Grazyna Auguscik with
The Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio
Chopin Goes Jazz

Show Description

Polish-born, Chicago-based singer, composer, arranger, and producer Grazyna Auguscik has been winning praise and admiration of music critics, jazz enthusiasts, and even "non-jazz" audiences with a singular voice that speaks a universal language. With an elusive style that challenges the traditional definitions of jazz, she is one of the most intriguing contemporary vocalists on the world's jazz scene today, and one whose musicianship knows no boundaries. Her unorthodox approach to rewriting classic works is at once a tribute to its authors as well as an adventure into uncharted territory, while her originals have an uncanny flavor all their own. Grazyna won a nomination as Best Female Vocalist of 2002 in the 22nd Annual Chicago Music Awards, and was named Best Jazz Vocalist three years in a row – for 2002, 2003, and 2004 -- by Europe's Jazz Forum Magazine. Her performance with Three for Brazil at Jazz Elite in 2004 was a highlight of one of Japan's largest jazz festivals. The L.A. Times has called her "a singer to be watched", and Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune has written: "Grazyna Auguscik is not merely a vocalist, but rather a musician who has a purpose for every note she sings, for every phrase she lingers upon - or dramatically cuts short....She treats even the most well-worn fare with a spirit of adventure."


"Most attempts to jazz up [classical music] are doomed to failure but Jagodzinski manages to avoid the "switched-on Bach" approach, listening out for those aspects of Chopin's celebrated pianism which are most jazz-like, rather than attempting to impose it from the outside. This is a convincing exploratory essay, containing some very beautiful and unaffected music. " - The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 1996

Composer and arranger Andrzej Jagodzinski (AHN-jay yah-gaw-GIN-ski ) is one of the best pianists – jazz or otherwise -- in Poland. In 1979 Jagodzinski participated in the Old Jazz Meeting Zlota Tarka and received first prize as "Pianist of the Year". The Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio's first album, Chopin, was named Best Record of 1994 by Jazz Forum Magazine, won the Fryderyk Award as best jazz record of the year, and has remained their most popular album. With Adam Cegielski on contrabass and Czeslaw Bartkowski on drums, Jagodzinski and his trio have continued to explore jazz interpretations of Chopin, their CD output including "Chopin – Live at the National Philharmonic" (1997), "Once More Chopin", and "Metamorphoses" (both 1999). The Trio was a key influence in launching the "Chopin stream" in Polish jazz. In 2006, besides numerous concerts in Poland, the Trio performed in the U.S., Argentina, Iceland, Sweden, and Japan. Tonight they join with the virtuoso jazz vocalist Grazyna Auguscik , part of the "Chopin Goes Jazz" tour of the U.S.

This event is presented in association with The Polish Cultural Institute