July, 2013 - Krakow Post

Krakow Jazz
■ Dorota Nowakówna
July has been Krakow’s most jazzy month
for many years now. Jazz concerts by
world-famous musicians are nothing extraordinary
in the city, but their intensity
reaches a peak in July.
The Summer Jazz Festival at Piwnica pod
Baranami provides a musical feast frosted
with fabulous stars, but also offers young
artists a chance to learn and show off their
talents during the International Summer
Jazz Academy (ISJA), which is conducted by
a Polish and US team of experienced teachers
and accomplished performers. This year
marks the Academy’s 18th edition.
Why do these Americans keep coming
back to Krakow for a two-week intensive
commitment? The Krakow Post spoke to
some of the Academy’s teachers:
Willem von Hombracht
Bass player, Webster University of St.
Louis
We do indeed have really long days and
very little sleep. The teaching schedule
starts at 9am, and continues until 5 or 6pm.
Then the students’ jam session takes place
from about 7pm until midnight, or later.
We do have Sunday off between the
first and second week. Sometimes it’s actually
a day of rest, but some years we have
squeezed recording projects in between
the classes, or I’ve volunteered to be a tour
guide for the US students who come with
us.
Even though I’m always extremely busy,
it’s always a lot of fun. We all teach directly
from practical experience. This is very important
to me – jazz education cannot be
only academic, it must also be very practical.
We generally have very good students.
This does not mean that they are all playing
at a high level, but that they really listen
and learn from what we present to them,
no matter what their level is. I usually get a
strong sense that the students truly appreciate
the fact that we are there for them, if
only for a short time. When players from different
places come together, the resulting
music is much richer.
Gary Wittner
Guitar player, University of Southern
Maine School of Music
Cross-cultural connections through music
have been one of the most interesting
things for me in my career. I have played on
five continents with people from diverse
cultures and it is always amazing to see
how music connects people where language
cannot. That is what keeps me coming
back to ISJA.
Michael Parkinson
Trumpet player, Director, School of Music
at Middle Tennessee State University
I first came to Poland in March 1993 to present
workshops in Krakow and Katowice
thanks to an invitation from Isidore Rudnick,
an American trombonist and composer
who lived in Poland in the 1980s. From the
beginning, the ISJA has promoted an equality
and ease of communication between all
faculty members and students. Through
classes in theory and history, ensemble
rehearsals, vocal and instrumental master
classes, the nightly jam sessions, opportunities
to hear great professional artists, and
the concluding gala concerts, the ISJA continues
to be a driving force and a testament
to Isi’s original vision. I have followed the
progress of many ISJA students who now
have great careers and I am honoured to
have played a part in helping them through
the ISJA.
Having spent time with native Cracovians
Janusz Muniak, Adam Makowicz, Jarek
Śmietana, Joachim Mencel and others, I
have breathed in the centuries of devotion
to the highest levels of artistic creation and
freedom of expression in Krakow and regard
the city as my ‘distant home.’
For more information: jazz.krakow.pl