Slavic Touch from the Heart of Europe ANNA MARIA JOPEK

Transcription

1 Slavic Touch from the Heart of Europe ANNA MARIA JOPEK

2 Just thirty seconds of Anna s tune belong to the most beautiful music I ve heard in months Anna is original, unique, different. She s brace, she s modest, she s open. She s a great musician. What she s been doing all her life is just trying to play the best notes. Trying to sound good. In that particular sense, she s a lot like me and that s why I decided to work with her. Because she just cares for the music. - Pat Metheny (said at the press conference when their album Upojenie went gold on the day of its release). 'Please do not file my music under jazz', Anna Maria Jopek says, though. Nor under pop, folk... whatever. I embrace a lot of influences. Jazz is by far the most important in its freedom, its harmony and its sense of time but I was brought up with the old Polish folk songs. So I'm kind of rooted here in all these Slavic landscapes and sounds.

3 Anna Maria Jopek collaborated with giants of music such as: AMJ & Tito Paris Pat Metheny, Brandford Marsalis, Oscar Castro Neves, AMJ & Brandford Marsalis Bobby McFerrin, Youssou N Dour, AMJ & Oscar Castro-Neves Nigel Kennedy, Chris Botti, Makoto Ozone, Richard Bona, AMJ & Christian McBride Mino Cinelu, Christian McBride, AMJ & Pat Metheny Gil Goldstein, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Tord Gustavsen, Tomasz Stańko AMJ & Richard Bona AMJ & Youssou N'dour Manu Katche, Ivan Lins, Sara Tavares, Camane, Tito Paris, AMJ & Makoto Ozone Paulo de Carvalho, Dhafer Youssef. AMJ & Chris Botti AMJ & Bobby McFerrin

4 AMJ performed in the greatest international venues like: Cornegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Blue Note Tokyo, Royal festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Israel Opera in Tel Aviv Tokyo Opera City Apart from that, she was a guest of many festivals in Austria, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, UK, Sweden, Turkey or Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Russia.

5 Anna Maria Jopek released 18 albums in Poland and 4 of them had worldwide premiere. Pat Metheny & Anna Maria Jopek Upojenie, 2008 Anna Maria Jopek ID, 2007 Anna Maria Jopek Secret, 2005 Anna Maria Jopek Barefoot, 2002 Pat Metheny - one of the most important and at the same time most loved artists of modern music agreed to do the whole album with Anna Maria Jopek and her friends. ID is an album recorded with world-famous artists such as Mino Cinelu, Manu Katche, Christian McBride, Richard Bona, Tord Gustavsen, OscarCastro-Neves, Branford, Marsalis, Dhafer Youssef. Anna Maria Jopek sings English versions of the best-known songs from her previous Polish albums. She also made her own versions of songs by Sting and No Doubt. Barefoot - as one of the critics put it: the best produced album in the history of Polish music.

6 Anna Maria Jopek s latest releases: Anna Maria Jopek Polanna, 2011 The search for the essence of Polish soul in music, in the arrangements of Gil Goldstein - multiple Grammy Award winner - and Krzysztof Herdzin. The band, created especially for the purpose of this project, consists of Cuban piano master Gonzalo Rubalcaba, the great lady of Polish folk music, Maria Pomianowska and the classic cellist Rafał Kwiatkowski. Guests appearance by Stanisław Soyka. The albums take a fresh look at both important and beautiful moments in the history of our music. From Wacław of Szamotuły, through old folk music, Stanisław Moniuszko, Mieczysław Karłowicz, to Karol Szymanowski and the Skaldowie band. Among the compositions, we can also expect a premiere set. The album was recorded in the Radio Gdansk studio and brought together in the New York s MRS studio by Grammy Award winner Joe Ferla with the touch by Steve Rodby. LIVE: Uciekaj, uciekaj Rdzawe liście

7 Anna Maria Jopek s latest releases: It is an attempt to find a common denominator of the Polish and Japanese music. The project was accomplished together with Makoto Ozone, the most outstanding Japanese jazz pianist. We will also have a chance to hear Tomohiro Fakuhara as a guest star - the artist of Kabuka theatre who will play bamboo flutes. The album was recorded and mixed by Tadeusz Mieczkowski in Warsaw Sound and More studio. Anna Maria Jopek has visited Japan eight times so far performing in the most important places in the country. In December 2011 and January 2012 AMJ had series of concerts (in Tokyo including famous Blue Note Tokyo, Osaka and Matsuyama) with her own band and also with Makoto Ozone. Anna Maria Jopek & Makoto Ozone Haiku, 2011 LIVE: Dolina & Oberek Biel

8 Anna Maria Jopek s latest releases: Anna Maria Jopek Sobremesa, 2011 SOBREMESA: a kind of "dessert" after the sophistication of the main course. It presents the stories of Lisbon, the city where Anna Maria Jopek has found her second home. It is a collection of Anna Maria Jopek's beloved songs from the world of Portuguese and lusophone culture. Among the guests, we have an opportunity to hear the greatest artists such as "the prince of Fado" - Camané, charismatic voices from Cape Verde Island - Sara Tavares and Tito Paris, the legendary Portuguese singer - Paulo de Carvalho, Angolan multiinstrumentalist and vocalist - Yami, or the Brazilian composer and singer - Ivan Lins. The album contains three premiere compositions (among others, the already popular duet with Tito Paris "Tylko tak mogło być") and Polish lyrics for lusophone music created especially for this project. Anna Maria Jopek performs mainly in Portuguese, sometimes even in the Creole language and Kimbundu. The album was recorded in Lisbon with the multicultural band created for this occasion. The album was mixed by Scott Petito (sound engineer of Michael Franks albums) in NRS Studio, Woodstock, NY. In November 2011, during the Sobremesa Tour in Poland Anna Maria Jopek performed 14 concerts for nearly 10,000 people. Tylko, tak mogło być Rua dos Remedios

9 International press about Anna Maria Jopek: Her music (...) is a unique combination of Jazz and World Music (Jazz-World Fusion), incorporating a vast scope of musical influences like Polish folklore, Brazilian Bossa Nova, African chanting and of course the European Classical tradition. It doesn t take a genius to realize by now that I loved the concert every possible way. The Jerusalem Post As beautiful as she is talented, one could easily imagine her choosing a dual career as a model or actress, but Anna singularly focuses on what she feels is most important, the music. JAZZREVIEW.COM Despite her intense interaction with the audience in Indonesian, it was her music that brought everyone to a standing ovation, a just appreciation for a breathtaking performance. The Jakarta Post 12 brilliant albums in just 10 years are surely an awe-inspiring record for even a most accomplished musician. jazzis.com about ID album When most people think of Polish music... they think of Chopin. But I have just done an album, Polanna, where we tried to find the essence of Polish soul in music. In one sentence, Polish music is a curious mix of wrath and melancholy. AMJ in The Irish Times Haiku - My best album 2012 Jazz Life Japan magazine

10 ANNA MARIA JOPEK - LIVE PROJECTS Anna Maria Jopek is a versatile and demanding artist. She works with her own band but also sings duos with world-known artists and performs with musicians from around the world. This makes organization of her every concert a different creative challenge for our company. These concerts have different faces: ANNA MARIA JOPEK & BAND - Polanna - in this version, the artist reveals her new insight on beautiful and important moments in the history of Polish music. She reaches back to the sources of traditional, classical, jazz and popular music. Anna s Band consists of outstanding instrumentalists, stars of the Polish jazz scene. During the concert, the musicians create captivating improvisations. The spectacle is accompanied by tension and concentration but at the same time, it brings the feeling of lightness and playing with musical forms ANNA MARIA JOPEK & YAMI - Sobremesa - this unique musical project is not only the legendary Fado music, sometimes called 'blues from the edge of Europe', but also a unique cultural melting pot of musical tradition from which AMJ and African artist Yami have grown. A joint concert of Anna Maria Jopek and Angolan musician, Yami will be the opportunity for the audience to hear the music of one of the world's most poetic cities - Lisbon. ANNA MARIA JOPEK & MAKOTO OZONE - Haiku - a joint concert of Anna Maria Jopek and Japan's greatest jazz pianist, Makoto Ozone. Another extraordinary musical adventure. The artists find common aesthetics for Zen philosophy of Far East and Slavic expression.

11 ANNA MARIA JOPEK & DHAFER YOUSSEF - what is unusual in this project is the combination of Dhafer's Arabic energy and Anna's Slavic expression. This is another artistic blend that provides an unforgettable experience during their performance. The duo successfully toured in Poland during promotional tours for the 'ID' and 'Jo&Co' albums. ANNA MARIA JOPEK & RICHARD BONA - they started collaboration during sessions to Anna s ID and Jo&Co album which went Platinum and Gold almost right after releasing. Anna and Richard are always happy to perform together to combine Slavic and African influences in music. ANNA MARIA JOPEK & NIGEL KENNEDY & KROKE - 'Kroke' is one of Europe's best Jewish bands. On the basis of traditional Jewish themes, AMJ with Nigel Kennedy and 'Kroke' improvise and create original arrangements making this thrilling performance addictive for music-sensitive listeners.

12 4music Management & Booking Joanna Drozda mob Music itself is the highest award for me. And the greatest challenge. With so many questions remaining to be answered. more about Anna Maria Jopek: