Jazz Autumn - November 5

ARCANUM featuring Arve Henriksen, Trygve Seim, Anders Jormin, Markku Ounaskari Adam ofArrill: ELEPHAN

ARCANUM featuring Arve Henriksen, Trygve Seim, Anders Jormin, Markku Ounaskari

Arve Henriksen - trumpet

Trygve Seim - saxophone

Anders Jormin - double bass

Markku Ounaskari - percussion, percussion

Finnish drummer Markku Ounaskari is one of the most important continuators of the tradition developed by the legendary Edward Vesala, with whom Tomasz Stańko recorded and toured in the 1970s and 1980s. Ounaskari draws on the same raw, northern dramaturgy, combining it with the meditative, extremely spatial play characteristic of the Finnish school of improvisation of course. Anders Jormin and Trygve Seim have also collaborated with Tomasz Stańko in the past, which is why the meeting of this quartet brings to Jazz Autumn an additional dimension of continuity and dialogue between generations of the European improvised scene.

Together with Arve Henriksen - one of the most original figures of modern jazz, known for the characteristic, almost “vocal” sound of the trumpet - they form the quartet ARCANUM. The project, whose debut album was released in 2025 under the supervision of Manfred Eicher, combines Nordic lyricism, space and subtle dramaturgy with the masterful improvisation of four prominent personalities of European jazz.

Adam O'Farrill: ELEPHANT

Adam O'Farrill - trumpet

Yvonne Rogers - piano

Walter Stinson - double bass

Russell Holzman - drums

Adam O'Farrill is today one of the most revered trumpeters and composers of his generation. “The New York Times” described him as “one of jazz's foremost trumpeters” and “perhaps the next great improviser of that music.” Although he is only 31 years old, he has already collaborated with artists such as Vijay Iyer, Tyshawn Sorey, Mary Halvorson, Anna Webber, Mulatu Astatke, Hiromi and Rudresh Mahanthappa. He is a musician of the younger generation, but already very firmly embedded in the most important currents of the New York improvised scene.

At Jazz Autumn he will present ELEPHANT - his new quartet, in which, after years of working in ensembles based on dialogue of wind instruments, he assumes a more exposed role of leader and main narrator. It is a chamber format, precise and demanding, allowing you to fully hear its characteristic language: clear, intense and very personal.

The quartet consists of pianist Yvonne Rogers, double bassist Walter Stinson and drummer Russell Holzman - young musicians of the New York scene, with whom O'Farrill forms a band that is flexible, rhythmically dense and full of tension.

ELEPHANT's music combines contemporary jazz with influences from electronics, minimalism, film music, Radiohead and Ryuichi Sakamoto. This project is bold, contemporary and emotionally intense - another important step for the artist, who is increasingly becoming one of the most important voices of the new generation of jazz.

The organizer of the 23rd Tomasz Stańko Jazz Autumn in Bielsko-Biała is the Municipality of Bielsko-Biała and the Maria Koterbska Cultural Center of Bielsko. Co-organizer is Ars Cameralis — Institute of Culture of the Silesian Voivodship Self-Government. Co-financed from the funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund within the “Music” program, implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.

The partner of the Festival is the Silesian Voivodeship The patronage of the festival was taken over by the Tomasz Stańko Foundation

The festival takes place as part of the Polish Capitals of Culture program. Polish Capitals of Culture is an initiative that aims to promote and support the cultural development of Polish cities. The program was initiated by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in 2024. The coordinator of the programme is the National Cultural Centre. The Patron of the Program is Totalizator Sportowy.