Jazz at BOK: Jerzy Małek Ensemble

We invite you to a concert as part of the Jazz series at BOK!

Jerzy Małek Ensemble

October 20, 2026, 9:00 p.m.

Club Fama, 5 Legionowa Street

Tickets: PLN 30/reduced (for students and pupils), PLN 60/pre-sale, PLN 75/on the day of the concert — to be purchased at the ticket offices of the Forum Cinema (5 Legionowa Street) and the Ludwik Zamenhof Center (19 Warszawska Street) and online: bilety.bok.bialystok.pl

There will be:

Jerzy Małek — trumpet, flugelhorn

Andy Middleton — saxophone

Michał Tokaj — piano

Aniel Someillan — double bass

Alan Jones — drums

Jerzy Małek's latest project is a formula in which the artist invites foreign partners to perform new original compositions. The musical idiom in which he speaks as a creator is a kind of form of musical “credo”. It can be regarded as a far-reaching allegory of the pursuit of absolute matters in art.

The music performed by Jerzy Małek is a fusion of many musical genres and jazz combined together like an indomitable jazz improvisation. The musical style in which he speaks as both a composer and an instrumentalist can be perceived on several levels. Starting from the harmonic layer, we will hear elaborate modernist combinations of chords forming a common narrative, the distinguishing feature of which is the impressionist expansion of form. This feature allows you to combine elements of modern jazz with other musical genres.

Very rich in its texture combining swing, polyrhythm and different groove variations, the rhythmic layer unites the whole project, creating together with the rest of the elements a kind of quintessence of this musical style. Above all, the most important feature of the trumpeter's work is the desire to reflect reality through sounds. The language of jazz is designed to tell different kinds of stories. In each piece, through the color of harmony and its consequences, one can capture the intention of the message, the narrative, the story, which emerges and through improvisation and acquires fullness.

Jerzy Małek — leading Polish jazz trumpeter known for his collaboration with the legends of this style: Miles Davis saxophonist Gary Bartz, Grammy winner Maria Schneider, Michael Brecker drummer Adam Nussbaum, Ed Cherry, Danny Grissett, Eric Allen, Michał Urbaniak, Wojciech Karr Zbigniew Namysłowski, Zbigniew Wegehaupt and many others.

Andy Middleton is one of the most original American saxophonists and jazz composers on the current market, currently living in Vienna, where he also teaches composition at the MUK. He has played with such stars as Dave Holland, Ralph Towner, Kenny Wheeler, Maria Schneider, Adam Nussbaum, John Abercrombie, among others.

Michał Tokaj — one of the most outstanding Polish pianists, composers and jazz arrangers. He is the winner of the Fryderyk Award for his album “Bird Alone”. He collaborates and composes for Polish jazz singer Aga Zaryan on a permanent basis. He has collaborated with Polish and foreign jazz legends such as Tomasz Stańko, Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski, Janusz Muniak, Tomasz Szukalski, Ewa Bem, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Piotr Wojtasik, Piotr Baron, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Bennie Maupin, Eddie Henderson, Marvin “Smitty” Smith and Victor Lewis.

Aniel Someillan — Cuban-born double bass player, bassist and composer; graduate of the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory of Music in Havana; moves at the intersection of Afro-Cuban jazz, son cubano and contemporary improvised music. In 2023, he received an invitation to participate in the Montreux Jazz Artist Foundation project at the Montreux Jazz Academy. He has collaborated with jazz stars such as Shai Maestro, Rodney Barreto, Harold López-Nussa and Yilian Cañizares. For three years he was the bassist of Luedji Luna, for two he collaborated with the pianist Amaro Freitas, and shared the stage with, among others, Giovanni Hidalgo, Daymé Arocena, Shabaka Hutchings, Julito Padrón and Robert Carcassés.

Alan Jones is one of the most prominent American drummers of his generation who lives permanently in Portland, Oregon (USA). He is known for his collaborations with Jazz legends such as Jim Pepper, Bill Frissell, Andrew Hill, Sonny Fortune, Phil Dwyer, Seamus Blake, Kenny Wheeler, Ingrid Jensen, Rodney Whitaker, John Clayton, Leroy Vinnegar, Dave Liebman, John Abercrombie and many others.