u201d \u2013 that we might never have stumbled upon had we relied solely on our established listening habits. It is a fascinating and inspiring way to work. This is not the first time we have turned our attention to a widely known subject.<\/p>\n
Yet I believe that with a touch of childlike curiosity and openness, examining this topic offers a chance to find new points of reference and to approach auditory perception, the organization of pitch sets, and the construction of new musical forms from a fresh perspective.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
dr Marcin Banaszek<\/strong>, The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krak\u00f3w
\nPaper:<\/strong> When the Fifth and Root Are Shared. Combining Two Triads as a Source of Five-Note Chord Voicings in Jazz Piano<\/em><\/p>\nOne of the foundations of jazz piano playing is the ability to organize a multi-note texture through the appropriate selection of voicings and smooth voice leading. An intriguing approach to developing this practice involves exploring new sonorities by superimposing simple triads.<\/p>\n
This topic draws inspiration from Russell Ferrante\u2019s lesson \u201dCreating Harmony by Stacking Chords\u201d, in which Ferrante constructs a sonority by combining two triads: the fifth of the lower triad becomes the root of the upper one and serves as the only shared note between the two structures.<\/p>\n
This presentation will outline the possibilities arising from the \u201cshared fifth and root\u201d principle, accompanied by a critical evaluation of the resulting sonorities in terms of their sound quality and practical utility. It will also discuss methods for modifying their texture using \u201cdrop\u201d techniques. Finally, building on Ferrante\u2019s concepts, the presentation will showcase selected pairs of structures whose successions can be applied in performance and arranging.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
dr Pawe\u0142 Palcowski<\/strong>, The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krak\u00f3w
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