Maciek Pysz

Maciek Pysz

Maciek Pysz at Dempsey's, Cardiff, UK, April 2014
Background information
Born 6 September 1982
Rybnik, Poland
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician, composer, arranger
Instruments Classical guitar, acoustic guitar
Years active 2003–present
Labels 33 Jazz Dot Time Records
Associated acts Acustica
Website www.maciekpysz.com

Maciek Pysz (born 6 September 1982 in Rybnik, Poland) is a jazz musician, guitarist and composer.[1] He is known for his clear lyrical phrasing, his virtuosity and his imaginative, cinematic compositions inspired by people, places and experiences.[2][3]

Career

Maciek Pysz is a self-taught musician, who has been playing guitar since the age of 11. He has been inspired by musicians such as Al Di Meola, Sylvain Luc, Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett, Biréli Lagrène, Chick Corea and Ralph Towner. Pysz plays acoustic and classical guitars and his influences come from tango, flamenco, Latin, jazz, Brazilian and classical music.[4] His compositions are known for their lyricism, well developed melodic sense, and imagination.[5][6] He moved to London in 2003 and established his first project, the Maciek Pysz Trio, in 2008 and recorded his first EP Discoveries the same year. Touring and collaborations followed, including a quartet with the addition of accordionist/pianist Maurizio Minardi and harmonica player Patrick Bettison. He appeared on Polish National TV in 2010, and established his trio with drummer Asaf Sirkis and bassist Yuri Goloubev. He appeared at the Blue Note Jazz Club in Poland in 2011.[4] In 2012 he was a recipient of the UK's Jazz Services Recording Support Scheme (funded by the UK Arts Council).[7]

In February 2013, Pysz recorded his debut album Insight with his trio at Artesuono Studio in Udine, Italy with acclaimed sound engineer Stefano Amerio[8] from ECM Records. The album was released in May 2013 on 33 Jazz Records. The critic Stephen Graham wrote [this is] "an album that announces a major new presence on the jazz guitar scene" and "There is real musicianship as in the quality of the guitar solo on 'Moody Leaf'. Even Pat Metheny would be proud of this one."[8] Ian Mann wrote "Pysz's highly melodic writing and well delineated and unhurried playing style make for a highly satisfying and often beautiful album."[5] Tracks from the album featured on several occasions on Polskie Radio.[9] and,[10] on Jazz FM (UK) [11] and BBC Radio 3 Jazz Record Requests [12] He performed at London Jazz Festival in 2013.[13]

Additionally, since 2009, Pysz has been a member of the Somali singer-songwriter Aar Maanta's band. In 2014, he played guitar on Maanta's song "Deeqa".[14]

In 2014, Pysz received funding from the UK's Jazz Services National Touring Support Scheme. The funds enabled the trio to complete a UK-wide promotional tour in the spring of 2014, including a concert at London's PizzaExpress Jazz Club, which featured a guest appearance with the trio by Grammy award winner, British saxophonist, Tim Garland.[15][16] The critic Peter Bacon, writing in the Birmingham Post wrote "Their album, called Insight, was released last year and shows Pysz to be an exceptionally accomplished and wide-ranging musician on both acoustic and classical guitars."[17]

In early 2014, Pysz recorded a new album, Acustica, with Italian guitarist Gianluca Corona. The album is due for release in 2015 on 33 Jazz Records. He also featured on an album released in mid-2014 by Polish singer Monika Lidke If I was to describe you which featured bass player Janek Gwizdala and singer Basia Trzetrzelewska.[18] In late December 2014 he recorded his second album, A Journey with Yuri Goloubev, Asaf Sirkis and Daniele Di Bonaventura at Artesuono Studio. It will be released in October 2015 on Dot Time Records."[19]

Instruments

Pysz mainly plays acoustic and flamenco/classical guitars with various models of Godin guitar. While his favourite guitar is a Godin Grand Concert SA, he also plays a Tanglewood steel string acoustic guitar, and sometimes he plays electric guitar.

Style

Pysz mostly plays with a plectrum and has his own picking style, he uses a lot of rhythm variations in his playing, and sometimes uses a fingerstyle, often switching from one to the other in one song. His style is soft, clean, melodic and highly emotional.[20] Of his style on Insight, the critic Jack Massarik in Jazzwise said [this is] "Melodic music played with sensitivity and conviction in a style that borrows more from folk and contemporary classical music than jazz...".[21] Bruce Lindsay in All About Jazz wrote "Pysz favors a crystal clear acoustic sound, delicate yet precise finger-work and fluid melodies. Pysz overdubs lead and rhythm guitar on much of the album, creating a fuller, richer sound in so doing. "Those Days" is a fine opening track: Pysz' lead lines are forceful and upbeat, his rhythm playing full-toned." [1]

Insight

Main article: Insight (album)

Insight was released in May 2013 on 33 Jazz Records. All tracks are composed by Pysz, except track 3, which is jointly composed and arranged by Gianluca Corona and Maciek Pysz.

Personnel
Reviews

Insight received universally favourable reviews. The critic Stephen Graham proclaimed "an album that announces a major new presence on the jazz guitar scene".[8] Peter Bacon in The Jazz Breakfast wrote "Maciek Pysz himself plays both acoustic and classical guitars, though so rich is the recording quality and so varied the sounds he manages to get that you’d swear sometimes there was electricity involved." [22] In London Jazz News, Al Ryan wrote "There is an intuition or shorthand between the musicians that brings together some of the freshest musical ideas and worldwide musical influences to jazz. This CD is a culmination of three years of playing and touring together and the vibe and connection is obvious in the music." [20] And Ian Mann wrote "Pysz's highly melodic writing and well delineated and unhurried playing style make for a highly satisfying and often beautiful album." [5] Jack Massarik in Jazzwise said [this is] "Melodic music played with sensitivity and conviction in a style that borrows more from folk and contemporary classical music than jazz..." [23] Adam Baruch praised the sound quality of the album, stating there is "an astonishing sonic ambience" and awarded the album 4 stars.[24] Marcin Pulawski in Laboratorium Muzycznych Fuzji wrote of the painterly qualities of the music, of the shadows and light, warmth and colour, which give the listener a sense of truth and beauty. He gave the album eight out of ten stars. [25]

Discography

As leader or solo
Sideman/guest

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lindsay, Bruce (6 August 2013) "Review of Insight", All About Jazz, retrieved 25 May 2014
  2. ↑ Japanese jazz website. "Review of Insight" Catfish Records, Japan (in Japanese).
  3. ↑ Jazz Convention website. "Review of Insight"(in Italian) Italy, October 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jazz CDs biography "Biography of Maciek Pysz" retrieved 24 May 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mann, Ian "Insight" The Jazz Mann, July 2013
  6. ↑ "Review of "Insight" by Sławek Orwat in Jazz Press STYCZEŃ 2014 (in Polish)
  7. ↑ Jazz Services Recording Support Scheme."Recording Support Scheme" Funded by the Arts Council.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Graham, Stephen "Look Within". Marlbank Reviews (21 July 2013), retrieved 24 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Polskie Radio Marek Niedźwiecki."Markomania", Polskie Radio playlist 19 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Polskie Radio Marek Niedźwiecki. "Markomania", Polskie Radio playlist 25 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Jazz FM (UK) "Jazz FM playlist 14 September 2014", Jazz FM playlist The Cutting Edge with Mike Chadwick 14 September 2014.
  12. ↑ " 'Lost in London' played on JRR" BBC R3 Jazz Record Requests, 20 September 2014.
  13. ↑ Maciek Pysz Trio at London Jazz Festival."Maciek Pysz Trio" Jazz Cafe Posk, London Jazz Festival 2013, 16 November 2013.
  14. ↑ Yung, Ben (2 June 2014). "Mundo Musique: Aar Maanta Bringing Somali Music to the World". The Revue. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  15. ↑ UK Jazz Services National Touring Support Scheme."Touring Support Scheme"
  16. ↑ Pizza Express Live."Maciek Pysz Trio at Pizza Express" Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho London, 25 March 2014.
  17. ↑ Bacon, Peter The Birmingham Post."Jazz Diary with Peter Bacon" The Birmingham Post, 20 March 2014
  18. ↑ Empik."Monika Lidke If I was to describe you" Artist listing on Monike Lidke's "If I was to describe you, released April 2014"
  19. ↑ P. McLarren."Dot Time Records announces the signing of Maciek Pysz" Jazz in Europe, 26 March 2015
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Ryan, Al in London Jazz News""Review of Insight",(01/07/2013) retrieved 30 June 2014.
  21. ↑ Massarik, Jack. "Maciek Pysz Trio Insight". UK Jazzwise Magazine (September 2013).
  22. ↑ Bacon,Peter The Birmingham Post."Jazz Diary with Peter Bacon" The Birmingham Post, 20 March 2014.
  23. ↑ Massarik, Jack. "Maciek Pysz Trio Insight". UK Jazzwise Magazine (September 2013).
  24. ↑ Baruch, Adam "Review of Insight" 18 July 2013.
  25. ↑ Pulawski, Marcin "The tube Reviews: Maciek Pysz - Insight". Laboratorium Muzycznych Fuzji 4 January 2015 (in Polish).

External links