Melting Pot Made in Wroclaw

A Norwegian improvising saxophonist, a whale-fascinated double bass player from Wroclaw, a Japanese drummer from Berlin and a Belgian jazz guitarist in love with Hindustani and West African music — what can happen when they meet on the same stage? Ignorance is an initial assumption, which over the years has become a tradition of Melting Pot Made in Wrocław.

This project is a kind of model of a better world, the common goal of all artistic people participating in it is to create a beautiful musical dialogue. This year, double bass player Mikołaj Nowicki — co-founder of the renowned band Ślina and the Wrocław Improvised Orchestra — will appear on the stage in the foyer of the NFM. He is particularly fond of free improvisation, free jazz, ambient and experimental music, but he also plays folk and composes for the theater. For two years he has been developing a solo project in which he combines the sound of double bass with recordings of whale singing. He will be joined by Norwegian saxophonist Heidi Kvelvane. The most important area of her activity is free jazz, although she also plays Norwegian folk music on the accordion. As an improviser, she is happy to use the gentle means of expression associated with Lee Konitz, but from time to time she transforms into a real sonic volcano. Next to these artists will be a Belgian guitarist and composer associated with Ghent and the Flemish scene Haroun Iqbal. His work grows out of jazz, but Western classics, the sound of West African bark and the technique of playing on it, as well as North Indian raga, are equally important to him. He successfully combines these different musical languages in his own works. Tokyo-born Raiga Hayashi, who started playing drums around the age of ten, is a close line-up. At first he acted in the blues band of his aunt's grandmother, later he was a member of a punk group. At the age of fifteen, he switched to free jazz alongside the older masters of the Japanese scene, developing over time an expressive style of playing reminiscent of Paal Nilssen-Love.

All fans of jazz and improvised music, as well as those who are just starting their adventure with them, we encourage you to buy a pass for the upcoming 23rd edition of Jazztopad Festival!