Coherence Quartet at Łykend: acoustic jazz, improvisation and ethnic inspirations

Ethno Jazz Festival invites you to the Łykend music club for a concert by Coherence Quartet, formed by outstanding jazz musicians known for working with leading Polish artists.

After years of contributing to various musical projects, saxophonist Łukasz Kluczniak, double bassist Marcin Lamch, pianist Robert Jarmużek and drummer Grzegorz Masłowski formed a band in which they feel at home rather than like guests.

Their music is difficult to classify as a specific genre. It is dominated by elements of the Far East, contemporary acoustic jazz, particularly free jazz, and ethnic music. The repertoire consists mainly of the musicians' original compositions and freshly arranged jazz standards. Their principal inspirations, however, are Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman and Steve Coleman.

Over their long careers, these musicians have played numerous concerts, working in various ensembles alongside outstanding artists. Their combined experience of performing with superb musicians on Polish and international stages has given them an intriguing perspective on sound and rhythm. Each is an individual who brings a personal view of jazz to the group. Some introduce elements of mainstream jazz, others contemporary jazz, bringing them together within a shared space for improvisation.

“Coherence” was released in February 2013 and has received excellent reviews in the music press.

ŁUKASZ KLUCZNIAK – alto saxophone, bandleader. A graduate of the Jazz and Popular Music Department at Katowice’s Academy of Music, he has participated in album and film-music recordings. He has played with Mazzoll, Locko Richter, Mietek Szcześniak, Andrzej Przybielski, Milo Kurtis’s Drum Freaks, Chromosomos and Janusz “Yanina” Iwański in KAPELA YANINA and YANINA FREE WAVE. Jazz Forum’s 2000 poll placed him among Poland’s leading alto saxophonists, and he has since been considered one of its most interesting saxophonists.

MARCIN LAMCH — double bass. A graduate of the Music Secondary School in Częstochowa, he has played with Tribute To Miles Orchestra, Chromosomos and YANINA FREE WAVE, and works with Częstochowa's Adam Mickiewicz Theatre. In recent years, he has also toured and recorded with John Porter and Anita Lipnicka. He now works regularly with Stanisław Soyka and Jarosław Śmietana.

ROBERT JARMUŻEK – pianist, composer and arranger. A member of Mikromusic, Guitar Workshop and mariija, he has worked with Lubelska Federacja Bardów. Based in Wrocław since 2001, he collaborates with numerous musicians, including Ania Rejda, Kasia Mirowska, Kuba Olejnik and Przemek Jarosz. He has worked with guitarist Leszek Cichoński since 2003, played in Mikromusic since 2005 and mariija since 2007. In 2008, he appeared with L.U.C. at the Fryderyk ceremony, with Kasia Mirowska at Opole’s Debiuty, with Mikromusic at TOPtrendy and with mariija on Nowa Generacja. He is fascinated by McCoy Tyner’s music.

GRZEGORZ MASŁOWSKI is a student at the Jazz Institute of the Academy of Music in Katowice, and an already respected young drummer. He led rhythm and drumming workshops at Jazz Voicingers in Żory in 2010. He works with Janusz Muniak, Inner Spaces Quintet, The Transgress and Jan Malecha Quartet, among others. He has also worked with musicians including Helmut Kagerer, Roberto Magris, Lasse Lindgren, Bronisław Suchanek, Zbigniew Wegehaupt, Maciej Adamczak, Adam Kowalewski, Piotr Wojtasik and Paweł Kaczmarczyk.