Henryk Miśkiewicz / A Master at 75 and Guests - NOSPR

Henryk Miśkiewicz is a unique figure on the Polish jazz scene – and beyond. He belongs to a select group of Poland’s finest alto saxophonists, but also plays the soprano saxophone and clarinet. In the 1970s and 1980s, his saxophone could be heard on every other Polish record. He was a member of Jazz Carriers and Sun Ship, a soloist with Polish Radio’s Jazz Studio, and remains the leader of Full Drive to this day.

Among Polish jazz musicians, it would probably be easier to name those he has not played with. He has performed around the world with artists including Ewa Bem, Andrzej Jagodziński, Jarosław Śmietana, Wojciech Karolak and Adzik Sendecki, and has played with such stars as Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano and David Murray. He is a multiple winner of Jazz Forum magazine’s Jazz Top poll in the alto saxophone and clarinet categories, as well as a recipient of Fryderyk Awards.

Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski once calculated that, in his entire career, he had played with no other musician for as long as Henryk Miśkiewicz: an extraordinary 45 years. ‘This shaggy-haired twenty-something turned up at the studio and immediately astonished us by reading music better than he read books or newspapers’, Ptaszyn recalled. He also emphasised the saxophonist’s phenomenal gift for improvisation. Because when Henryk Miśkiewicz takes off on the alto, his solos are out of this world. Every single time.

The jubilee concert will offer an opportunity to showcase both the artist’s earlier and more recent work, with an array of outstanding guests joining him on stage.