KACZMARCZYK SESSIONS: JAZZ FUNK EXPERIENCE

Derrick McKenzie (JAMIROQUAI) – drums
Paweł Kaczmarczyk – keyboards
Michał Barański – electric bass
Łukasz Belcyr – electric guitar
Olaf Węgier – tenor sax

tickets: 50 (presale, students)/70 pln

Reservation can be made only after buying tickets.

DERRICK MCKENZIE

Derrick started drumming in the 1960s, at the age of six, banging furiously on the kitchen floor with two of his mum’s coat hangers, to a beat on the radio. Even at this early age Derrick knew that drumming was the one thing he really wanted to do.

At the age of ten, Derrick was inspired by a friend playing in a reggae band. This encouraged him to go out and play his own local gigs. Another friend decided to lend him a drum kit, until Derrick persuaded his mum that he should start hiring one.

At fourteen Derrick joined his friend Toyin’s band. She was an exceptionally good singer and was already working with different reggae artists only he could dream of.

By sixteen, Derrick got a job at Marks & Spencer in East London earning £9 a day, working Saturday mornings from 7am until 1pm.

Finally the day arrived when Derrick was able to buy his very first drum kit. With his dad’s help, he managed to get together £400 to buy a Slingerland 1960s drum kit. It sounded great and Derrick loved it! He would practise hours on end – well around four hours a day until his mum came home from work and forced him to stop!

In the late 1980s Derrick joined a jazz funk outfit called Tranzeyance. They did gigs and rehearsed every Tuesday without fail in Shoreditch, East London. He loved those days.

Eventually he joined a band called Candyland. He was still working at Marks & Spencer, but started to finish work earlier so that he could come home and practise.

Candyland got signed by Fiction Records for a few years and released an album. But they got dropped, which was a trauma. But, they had a fantastic run and did some damn good touring!

After getting over being dropped, a mate told Derrick about a pop rap outfit called Freaky Realistic. They did a few TV appearances and showcases, but Derrick still wasn’t satisfied.

Eventually he got a call from another friend whom he had played some gigs with. The band was Urban Species, a rap outfit from North London. All the guys and one lady were fantastic, especially live. They toured Europe extensively and it was such a great experience, doing Japan at Christmas!

In 1993 Derrick met a friend of a friend who was a top producer, two days later rang Derrick to ask if he’d like to audition for a band called JAMIROQUAI. Derrick hadn’t even heard of them at the time! So he did his two long auditions… and the rest lovely people, is history!!!!!

http://www.derrick-mckenzie.com/

PAWEŁ KACZMARCZYK

b. February 8, 1984 in Krakow, Poland – Polish pianist, arranger, composer and sideman.

“Listening to the way Paweł Kaczmarczyk gets sounds out of the keys, we can understand what full-blooded, completely engaged jazz piano playing is all about.”Howard Reich – CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The artist’s third album “Complexity in Simplicity”, issued by the prestigious label ACT Music, opened the door to an international career for the pianist. The album was recognized as “Album of The Year”, and Paweł Kaczmarczyk named “Pianist of The Year”. (JAZZ FORUM)

Winner of the “Gazeta Wyborcza’s Cultural Flights” award, in the“Artist of The Year 2009” category, and recipient of the Jazz Music Lovers’ Grand Prix “Jazz Oscars”in the New Hope, Artist and Album of The Yearcategories.

Twice nominated for a “FRYDERYK” award, in the Jazz Musician of The Year and Phonographic Debut of The Year categories.

Actively performs in every part of the world, including Europe, the USA, India, Africa, Asia and the Arabian Peninsula.

Has appeared and worked with many world-renowned artists, including Lee Konitz, Jon Christensen, Mino Cinelu, Emil Mangelsdorff, Poogie Bell, Hadrien Feraud, Eivind Aarset, Arild Andersen, Theodosii Spassov, Janusz Muniak, Piotr Wojtasik, Adam Pierończyk, and Zbigniew Namysłowski, among others.

http://www.pawelkaczmarczyk.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pawe%C5%82-Kaczmarczyk-Audiofeeling-Band/10150151196775217?fref=t