Jan Jarczyk   Andrzej Olejniczak        Janusz Stefański   Dariusz Oles Oleszkiewicz

Jan Jarczyk

polish- born pianist, composer, lives in North America-USA and Canada since 1977. While in Boston. Mass. he worked with many Boston-based musicians and taught harmony and composition from 1980 to 1985 at Berklee College of Music.

Jan received his BA as pianist in 1970, MM Degree in Classical Composition in 1972 in Krakow, Poland, and Artist Diploma at Berklee College of Music as trombonist/composer/arranger in 1980.

He has written music for various size ensembles, from solo pieces to full-size symphony orchestra, which have been performed in Boston, Washington (DC), Chicago, Minneapolis, Montreal, Mainz (Germany), London, Bruxelles and Poland. Since 1994 he has recorded 7 CDs in Montreal as pianist, leader and arranger-composer (and 5 as an arranger of both commercial (for singers) and non-comercial productions, one of them, "Things to Look For", received a nomination for a Felix Award in 1996. Mr. Jarczyk has composed music for The Polish Jazz Studio Orchestra, Polish TV and Radio, theaters and films both in Poland and North America (US and Canada). Recipient of the Polish Composers Society Annual Scholarship in 1969-71, Mr. Jarczyk also won the Grand Prix of the Concours d’improvisation de piano jazz in Lyon, France in 1974, and the SOCAN award for Best Jazz Composition during the Montreal Jazz Festival in 1999. Mr.Jarczyk divides his time between composing, performing and teaching duties as Professor at McGill University Shulich School of Music.

Jan Jarczyk has performed and recorded in Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, France, Benelux, Scandinavia, the USA, Japan, Spain, Kuwait and Canada with such prominent musicians as Zbiggy Seifert, Tomasz Stanko, Zbigniew Namyslowski, Leszek Zadlo, Janusz Stefanski, Phil Wilson, Greg Hopkins, Tim Hagans, Donny McCaslin, Aaron Scott, Pat LaBarbera, Jan De Haas, Jean-Pierre Zanella, Michel Donato, Kevin Dean, Neil Sveinson, Andre White, Dave Laing, Remi Bolduc, and Charito among many others.

Andrzej Olejniczak

Born in Zdunska-Wola, Poland, He started his musical studies At the age of six: first piano, and later clarinet and saxophone. When he was 13 he moved to Lodz and started his studies at the High School of Music, which he finished with highest qualifications. In thesame year he started his studies at the Music Academy of Lodz, and in 1976 he graduated with degree of “Master in Music” specialized in
clarinet. During his music studies at the university he started to get interested in jazz and other similar styles of music. In 1975 he was awarded the second the second prize at the Polish Jazz
Improvisation General Contest, in Katowice. In 1976 he was awarded the first prize at the XIII Jazz Festival on the River Odra, in the soloist category, and the third prize as a band leader. In the meantime he began to collaborate as a soloist with the Polish Radio and Television Orchestra of Lodz, the Radio and Television Orchestra of Poznan, and the Big Band of the National Radio and Television of Warsaw. Between 1976 and 1979 he was a member of various jazz bands such as: “Extra Ball”, “Sunship”, “Novi Singers”, “Swing Session”, and toured all over Europe. In 1978, with the group “Katowice”, he was awarded the gold medal at the International Jazz Contest in Prague, Czechoslovakia. In 1983, he won the first prize with the group “String Connection” in the international contest Jazz Hoeilaart ’83, in Belgium. This group was chosen the best Polish jazz group by the readers of the magazine “Jazz Forum”, in 1983 and 1984. They participated as well in one of the most important jazz festivalsin the world, Montreal Jazz Festival, organized in Canada. In 1984 he moved to Spain and settled down in Bilbao area, where he taught clarinet and saxophone at the School of Music in Bilbao. Then he moved to the School Centre of the Basque Country. He combines his teaching jobs with his own concerts. In 1985 Andrzej met Tete Mantoliu who asked him to be a part of his new quartet, and for 4 years he participated with Tete in Jazz Festivals in Spain, Italy and France. In the field of classical music, in 1985 he performed as a soloist with The Bilbao Symphonic Orchestra, the “Concert for Saxophone and Symphonic Orchestra” by Rene Challan. In 1986 Olejniczak played in the International Jazz Festival of San Remo (Italy) as part of the International Big Band conducted by Gerry Mulligan. At the beginning of 1991 he started to form his own jazz bands, and he participates in concerts and festivals. He recorded his first CD in Spain, “Catch” with the “Andrzej Olejniczak – Inaki Salvador Quartet”, in 1994. In 1999 he recorded for Satchmo Jazz Records “Cycle man”, with the “Andrzej Olejniczak Quartet”. His latest CD: “Andrzej Olejniczak Quartet” – “Live At Altxerri” has been released in August 2004. In 2001 he realized a series of 14 concerts with the “Randy Brecker Band”: Randy Brecket, trumpet; Hiram Bullock, guitar; and Jim Beard, piano. Also in 2001 he played Alec Wilder’s “Concert for Saxophone and Chamber Orchestra” at the Festival of Contemporary Music of Lejona. He was worked with Joe Newman, Kenny Drew, Horace Parland, Lou Blackburn, Jimmy Owens, N.H.O. Pedersen, Alvin Queen, Ranee Lee, Oliver Jackson, Georges Arvanitas among others. He has also played and recorded with some of the most important groups and soloists of pop music in Spain such as “La Orquestra Mondragon”, “Mecano”, “Miguel Rios, Mazanita, “Itoiz”, “Oskorri”.

Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz was born on February 20, 1963 in Wroclaw, Poland. At the age of five Darek began his music education at the State Music School in Wroclaw. Piano was his first instrument, but later he played guitar, electric bass and finally at eighteen years old, he switched to accoustic bass. While in his teens he played with amateur groups, evolving in popular music styles from rock, blues, jazz-rock to straight ahead jazz. In the early 1980's, Darek participated in various jazz festivals and national competitions for young musicians. In 1983, he was the most awarded musician at the Jazz Juniors in Cracow, winning the first individual prize, first prize for jazz composition and a second prize in jazz combo category. Later that year Darek was invited by Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski, a jazz legend in Poland, to join saxophonist's quartet on tour.

In the following five years Darek Oleszkiewicz was working steadily with some of the best jazz bands in the country such as: Zbigniew Namyslowski Quartet, Tomasz Szukalski Quartet, Henryk Majewski Quintet, Wojciech Karolak Trio and Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio and Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski Quartet. With those groups he recorded for Polish Jazz, Polskie Nagrania, East Wind and also for the radio and television in Poland and abroad. Darek was touring extensively in Poland, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Cuba, Mexico and performed at major festivals, concerts and jazz club venues.

In 1988, Darek arrived in Los Angeles with a simple plan in mind: to broaden his musical horizon. One year later he received a full scholarship from California Institute Of The Arts and began studies with the legendary bassist Charlie Haden. After graduation in 1992, he accepted a teaching position at the Institute, where he has been
conducting jazz ensembles and teaching bass ever since. Since 2002 Darek has been a jazz faculty member at the University Of California in Irvine. Aside from his teaching duties, Darek has been very active as a performer and became one of the most sought after bass players on the West Coast. "Oles" (his American nick-name) had the opportunity to perform and record with the greatest masters in jazz. A partial list of his collaborations include: Brad Mehldau, Billy Higgins, Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, Eddie Henderson, Charles Lloyd, John Abercrombie, Bennie Maupin, Lee Konitz, Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, Bennie Wallace, Victor Lewis, Harvey Mason, Dave Grusin, Art Farmer, Horace Silver, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, James Newton, Arthur Blythe, Lew Tabackin, Steve Kuhn, Gary Smulyan, Ronnie Cuber, Billy Hart, Kevin Hays, Munyungo Jackon, Steve Hass, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Marian McPartland, Janis Siegel, Bob Brookmeyer, Curtis Fuller, Roy McCurdy, Tom Harrell, Larry Goldings, Bill Stewart, Chris Potter, Kei Akagi, Billy Childs, Bob Sheppard, Joe LaBarbera, Bill Cunliffe, Patrice Rushen, Bennie Golson, Piotr Baron, Teri Lynn Carrington, Buddy De Franco, Terry Gibbs, Anthony Wilson Nonet and Los Angeles Jazz Quartet.

With these and many others artists Darek has recorded approximately 100 albums and performed hundreds of concerts throughout America, Europe and Asia. Several of those recordings were nominated for Grammy Awards. In 2003, Darek was also nominated to Fryderyk's Awards in Poland in the category "Jazz Musician Of The Year".

Darek's first recording project as a leader "Like A Dream" with Brad Mehldau and Bennie Maupin was released by Cryptogramophone Records in 2004 and gained a critical acclaim worldwide. In 2005 Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz was voted the "Best Accoustic Bassist" in the Jazz Top readers poll in Jazz Forum European Magazine.

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