Composing

Piotr Damasiewicz prepared a composition entitled “Suite 29,” in which he has used a completely different poetics than in the lively, juicy, even aggressive “Alaman.” This time, the musicians mastered a score much less carried on the energetic potential of a large ensemble. “Suite 29” is mainly based on playing the sound in sub-assemblies, in smaller ensembles taking up the thread in turn. Damasiewicz himself performed on stage primarily as a conductor, director of the show, who only grabs the instrument from time to time. A similar solution was quite a risky, albeit brave, move – surely a large part of the audience familiar with PotH from the album must have been surprised, not to say disappointed, with such a scenario of the performance. The result was a “boost,” but one built steadily, oscillating between sections, yet very rarely exploding with the full collective power.

Krzysztof Karol Wójcik

The Polish-Portuguese Orchestra of Improvisers is a special project commissioned by Casa da Música, which brought together the Polish free jazz band Power of the Horns and outstanding Portuguese musicians. Closer to historic orchestras and creative musicians such as the Sun Ra Arkestra and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Power of the Horns perpetually seeks new possibilities in group music. For this concert, trumpeter Piotr Damasiewicz composed music inspired by Portuguese jazz and invited the Red Trio to create a rhythm section with Polish musicians. It is an artistic challenge and an unforgettable concert bridging two different musical cultures.

The piece is a fusion between chamber music referring to the classics of the 20th century and the sound of a contemporary jazz quintet. The idea of combining a chamber orchestra with a jazz rhythm section and three wind instruments was to create a coherent musical entity in terms of expression and sound between the permanent, composed structure of the orchestra and the improvised layer of the jazz ensemble. The title, Hadrons, is the result of Damasiewicz’s fascination with quantum physics. The structure of individual pieces, as well as the entire musical material, is an attempt to find the relationship between the reactions of molecules and their mutual interactions, and improvising musicians.

Commissioned, Teatr Prawdziwy in Bielawa , premiere at the Wroclaw Market Square, 1997, performed by Piotr Damasiewicz and Stefan Gąsieniec

Open improvisation / composition for a monodrama, premiered in Kormorany Theatre, directed by A. Pietrucka, performed by Piotr Damasiewicz, movement and dance – Ewa Staroń

The soundtrack to the film The Scent of Lviv, dir. G. Korczak. Art Meetings Orchestra, a group established by Piotr Damasiewicz. The Polish-Ukrainian ensemble performed in Lviv with an outstanding concert, 2013.

L a S Dam, piece for solo cello, performed by Sylwia Kessels, Viersen 2007 Germany

Composition for 27 improvisers, commissioned by Jazztopad, World Jazz Days, premiere in 2016, National Forum of Music, Wroclaw

25th anniversary of the European Jazz Network, one of the parts of the jazz anthem commissioned by the European Jazz Network, premiere: Petruccelli Theater, Bari

A series of educational works for the National Forum of Music, 2013/2019

Temple (Mnemotaksja 2006)
Zarys Szczęścia 1998
Krople 1998
Polska 2014
Psalm for William Parker 2013
Troid 2012
Botswana 2000
Alaman 2000
Szczecin 2014
Man on the railway track 2008
ŻUKI 2003
God’s Will 2008
Pharah 1999
Buenos Ires 2006

Back to the silent 2008
Ciagle Myśląc 1999
Puzzle 1999
Mnemotaksja 2006
Imp 2006
012 P. D. QUARTET 2004
Heya mota teya damas orchestra
Sześciu w jednym płaszczu damas orchestra
Ventus IMP / Blask 2004
VITAE Imp
Ignis imp

Waves (pl. Fale) (chamber piece for wind quartet) National Forum of Music, educational section
Orient (chamber piece for wind quartet) National Forum of Music, educational section
Drops (pl. Krople) (chamber piece for wind quartet) National Forum of Music, educational section

Ethnicity and natural expression, the context of a given place and its spirit as well as cultural aspects – these are the elements necessary to understand the specificity of this project.

One can recall facts about events significant for Into the Roots and thus classify them as moments when it all started. Still, this is quite a conventional chronological order. Into the Roots was officially brought to life in Norway. From the very first moment it constituted a return to the roots, as the entire load of improvisation, indigenous feeling and groove stemmed from the mood and artistic attitude that Piotr Damasiewicz, Zbigniew Kozera and Paweł Szpura had had long before that stage. It is therefore more appropriate to talk about the extraordinary genesis beyond time, with no particular beginning nor end, where the place the musicians are at affects them.

The musical connection among the trio was also definitely influenced by the fact of their common fascination with African music and their experience with land of the Sahara. All of them – Zbigniew, Paweł and Piotr – were freshly after their musical journeys to Tanzania, Zanzibar and Morocco. Then in the pastoral atmosphere of the Stavanger fjords, thanks to Monika Cichocka, Piotr Damasiewicz played the first concert with Into the Roots in the spirit of an alliance between avant-garde and ethnicity. The chime of bells, sounds made by sheep and the wind blowing turned out to be the analogy of improvisation in the undefined shape of beauty, which has always been dear to Piotr Damasiewicz. For him, the uniqueness comes from the indigenousness of what lies within. Places where one can experience that „core” very quickly become special to him, just like in case of Sucha Beskidzka.

Significant for Into the Roots, Sucha Beskidzka was first visited by Piotr Damasiewicz many years ago, in 2006:

‘At that time I studied in Katowice. My friends, who had already been in Sucha, told me about Cofeina Jazz Café and recommended this club. They were right – great atmosphere had had prevailed at that place for a long time. Back then, it was run by Bogdan Fałowski, the founder. Today, Cofeina Jazz Café keeps going and is not only a jazz café and club, but also a place for art and artistic events,’ he says.

When in Śpiwle, Piotr Damasiewicz met one of the inhabitants, Wiesław Francuz, nickname ‘Vinczu,’ who has musicians from all over the world among his friends. In Piotr’s words, ‘He invited us to be his guests and we became friends quickly. As a host he made sure that we weren’t missing anything. At his place I met jazz and folk musicians, I also played with artists from the Sucha County. They taught me traditional melodies in the meantime becoming more and more familiar with jazz. It was then when my dream of recording an album combining jazz with highland, pastoral tunes was born.’

Piotr’s idea was put to practice. The musicians involved met and recorded the album at the house which used to belong to Vinczu’s grandfather, and later became owned by Wiesław’s friend, Kasia Wysoczyńska. On bagpipes and pipes, among the artists engaged in the project was Jan Ryt from Sucha Beskidzka.

‘On the album you can hear a bit of Norway, a bit of Africa, including Morocco and Tanzania, and Polish mountains,’ says Piotr Damasiewicz. Since the album was recorded in Śpiwle (housing estate), it took name after the place. The songs from Śpiwle have been present on numerous radio stations, and the work was chosen the album of the year both by the listeners of RadioJazz.fm station and readers of Jazzpress monthly.

Damasiewicz would get to know more and more musicians from Sucha Beskidzka belonging to local traditional highlander bands, one of the occasions being joint carol singing at Mr. Stanisław’s. Mr Stanislaw is one of the musical guardians and mentors of the region and it was at his place where Piotr met three sisters – Natalia, Kamila and Alicja Krzeszowiak – and the Ryt family – Jan, Paweł and Krzysztof – all of who are musicians of Ziemia Suska and Mała Ziemia Suska regional bands.

‘After the release of Śpiwle, I felt that it was time to broaden my sound horizons and delve deeper into the ethnic and folk musical dimension, meaning, expanding the line-up with singing and string instruments and introducing more musical content which will no longer be just an addition, but largely a starting point and a substantial component of the whole. This is how the double album WATRa was created. I wanted to refer to the custom of making music the way it was traditionally done – in mountain cottages – and teleport such music to a jazz club, a natural habitat for jamming as well. The music from Babia Góra and its surrounding towns has been combined with jazz and the sounds of the world that accompanied me during my many years of travel. ‘

Gathering about 30 enthusiasts of regional dancing and singing traditions, the group was established in 2005 and it has been since operating at the Culture and Film Centre in Sucha Beskidzka. The band’s managers are Jacek Master (organizational) and Bernadeta Ryt (artistic). Musicians embrace the folklore of the Babia Góra highlanders, cultivate singing, rituals and local traditions. They perform songs from Babia Góra and include dances from the region, also those especially spontaneous ones, in their programs. Within the ensamble there are also artists from a traditional highlander musical group. The male part of the band shows off their fitness during Hajduk – traditional dance of Hungarian origin. The ensamble takes part in all local events in the city of Sucha Beskidzka and in the Sucha County. They have been granted numerous awards and distinctions in national competitions and festivals. They have also performed in many cities in Poland and abroad.

Jan and Paweł Ryt are brothers belonging to the Mała Ziemia Suska [Little Suska Land], a musical group of 8 members (all coming from Sucha Beskidzka) founded in 2006. It operates at the Culture and Film Centre in Sucha Beskidzka and has Stanisław Kubasiak as the manager. They perform the folklore of the Babia Góra highlanders, playing traditional instruments – trembita, violin, bass, double bass, bagpipes, heligon, ocarina and pipe. The band cultivates local rituals and keeps the bagpipe traditions of the region alive. They search for old forgotten musical notes and actively participate in the life of the city. Their achievements include over 600 performances on various stages in the country and abroad. The band Mała Ziemia Suska has been an award winner in many national and international competitions and folk festivals.

The musicians from Ziemia Suska and Mała Ziemia Suska are linked by family ties: the father and sons make up the music section, the sisters sing. They all share a passion for highlander music, tradition and travel. For many years Krzysztof has participated in musical meetings organized by Wiesław ‘Vinczu’ Francuz at the Śpiwle estate, where one could meet musicians from all over the world, including Piotr Damasiewicz. The father persuaded his sons to show up there together, which resulted in the later musical collaboration of Jan Ryt – piper from Kapela Mała Ziemia Suska – with the Into the Roots trio and recording of Śpiwle album. Krzysztof and Paweł Ryt participated in subsequent recordings.

Like Piotr Damasiewicz, Krzeszowiak sisters went on pilgrimage along the St. Jacob’s Trail in 2019, reaching Santiago de Compostela at the end of September. At that time, Piotr had still been on his way to the destination, ending his journey in November. Their paths did not connect then, but a few months later, in March, when the singers participated in a concert by Piotr Damasiewicz inspired by the expedition. The sisters claimed that listening to the variations on the trumpet made them feel exactly like on the trail.

Fascinated by Damasiewicz’s music, they agreed to his proposal to record songs in an ethno-jazz atmosphere together, joined by a band presenting folklore from the Podbabiogórze region.

Their love for jazz also blossomed into the idea of live concerts in the extraordinary space of the café. The unusual acoustics and the atmosphere introduced by the owners attracted more and more musicians, who at that place felt particularly welcomed and appreciated.

Candlelight, chairs nestled at round tables, with listeners hypnotized by the sounds of music, all made the concerts there as amazing for the audience as for the musicians themselves. It made Cofeina famous in the jazz world.

What filled the hearts of the owners was also passed on to all guests in this place.

One organism was created, with its heart beating to the rhythm of jazz.

After many world-class musicians had performed there, Piotr Damasiewicz also found his way to Cofeina. Past the threshold of that place, he immediately felt a part of it. The warm feeling turned out to be mutual – this musical bond has been nurtured till this day.

This place has always been co-created by the café employees, who have put their hearts and souls into it and have not let the magic perish. The barmaids became owners at critical moments and continued the idea. Friendships from behind the bar turned into new projects. Thanks to Alicja Klimowska, head filled with jazz since childhood, love to the music was passed on to Sylwia Pająk, who has lead the place to this day as its third owner. Following the beaten tracks, young and ambitious Sylwia Pająk continues to improve the quality of the business. Out of her love to Cofeina and musical experiences, from the concerts in which she participated as a guest she moved to the organization of festivals and artistic events under the patronage of the café and with support of Piotr Damasiewicz.

Cofeina is a friendly haven for people who desire a connection with art, music and beauty itself. They are allowed just to be there, to experience, to feel and to share what is playing in their souls with other people.

There is no end to this story, and many more exciting paragraphs are to be written in the future.

The formation of the group was inspired by the joint birthday concert of Piotr Damasiewicz and Michał Trela, on April 10, 2006, at Szepty club in Wrocław, where musicians from the Wrocław jazz community were invited to perform together. Odwall by Roscoe Mitchell was the theme song of the event. And it was there that the idea of making music together and thus uniting musicians from various corners of the contemporary jazz scene emerged.No less important for the leader was the sociological dimension of such meetings, where musicians from various bands and teams had the opportunity to share their musical experience or simply spend time playing together. Damasiewicz gathered mainly musicians from the student milieu of Katowice and Wrocław universities, which he himself attended.

After Damasiewicz moved to Katowice in connection with his studies at the local university’s jazz department, he focused his concert activity around the then existing jazz club Genesis. It was there that the first editions of the ensemble, shaped in terms of composition and concept, took place,at that time under the name of Piotr Damasiewicz Ensemble POTH.

The first professional fruit of working on the band, after several club concerts, was a performance at the Silesian Jazz Festival in 2007. In the following years, the band had its next club scenes, constantly cultivating the idea of connecting musicians from various environments, including a guest performance of the great saxophonist Lotte Anker, when 25 musicians found themselves on one stage. The band of eight members had their first professional tour in 2011, including well-known clubs and festivals such as Spatif in Sopot or the Ars Musica Festival in Brussels.

For the recording, the band appeared under the abbreviated name of Power Of The Horns, and the title of the album became Alaman. The album was released by the publishing house For Tune, which was back then established just to record Alaman. At the helm of the label were the co-founders: Witold Zinczuk – the owner and initiator, and Jarosław Polit. Thanks to this recording, the band became a recognizable brand in the Polish jazz community, and its subsequent successes were concerts on large jazz stages, incl. Warsaw Summer Jazz Days or Jazz Jamboree (2017), where they had the opportunity to perform with great musicians such as James Carter.

In 2019, the album Polska was released. On it, not only can you hear Komeda and Stańko, but also the Baltic Sea, the Tatra Mountains, and even coal mines in Katowice. National romanticism can also be found there, as well as piano dreaminess (Dominik Wania) and a well-understood Slavic fantasy. The album begins with a focus known from the trumpet call from St. Mary’s Tower in Krakow.

Damasiewicz dedicated his works to the figures of Polish jazz: Tomasz Stańko, Krzysztof Komeda, Tomasz Szukalski, Piotr Wojtasik.

He wrote two songs especially for this occasion, and the other two were already existing compositions. Psalm For William Parker had been featured on the band’s first album – Alaman – back then recorded in a twice-long version, extended with a fragment of an open improvisation. On Polska it is played in a compact form with the intro of Dominik Wani in a constant groove until the very end.

The second already existing composition is the title track Poland. Written for and first performed on the ceremonial concert that took place during the opening gala of the festival “Homage a Krzysztof Kieślowski ”(2014, Sokołowsko), where Damasiewicz played as quartet Mnemotkasja with Gerard Lebik, Wojciech Romanowski and Zbigniew Kozera. During the performance they created a musical dialogue with Krzysztof Knittel and Jerzy Stuhr reading the excerpts from the script of Kieślowski’s Amateur.

Two new pieces were created between Norway and Poland, where Piotr Damasiewicz was staying at that time. This repertoire is a certain synthesis of what has most influenced the image of jazz accompanying the artist in his auditory growth as a jazz musician.

The recording coincided with a special time. Due to the availability of a single date fitting to all musicians, the turn of July 31 and August 1 was selected, which is on the eve of and on the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising.

In addition, the atmosphere of particularity and hence the importance of the time was especially emphasized by the events preceding the recordings. It was a very moving period because a few people who were musically and personally close passed away. The great champion, Tomasz Stańko, to whom this session was partially dedicated, had passed away. Other important musicians and people associated with jazz had also departed: Kora, Grzegorz Grzyb, Marek Karewicz. It was impossible to remain indifferent to all the complexities surrounding this recording. Somewhere between the excitement and the adrenaline associated with the entire project of making the recording, and the reverie, the impression was that the whole atmosphere of the venture had become somewhat sublime and unique. The established musical context of the album and a series of all these events described above elevated the musicians to a special emotional dimension which they had to face.

Additionally, it was on the day of a memorable time for Polish freedom and struggle for it, as well as of the nostalgia and hope accompanying, when the sound of sirens in memory of the uprising stopped Warsaw for a few moments, that the recording session was slowly coming to an end.