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Andrzej Jagodzinski (AHN-jay yah-gaw-GIN-ski), composer and arranger born in 1953, is one of the best Polish pianists - jazz or otherwise. He received his degrees from the Frederick Chopin Conservatory, where he studied French horn while already engaged by the Polish Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra. He has played with most of the best jazz groups in Poland, including the Zbigniew Namyslowski Quartet, The Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski Quartet, and Jarek Smietana's Polish All Stars.
The Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio's first album, Chopin, was named Best Record of 1994 by Jazz Forum Magazine and won the Fryderyk Award (Polish Grammy) as best jazz record of the year. With Adam Cegielski on bass and Czeslaw Bartkowski on drums, the Jagodzinski Trio have continued to explore jazz interpretations of Chopin, their CD output including Chopin - Live at the National Philharmonic (1997), Once More Chopin, and Metamorphoses (both 1999). The Trio was a key influence in launching the "Chopin stream" in Polish jazz. In 2006, besides concerts in Poland, the Trio performed in the U.S., Argentina, Iceland, Sweden, and Japan.
One of Poland's leading jazz pianists interprets the music of the country's greatest composer. [...] One of the best examples of classical jazz since Art Tatum tackled Massenet. - Music and Media (England)
Most attempts to jazz up [classical music] are doomed to failure but Jagodzinski manages to avoid the "switched-on Bach" approach, listening out for those aspects of Chopin's celebrated pianism which are most jazz-like [...] Very beautiful and unaffected music. - Richard Cook & Brian Morton, the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, 1996
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