Możdżer | Malisz

‘Music is created by people,’ says Leszek Możdżer. It would be hard to find a better opening line for his upcoming collaboration with Kacper Malisz. For years, Leszek Możdżer has defied simple categorization. A jazz pianist? Certainly. Yet his work is equally defined by classical music, a fascination with Chopin, original compositions, sonic experimentation on the piano, and encounters with artists from entirely different musical worlds. He admits himself that classifying music by genres holds little interest for him; far more important is what emerges in the act of playing. ‘Music isn't about delivering a set piece of material – it’s about stepping into a living structure.’

At times, Możdżer speaks of music almost metaphysically. ‘Music is bigger than I am,’ he observed in an interview, describing himself as a conduit rather than someone who exerts absolute control over it. On another occasion, he went even further, suggesting that sounds are merely a veil behind which something far more significant can reveal itself. Beauty, too, remains central, because – as he notes – ‘the natural urge of every musician is the pursuit of beauty.’

Kacper Malisz comes from a different background, yet one that leads to surprisingly similar conclusions. A violinist and composer raised in a family of musicians from the Low Beskids, he spent years co-creating Kapela Maliszów. Traditional music was thus a living language from his earliest childhood. Over time, jazz began to weave its way into his artistry. ‘Generally speaking, jazz emerged quite organically for me,’ he recalled. He recognized that traditional music and jazz are bound not only by freedom, but above all by a shared ‘philosophy of playing’ in which improvisation plays a central role.

For Malisz, Polish violin tradition is ‘a profound inspiration and a vast treasure.’ He is particularly drawn to the rubato of the oberek and the rhythmic groove of the mazurka, translating them into the realm of jazz harmony and original compositions. Możdżer views Polish tradition through an equally intriguing lens, recalling that Chopin himself drew heavily from folk music, and that collective playing rooted in tradition can serve as the launchpad for creating something entirely new.

Piano and violin. Jazz, traditional music, classical tradition, and improvisation. Two generations and two distinct paths converging in the conviction that the most compelling music refuses to stay within known boundaries. This new joint project by Leszek Możdżer and Kacper Malisz is born from precisely such an encounter. And since, as Możdżer reminds us, ‘music is created by people,’ its ultimate form is best experienced where it truly comes alive – on stage.