Piotr Damasiewicz, also known as Damaś (born April 11, 1980, in Wroclaw), is a Polish composer and musician. In addition to the trumpet, he plays double bass, and piano. He is also a singer of classical music - including Gregorian chant - choral and has worked in chamber conducting, arrangement and composition. His work incorporates jazz, 20th century classical music, ethnic music, and modern music, along with European improvised music.

Piotr Damasiewicz, photo by Grzegorz Czech

Damasiewicz has represented Poland on four international music platforms: Take Five Europe, Jazz Plays Europe Laboratory, Art Meetings, and Melting Pot Laboratory (Jazztopad). He is currently studying for his doctorate at the Instrumental Department of Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz.[1]

Biography

In 2019 he travelled 4,186 km on foot from the Ukrainian border to Santiago de Compostela. During the six-month journey, he made over 100 recordings of his solo impressions in various sacred spaces, where he examined their acoustic characteristics.

Band activities and composing

Damasiewicz has participated in the multiplayer ensemble "Power Of The Horns,” chamber quintets, quartets, trios, such as "Mnemotaksja,” and "Into the Roots,” orchestral works such as "Hadrons,” or "Suite 29,” and as a solo compositionst.

Damasiewicz has also been a sideman, co-leader or co-author in: "VeNN Circles,” "Red Trio Quintet,” "Hangar Music” as well as "Elements” and "Sesto Elemento” in collaboration with Maciej Garbowski.

Compositional works

Damasiewicz has composed "Hadrons" for string quintet and jazz band commissioned by the Jazztopad festival, "Suite 29" written for the World Jazz Days for Polish Radio Program II, "Composition for 27 improvisers" as part of the final Melting Pot (Jazztopad) platform in Wrocław and the composition "Some Kind Of Greek Story" commissioned by Casa de Musica in Porto. Damasiewicz also created music for The Scent of Lviv by Grzegorz Korczak.

He is a co-composer of the European jazz anthem for the 25th anniversary of the European Jazz Network.

Educational activities

Damasiewicz worked at the Music Academy in Zanzibar, where he was an artistic director. From 2006 to 2007, he conducted a brass band at the Ryszard Bukowski State Secondary Music School in Wrocław. In addition, he co-created the orchestral project "Wszystko Gra" with Władysław Kosendiak, in cooperation with the Lower Silesian Music Society.

He studied at the academies of music in Wrocław (Akademia Muzyczna im. Karola Lipińskiego we Wrocławiu), Bydgoszcz (Akademia Muzyczna im. Feliksa Nowowiejskiego w Bydgoszczy) and Katowice (Akademia Muzyczna w Katowicach) He founded the ‘Music According To Art Association’ (MATA).

Collaborations

Artists with whom Piotr Damasiewicz has performed include: David Murray, Jason Moran, James Carter,[2] Tomasz Stanko, Lotte Anker, Magda Mayas, Phil Minton, Jeb Bishop, Andrzej Bauer, Dave Rempis, Michael Zerang, Paul Nilsen Lowe, Skalpel, Jon Falt, Satoko Fuji, Morihide Sawada, Hans Koch, Joker Nies, Kazuhisa Uhichashi, Rodrigo Amado, Zdzisław Piernik, Per Zanussi, Marcin Masecki, Cezary Duchnowski, Josh Sinton, Betina Wenzel, Wolfgang Reisinger, Eduardo Maraffa, Mathias Muche. He also collaborated with Maciej Garbowski and the Aukso chamber orchestra. He frequently collaborates with Maciej Obara and Dominik Wania.

Awards

  • Winner of the Fryderyk 2013 phonographic award
  • Winner of the Wareto Award granted by Gazeta Wyborcza
  • Winner of the Wrocław Music Award
  • Laureate of the Krzysztof Komeda composer competition
  • Trumpeter of the year in the "Jazz Forum" Jazz Top 2020 in the critics' poll
  • Trumpeter of the year in Jazz Top "Jazz Forum" 2021 in the readers' poll
  • "Watra" in the ranking of top 10 Polish jazz albums 2021 according to Polska Płyta / Polska Muzyka
  • "Watra" took 3rd place in the JazzPRESS 2021 editorial ranking

Selected discography

As leader

Year Project/Title Label
2011 Piotr Damasiewicz / "Hadrons" Ars Cameralis Records
2013 Piotr Damasiewicz / ''Power Of The Horns'' For Tune
2013 Piotr Damasiewicz/ "Imprographic" For Tune
2014 Piotr Damasiewicz Quartet / ''Mnemotaksja'' For Tune
2020 Piotr Damasiewicz Into The Roots / "Śpiwle" L.A.S listening and sounding
2021 Piotr Damasiewicz / "Hadrons" L.A.S listening and sounding
2021 Piotr Damasiewicz Into The Roots / "Watra" L.A.S listening and sounding[3]

As co-founder

Year Project/Title Label
2013 veNN circles Tuple B.D.T.A.
2014 veNN circles
2015 Red Trio / Lebik / Damasiewicz Mineral Bocian

As a sideman

Year Project/Title Label/Country
2011 ''Concept Art Orchestra Katowice''

Conductor Ed Partyka

 Cesky Rozhlas / Czech Republic
2012 ''Maciej Garbowski Elements'' IMP (international music production)
2012 "Kariera Kolysanki" kariera.art.pl
2015 ''Maciej Garbowski Sesto Elemento'' Fundacja Sluchaj
2015 ''Marek Kądziela ADHD In Bloom'' For Tune
2015 Spinifex „Maximus” Tryton / Holland
2018 Michał Jaros “Floating Bridges”

References

  1. ↑ "Góry, jazz i muzyka świata. Wkrótce premiera albumu wrocławskiego muzyka i jego zespołu". www.tuwroclaw.com (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  2. ↑ Rodak, Wojciech (2017-10-20). "Program festiwalu Jazz Jamboree 2017. Które koncerty należy koniecznie zobaczyć?". Polska Times (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  3. ↑ "Watra". audio.com.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-04-09.
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