JAZZ PO POLSKU: Ola Błachno Octet "Warschauer Strasse"

As part of the JAZZ PO POLSKU "Warsaw Live Sessions" project, leading Polish jazz scene artists and international guests will perform original concerts.

"Warschauer Straße" is an album by Polish jazz vocalist and composer Ola Błachno. She has created a musical narrative-journey about two cities, people, travel, and freedom, which is the central theme of the entire project. Synonyms for freedom in the project include: railway stations (or metro stations), the motif of travel, two cities close to the artist's heart (Berlin and Warsaw), and jazz itself, which historically and today, through its improvisation, is considered the music of freedom. The artist drew inspiration from industrial music popular in the first half of the 20th century (sounds of locomotives and trains). However, imitations of travel sounds are not a key element of the project. This music is a universal story about a person for whom travel is an opportunity and a pretext for reflection, contemplation, and memories, and above all for discovering their own inner freedom. The compositions are named after selected stations of the Berlin and Warsaw train/metro system, such as Alexanderplatz, Nowy Świat–Uniwersytet, Praga, Warszawa Centralna, and Warschauer Straße. The album "Warschauer Strasse" is not only melodic songs, references to classical music, and a coherent narrative – it also features extensive improvisation, both that which revolves around traditional functional harmony and "open"/free jazz improvisation. The uniqueness of this project lies in the combination of three musical genres: classical music (classical string quartet, inspiration from industrial music popular in the first half of the 20th century), jazz music (jazz trio, improvisation, jazz harmonies), and electronic music (looper). "Warschauer Straße" is written for an octet: vocals/electronics, piano, double bass, drums, and string quartet. The core of the ensemble consists of exceptional musicians: Arseny Rykov (p), Johannes Metzger (dr), and Michał Aftyka (b). Each of them is a composer and leader of their own ensemble.