Anna Maria Jopek, Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet & EABS
Opening Gala
Cadogan Hall
Friday 11 September 2026
19:30
Anna Maria Jopek
The daughter of two soloists of the renowned Polish folk ensemble Mazowsze, she grew up surrounded by music and the arts. This heritage has had a lasting influence on her artistic sensibility and continues to shape her work. Three musical worlds form the foundation of Jopek’s artistic language: a passion for folk music inherited from her family, classical musical training – she graduated in piano from the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw – and a deep love of jazz. Together, they have shaped a remarkably broad stylistic spectrum, ranging from early modern pop to original compositions and what is often described today as contemporary eclectic jazz. A defining feature of Jopek’s work is her uncompromising commitment to artistic excellence – in concept, interpretation, performance and production. This pursuit has led to collaborations with many of Poland’s leading musicians and with internationally acclaimed jazz artists including Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Makoto Ozone and Richard Bona. Every Anna Maria Jopek concert is a glimpse into an artist in constant evolution – part of an ongoing journey of musical discovery.
Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet
Founded by double bassist and composer Wojtek Mazolewski, the ensemble stands among the key formations of Polish jazz in the 21st century. Active since the early 2010s, the quintet develops a musical language rooted in jazz, expanded through elements of funk, rock, and electronics, with a strong emphasis on collective improvisation and original compositions.
Born in 1976, Mazolewski emerged from the Tri-City music scene and is also the founder of Pink Freud, a band frequently cited by critics as one of the catalysts of the Polish jazz boom at the beginning of the 21st century. His work has been widely associated with redefining jazz’s position within contemporary culture, extending its reach beyond traditional venues into broader public and media contexts.
Throughout his career, Mazolewski has collaborated with artists such as Pete Wareham, Tim Berne, Dennis Gonzales, Tomasz Stańko, John Zorn, Peter Kowald, Mikołaj Trzaska, Marcin Masecki, Wojtek Waglewski, Lech Janerka, Fisz, and Emade. He is also a composer of film and theatre music and the host of the long-running radio programme Jazz fajny jest on Polish Radio Three since 2019.
Under the Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet banner, the albums Smells Like Tape Spirit (2011), Wojtek w Czechosłowacji (2011), and Polka (2014, Agora S.A.) were released, the latter achieving gold record status. Mazolewski has received numerous awards, including the Jazz Oscar from the Polish Jazz Society Melomani, accolades from Polish Radio Programme Three, and the Mateusz Award. His work has been presented across Europe, South America, and Japan.
EABS performs the record “Wstep Wzbroniony” by
Tomasz Stańko and Andrzej Trzaskowski
Founded in Wrocław in 2011, the ensemble emerged from hip-hop culture, approaching jazz as a space for reconstruction and deconstruction of tradition. The project originated in improvised sessions at the Puzzle club in Wrocław, gradually forming a band built around acoustic jazz instrumentation, expanded by turntables as an integral improvisational tool.
Their debut album Repetitions (Letters to Krzysztof Komeda), released in 2017, earned a nomination for the Fryderyk Award in the category of Jazz Phonographic Debut of the Year. Earlier, in 2015, EABS presented Memorial To Miles, a programme revisiting Miles Davis’s output from 1959 to 1991. Subsequent projects further shaped their aesthetic, drawing on the legacy of Ahmad Jamal, Gil Scott-Heron, J Dilla, and Pete Rock, as well as on conceptual tributes such as Discipline of Sun Ra and the afrofuturist-inspired 2061.
Operating beyond stylistic orthodoxy, EABS combine jazz, soul, funk, and hip-hop without reliance on studio post-production, emphasising collective improvisation and live interaction. The group has received multiple distinctions, including the Wrocław Artistic Discovery Award and the Mateusz Award from Polish Radio Programme Three for a jazz event.
Members:
Marek Pędziwiatr – keyboards
Paweł Stachowiak – bass guitar
Marcin Elszkowski – trumpet
Olaf Węgier – tenor saxophone
Marcin Rak – drums
