Makowicz and Medyna at Trumpets Jazz Club in NJ

Adam Makowicz, Polish-American pianist and composer living in New York area. He performs jazz and classical piano pieces, as well as his own compositions. Besides playing solo, he has worked with such musicians among many as Earl Hines, Ben Webster, Phil Woods, Jack DeJohnette, as well as with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington DC, at the Kennedy Centre, at the Carnegie Hall, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and other major orchestras at concert halls in Americas and in Europe. His technical skills as jazz pianist have been compared to that of Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Erroll Garner among others.  He studied classical music at the Chopin Conservatory of Music in Kraków. Overcoming cultural restrictions under communism, he developed a passion for modern jazz. At the time, political freedom and improvisation were disapproved of by the pro-Soviet authorities. Nonetheless, he embarked on a new professional life by switching from the career of a classical pianist to that of a touring jazz pianist. After years of hardship, Makowicz got a regular gig at a small jazz club in a cellar of a house in Kraków. By the mid-1970s, Makowicz established himself as one of the leading pianists in Europe. He was named the “Best jazz pianist” by the readers of Jazz Forum magazine, and was awarded a gold medal for his contribution to the arts.

In 1977 Makowicz made a 10-week concert tour of the United States, produced by John Hammond. At that time he recorded a solo album titled Adam on CBS. In 1978 he settled in New York.

Krystof Medyna (saxophone) born in Poland, began his musical career at age 5. His mother was a trained classical pianist and his grandfather a conductor. From 1975-1978, Krystof lived and performed in Scandinavia. Upon his return to Poland, he created the group Breakwater, with pianist Andrzej Winnicki. At the 1979 “Jazz nad Odra”, Breakwater won the award for Best Group, and Krystof won the award for best soloist instrumentalist.

Krystof has been living Stateside since 1982. Since then, he has been performing in the New York area with such musicians as Greg Maker, Fukushi Tainaka, Jeremy Pelt, Rodney Holmes, Nasheet Waits, Scott Colley, Marshall Gilkes and Drew Gress, among others. In 1993, again with Andrzej Winnicki, Krystof reestablished Breakwater, this time as a Polish-American group. They performed in such clubs as “The Five Spot”, “Bar 55″, “Zanzibar”, “Club Bene”, “Down Town” and “Van Gogh’s Ear”.

In 2000, the group recorded its first album, “In The Bush”, under its new name, Electric Breakwater. “In The Bush” features bassist Mark Egan and drummer Rodney Holmes.  In autumn 2002, Krystof Medyna and Andrzej Winnicki formed a new group, Komeda Project. The quintet’s first concert was held at the Polish Consulate in New York in January 2003. In 2007, the group took to the same stage to promote their newly released album, “Crazy Girl”. The group continued on to perform at “Trumpet Jazz Club”, “Van Goghs Ear”, “Cornelia Street Cafe”, and the Williamsburg Jazz Festival. In 2009 they released their second album as Komeda Project, entitled “Requiem”. (“This profoundly lyrical CD can stand in the company of works like Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage and Kenny Wheeler’s Deer Wan” – Stuart Broomer, All About Jazz NY)  In 2017 together with Andrzej Winnicki they released they next CD “From A Familiar Place” featuring Jeremy Pelt on trumpet and Marshall Gilkes on trombone.  In January 2015, the Polish Consulate in New York hosted the concert “Adam Makowicz & Krzysztof Medyna – Jazz Standards”. This was followed by another concert by the duo, this time at Central Connecticut State University, in New Britain, CT. In May 2016 they performed at MEZZROW in NYC.

http://www.trumpetsjazz.com