Start - Repetitions

Bio

The recent revival of the jazz scene has become clearly visible, as proven by the great popularity of artists from across the ocean, such as Kamasi Washington and The West Coast Get Down, or BadBadNotGood collective. A new wave of jazz has also arisen in Europe, represented by British musicians, such as Shabaka Hutchings, Yussef Dayes, Ezra Collective and Tenderlonious, who are gaining more and more recognition and fame. A nod to the classics of several decades ago combined with fresh, liberated and current sound of contemporary urban music form a brand new quality. No doubts about it. For many, however, this might not be jazz anymore. This also applies to Wrocław's sextet EABS, which pursues the tradition of the Polish school of jazz, while escaping various sound patterns, presenting a carefree and completely original approach to genres and established musical standards, as proven on their debut album.

After the very well received, both by the audience and critics, debut album Repetitions (Letters to Krzysztof Komeda), focusing on the lesser-known works of K. Komeda, EABS decided to further expand this lead and released two more vinyl records: A black one, recorded live in Katowice - Repetitions (Letters to Krzysztof Komeda) Live at Jazz Club Hipnoza, and a pink one, recorded on tape and released via British label 22a Music - Kraksa / Svantetic, which crowns the “Komeda triptych”. So far, the green studio album has received almost 30 reviews in Poland and abroad, and has been promoted in many radio stations in and outside the country (the album was featured in titles such as Polityka, Przekrój, Rzeczpospolita, the band also appeared on the cover of Jazz Forum magazine). The first pressing of the debut album was sold out within 8 weeks after the premiere, and, in response to the album's excellent reception, the band has played over 70 concerts in Poland and abroad.

Shortly after the release of their first album, EABS have performed at such prestigious venues as Witold Lutosławski S1 Studio in Warsaw, Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra concert hall in Katowice, as well as festivals such as Woodstock in Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Spring Break in Poznań, XJAZZ in Berlin, Tauron Nowa Muzyka in Katowice and Męskie Granie tour. In 2018 EABS also toured the UK (London, Manchester, Liverpool), played at the BuSH festival in Budapest, and gave three concerts in China (Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen).

Even though the reinterpretations of Krzysztof Komeda's music performed by EABS were very far from the originals, people have been asking about an original album over the last few months on numerous occasions. This time the band focused on Slavic mythology and Polish demonology. The notorious “Slavic melancholy”, which the band was trying to extract from their own DNA, became the main inspiration for this album. The work on the Slavic Spirits LP remains an attempt at contacting the world of an irretrievably lost culture, which will never be thoroughly examined on account of Slavs' illiteracy. A great number of musicians, historians, journalists, writers and even psychotherapists provided EABS with their insights and meditations, which quickly resulted in the emergence of compositions stemming from the depths of the bands’ spirit and imagination.

In October 2019, after more than 33 years, the archive record from the first landing of Sun Ra Arkestra in Poland was released to the public. On this occasion, EABS has prepared a special concert related to this release. Moments later, during the lockdown, a deep reflection on the philosophy of the newcomer from Saturn influenced the recording session and the final shape of the album Discipline of Sun Ra. Then there were quite serious changes in the selection of songs and even more ambitious attempts at recreation jazz originals, pushing some compositions not only towards hip-hop (in the spirit of inspired by Gil Scott-Heron or David Axelrod), but also genres such as juke or house. “By infinity, Mr.Ra means creating jazz of the future, but also covering the past”- the same idea is carried by polish musicians. On the ‘Slavic Spirits’ album, EABS was inspired by the ancient past. As we now know, discovering Sun Ra’s concept wasn’t coincidental. He also believed and shared the philosophy of coming through the darkness to see the sun and enlightenment. In case there’s no hope for living on our planet, we need to look for metaphorical escapism. That’s where the idea of building a cosmic ship under ‘Polish Space Program’ was born.

Band members:

Marek Pędziwiatr - piano, synths & vocal
Paweł Stachowiak - bass
Jakub Kurek - trumpet
Olaf Węgier - tenor sax
Marcin Rak - drums
Spisek Jednego - sample, sound fx & percussion

Discography:

EABS - Puzzle Mixtape [Astigmatic Records, 2016]
EABS - Repetitions (Letters to Krzysztof Komeda) [Astigmatic Records, 2017]
EABS - Repetitions (Letters to Krzysztof Komeda) Live At Jazz Club Hipnoza (Katowice) [Astigmatic Records / More Music Agency, 2018]
EABS ft. Tenderlonious - Kraksa / Svantetic [22a Music, 2018]
EABS - Slavic Spirits [Astigmatic Records, 2019]
EABS - Discipline of Sun Ra [Astigmatic Records, 2020]

Awards & nominations:

1. Wroclaw's Artistic Discover of the Year - WARTO 2014 (Gazeta Wyborcza),
2. Emotions 2017 (Radio Wrocław Culture) ,
3. Jazz Debut - Mateusze Trójki 2017 (National Polish Radio Three),
4. Music Award of the mayor of the city of Wrocław 2017 (City of Wrocław),
5. GaMa Award 2017 - the best album (Gazeta Magnetofonowa Magazine),
6. The Best Newcomer Jazz Band 2017 - Jazz Forum,
7. The Best Electric Jazz Band 2017 - Jazz Forum, 8. nomination for Polityka's Passports 2017 (Polityka Magazine),
9. nomination for Night Marks Award 2017 (Aktivist Magazine),
10. nomination for Fryderyk Award 2017 - Jazz debut (ZPAV),
11. 30 Creatives of Wroclaw 2018