Pianist, composer, and producer. Born on 4 August 1953 in Garbatka. Andrzej Jagodziński is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, in the French horn class. As a student, in 1975-80, he played the French horn with the Polish Radio and Television Orchestra in Warsaw. He set up his first band in 1977, accompanying Aneta Łastik during concerts and recordings. Two years later at the Golden Washboard Old Jazz Meeting competition in Warsaw, he received the individual prize as a pianist while his quartet won the main prize. Since then he has devoted himself exclusively to jazz music and the piano. As a pianist and French horn player, he has worked with bands such as Henryk Majewski’s Old Timers and Swing Session, Janusz Muniak’s quartet, Zbigniew Namysłowski’s quartet, Prowizorka Dżez Będ, String Connection, Quintessence, Tomasz Szukalski’s quartet, Jarosław Śmietana’s Polish All Stars, and Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski’s Czwartet. He has been Ewa Bem’s regular accompanist since 1986. He has performed all over the world, taking part in many prestigious festivals, including Jazz Yatra – Bombay, Ost-West Nurnberg, Jazz in Europe – Paris, Skane Festivalen in Malmö, Edinburgh Art Festival, Leverkusener Jazz Tage, Istanbul International Festival, and Ankara Music Festival. The Andrzej Jagodziński Trio was formed in 1993, with drummer Czesław Bartkowski and double-bass player Adam Cegielski in the line-up. The trio’s album Chopin was released in 1994, containing jazz arrangement of works by Fryderyk Chopin. The album contributed to the band’s great success, winning awards that included the Fryderyk ’94 Polish Music Industry Prize and the Melomani ’94 award from the Association of Jazz Fans in Łódź. Andrzej Jagodziński also received the Mateusz ’94 award from Polish Radio’s Programme III for Jazzowy Chopin i poezja w muzyce / Jazz Chopin and Poetry in Music. As an arranger and composer, he has collaborated with Polish Radio and Television, taking part in recordings of numerous programmes, to mention “Studio Hi-Fi”, “Count Basie Made in Poland”, and “Inny Chopin” / “A Different Chopin”. Andrzej Jagodziński has performed with the bands Old Timers, Swing Session, String Connection (band of the 80-ties in the reader’s poll of Jazz Forum), Quintessence (Birthday – jazz album of the year 1992), Big Warsaw Band, Janusz Muniak Quartet, Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet and in Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski Quartet. Since 1987 he has been regular accompanist of the vocalist Ewa Bem. 1993’s Chopin, produced in trio with Adam Cegielski – bass and Czesław “Mały” Bartkowski – percussion is Jagodziński’s most popular record. He was awarded for it the Fryderyk in the category The Best Jazz Record. This album initiated a fashion for jazz renditions of Chopin’s compositions, with Krzysztof Herdzin and Leszek Możdżer embarking on their own interpretations. The success of the record led the group to record several more Chopin-inspired albums. In 2011, their 2009 album Sonata in B minor achieved gold status. Jagodziński has performed all over the world, taking part in Jazz Yatra in Bombay, Ost-West Nurnberg, Jazz in Europe-Paris, Skane Festivalen in Malmo, Edinburgh Art Festival, Ankara Music Festival, Leverkusener Jazz Tage and Istanbul International Festival. Background note by Anna Iwanicka-Nijakowska, December 2007 and Musical Career profile by Marek Romański, December 2008. from http://culture.pl
