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Kuba Stankiewicz is jazz pianist and arranger who enjoys a significant international concert career and has a number of notable recordings to his name. Stankiewicz embraced American jazz and decided to pursue studies at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, gradu- ating in 1990 with a diploma in piano performance. A laureate of the prestigious Oscar Peterson Award and a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Compe- tition in Washington DC, Kuba Stankiewicz toured the United States with the world-fa- mous Artie Shaw Orchestra in the early 1990s. After returning to Poland, he recorded the CD album Northern Song, which was voted the best Polish jazz recording of 1993 by Jazz Forum Magazine. In over two decades of concertising and studio work, Stankiewicz has performed with such great artists as Art Farmer, Scott Hamilton, Sheila Jordan and Harvie Swartz, in addition to a wide variety of legendary Polish jazz musicians, including Darek Oleszkiewicz, Piotr Baron and others.
Kuba Stankiewicz’s latest recording features his arrangements of film music by the Oscar-winning composer Victor Young. Teaming up with two-time Grammy Award winner Peter Erskine and multiple Grammy nominee Darek Oleszkiewicz, Stankiewicz’s CD The Music of Victor Young has been released worldwide by Warner Classics. One of the world’s leading authorities on jazz, Israeli-based critic Adam Baruch, praised the Victor Young album by saying, ‘Kuba Stankiewicz, who is not only a sublime artist but also a wonderful human being, was the catalyst and the driving force behind this project, and his limitless faith, energy and dedication are encapsulated herein. We all hope that the listeners of this enchanting music will join Kuba and all of us in a wondrous adventure.’ Maestro Jerzy Maksymiuk, Laureate Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, recognised that Stankiewicz ‘is one of the leading jazz pianists in Poland. Personally, I treasure most his beautiful sound and his ability to create moods. His improvisations do not focus on technique, but create a beautiful, harmonious and logically constructed world, so typical of the musicianship of this artist.’ Maestro Maksymiuk also added, ‘I was impressed by the refined treatment of Chopin’s musical themes in Mr Stankiewicz’s jazz arrangements presented in many concerts during the Chopin Year.’
Stankiewicz’s CD of music by Polish film composer and Oscar winner Bronisław Kaper, recorded with bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz and drummer Peter Erskine in May 2015, was released last year to great public acclaim and the next CD of music by Henry Vars completes the trilogy of recordings devoted to great Polish film music composers born at the begin- ning of the twentieth century.
Since 2020 Kuba Stankiewicz has held the title of Professor Doctor Habilitated in Music Art. He is employed as a Professor at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław and also the Head of the Chair of Jazz Music.
Tamás Zsári (saxophone) was born in Budapest and graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. After his studies, he moved to the United States and lived there for 3 years. In 2001, he accepted an invitation from the Budapest Jazz Orchestra and joined the ensemble. He is one of the founding members of the Modern Art Orchestra. He has played with many well-known musicians, including Bob Mintzer, Peter Erskine and Dave Liebman. With his group, he also plays his own compositions. He has played at many festivals in Hungary and Europe. He currently lives in Brussels.
Bart De Nolf (double bass) was born in 1965 in Bruges, Belgium, and graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Ghent in 1987 with a degree in classical double bass. Since 1988 he has taught at the Royal Conservatories of Ghent and Brussels. He has been a member of the BRT Jazz Orchestra since 1986. He has also played with pop groups and several independent musicians. He was a member of the Toots Thielemans Quartet, with whom he played all over Europe and the world.
Bruno Castellucci (drums) was born in Chatelet, Belgium. At the age of 14, he began playing drums on his own. In 1962, he won 1st prize at the Adolph Sax Dinant Jazz Festival. Since 1963, he has been a member of Alex Scorier's jazz quintet. Since 1970, he has taken part in recording sessions in several countries. Between 1974 and 1981, he was a member of the BRT Jazz Orchestra and a regular member of the Toots Thielemans Quartet. Since 1978, he has been a member of the Akkerman group, and since 1980 of Rhythm Combination & Brass.