Leszek Możdżer, Lars Danielsson, Zohar Fresco
Biography Leszek Możdżer, Lars Danielsson, Zohar Fresco
Leszek Mozdzer
(pronounced Mozhdzher), is one of the most prominent keyboard talents in the Polish music scene. He was born in 1971 and has been playing piano since he could play it at age five. After developing his jazz interest at the age 18 in high school, he graduated from Stanislaw Moniuszko Conservatory of Gdansk in 1996. Although he started his career in jazz with Emil Kowalski’s band, he believes that his true musical development occurred with the Milosc Band of 1991. He received an individual citation at the Jazz Junior 92 International Competition in Krakow a year later. This was followed by numerous other prizes including the Krzysztof Komeda Prize 1992 in Poland from the Polish Culture Foundation, First Prize in the International Jazz Improvisation Competition Katowice 1994, the Mateusz Swiecicki Prize in Polish Radio 3 in 1994, the Mayor of Gdansks medal for outstanding artistic achievements and the Fryderyk Prize 1998 for Jazz Musician. It was the most well-known jazz group in Poland during the six years Mozdzer helmed Milosc. Six albums were recorded with the group, two of which were with Lester Bowie, an American trumpeter. He was also a main attraction for the Zbigniew Namyslowski Quartet. Mozdzer has performed alongside many great Polish jazz musicians including Janusz Muniak (1 and Four), Tomasz Stanko (2 Farewell to Mary), Piotr Wojtasik (3 Lonely Town, Quest), and Janusz Muniak (4 One and Four). Mozdzer has collaborated with international stars such as Buster Williams (one and four), Joe Lovano, Billy Harper, Archie Shepp, and Buster Williams. Mozdzer has released 30 CDs, four of them under his own name. The best-known is Chopin Impressions. Leszek Mozdzer gave concerts in France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. His jazz interpretations of Chopin’s pieces were praised at the Chartres Piano Festival. He has been a frequent collaborator with Zbigniew Prixner since 1992, participating in the recording many of the composer’s film scores. 10 Easy Pieces For Piano was a collection of piano improvisations that Preisner created especially for Mozdzer.
Lars Danielsson
Bassist, cellist, composer and arranger Lars Danielsson has become one of the most important voices in European jazz in recent years: alongside international stars such as Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker, John Scofield or Charles Lloyd, with his own quartet, as producer of Caecilie Norby, Viktoria Tolstoy or the Danish Radio Orchestra, but especially with his five ACT CDs under his own name. They also show the unmistakable signature Danielsson has found, as well as the astonishing openness and breadth of his work. He is not only one of the most lyrical and warmest bassists, as a composer he is a master of atmosphere, subtle tension and the perfect balance between simple melodies and the highest possible degree of improvisation.
Zohar Izhak Fresco
is known as the pioneer of the Tof Miriam, a frame drum from the Middle East that is more than 3000 years old. He was born in Israel into a family with Turkish roots as a descendant of Tamburi Izhak Fresco, a well-known Jewish-Turkish composer (18th/19th century). Zohar was attracted to music from a very young age and the strong influence that the music of his ancestors had on him became apparent early on. Fresco understood the great value and musical range of the Tof Miriam and dedicated his life to developing a new finger technique and a unique musical language called MANEGINA. Fresco created his own style of drumming and became a mentor for many musicians from all over the world, and his Turkish roots soon bore fruit in his encounter with the music of the Middle East. In his countless original compositions, Zohar Fresco expresses a new oriental style.
Seine Inspirationen zieht er aus der Zusammenarbeit mit Musikern aus Asien, dem Mittelmeerraum sowie auch aus Projekten mit Musikern vieler verschiedener Kulturen. Als herausragender Liveperformer präsentiert er in Soloauftritten seine eigenen Kompositionen, die eine Kombination aus Gesang und Trommel sind.Zohar gehört zudem zu den Mitbegründern des bekannten arabisch-jüdischen Ensembles Bustan Abraham. Auf musikalischer Welttournee war er mit einem internationalen Jazztrio mit Leszek Mozdzer und Lars Danielsson.Frescos umfassende Beschäftigung mit der Musik, seine große Erfahrung, gepaart mit der Hingabe an seine Kunst, machen ihn zu einem Meister der Perkussion und einem der meist gefragtesten Kursleiter in musikalischen Workshops. Er wird regelmäßig an Schulen, Universitäten und Musikzentren eingeladen, um seine Musiktheorie und Spieltechnik zu lehren.
