David Dorůžka, Piotr Wyleżoł and Jeff Ballard performed together in trio for the first time in spring 2021 at the invitation of the Brno Jazz Festival. The musicians were eager to explore and discover new sonic possibilities inspired by the stylistic diversity of contemporary jazz and other genres of today's musical world. With this in mind, new music was written for this occasion by all three members of the band.
The first performance of the band was recorded by the Czech Television as part of JazzFestBrno and it was followed by a one day - six hour recording session at Studio on Orlí Street in Brno, which led to the creation of the album "Andromeda's Mystery". The sound of the band is a mixture of the old and the new. Apart from the acoustic piano and drums and electric guitars, it relies heavily on analog electronic instruments and the power of simple melodies and intricate grooves, evoking at times the fierce energy of rock music and at other times intricate patterns of acoustic jazz. Together the musicians create a unique synthesis of sounds and moods that characterizes the sonic world of today. Together they set forth to explore uncharted territories, eagerly searching for the key to Andromeda's Mystery.
The playing of both Dorůžka and Wyleżoł is characterized by its Slavic melodicism and lyricism, which are combined with Ballard's lively rhythmic energy. The album contains eight tracks, half of which were composed by David Dorůžka, three original pieces contributed by Piotr Wyleżoł and the playlist is completed by one older track from the pen of Jeff Ballard. The presence of an experienced drummer was also an inspiration for Dorůžka. "I thought that since we were playing with Jeff, I had to come up with at least some rhythmic challenge for us and for him. I've been studying certain rhythmic issues for some time now, and I thought it would be interesting to use them in Andromeda's Mystery, so that the mystery was already in the rhythm. The composition is a bit tricky, but I'll leave it to the listeners to find their way around it", says the Czech guitarist looking back at the creation of the title track.
Musicians
Piotr Wyleżoł
Grand Piano, Fender Rhodes, Moog, Prophet Piotr Wyleżoł is an outstanding, multi-award winning Polish jazz pianist, composer, band leader. One of the most creative and important jazz musician on the Polish jazz scene. His last album as a leader, “Human Things” was released in March 2018 by the most important and legendary series in Polish jazz history, “Polish Jazz”. Piotr was born December 6th, 1976. As a child he was already winning awards at national piano competitions in Poland and playing concerts with a classical repertoire. At 10 and 11 years old, he performed Mozart and Beethoven piano concertos with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Rybnik, Poland. As a student, Piotr started to co-operate with legends of Polish jazz like Janusz Muniak, or Jarek Smietana, and was also a laureate of numerous international jazz competitions and festivals. Piotr Wyleżoł is regularly performing all over the world with his own music, and also many great artists. In the course of his presence on the professional jazz stage thus far, he has had occasion to work with a number of its leading figures, including Gary Bartz, Billy Hart, Nigel Kennedy, Dayna Stephens, Stephen Riley, Bennie Maupin, Janis Siegel, Ed Schuller, Antymos Apostolis, Urszula Dudziak, Adam Pierończyk, Tomasz Szukalski, Tomasz Stańko, Mika Urbaniak, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, and many others. Until today he recorded 9 albums as leader and several dozen with other artists. His last Trio album: “Children's Episodes” released by Fresh Sound Records label, was nominated for a Fryderyk Award (Poland's equivalent of a Grammy Award), in the Jazz Album of The Year category. Since 2007 Piotr Wyleżoł has been leading the Jazz Piano Class at the Krakow Academy of Music, where currently as a professor he is the Head of Jazz Department.
David Dorůžka
Guitar Often lauded as one of the leading figures of the Czech jazz scene, David Dorůžka has been active as a professional musician from the age of 14, having played concerts all over the world, collaborated with many of today’s leading musicians, and having spent extensive periods in the cities of New York and Paris. In the past seasons Dorůžka has been busy performing in France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland and other countries. He has studied composition and improvisation at Berklee College of Music in Boston and is the winner of three Czech Anděl awards for his jazz albums Hidden Paths, Silently Dawning, Autumn Tales. He has appeared with the likes of Lizz Wright, Kendrick Scott, Dan Tepfer, George Mraz, Jorge Rossy, Chris Cheek, Arild Andersen, Django Bates, Hilmar Jensson, Bill McHenry, Jon Fält, Marcin Wasilewski, Aga Zaryan, Iva Bittová and others to name a few.
Jeff Ballard
Drums Jeff Ballard's musical journey was born through the influence of musical legends from Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and Antonio Carlos Jobim to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. Exposure to many genres of music and the types of playing required for each allowed him to develop his foundation and understanding of music and planted the seeds from which his own diverse approach to playing has grown. From 1988-1990 he toured with Ray Charles for eight months each year, honing his sense of rhythm and tempo. In 1990, Ballard moved to New York City and became part of a rapidly expanding music scene, beginning to collaborate with artists who blended the jazz tradition with other styles, from Middle Eastern rhythms to electronica and hip hop. As a result, Ballard played with major musicians including Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Brad Mehldau. He is currently active with the Brad Mehldau Trio, the FLY collective (featuring Mark Turner, Ballard and Larry Grenadier) and his own groups The Jeff Ballard Trio and Jeff Ballard Fairgrounds. In 2014, The Jeff Ballard Trio with Lionel Louek and Miguel Zenon released their debut album Time's Tales on Sony/OKeh Records. In 2019, the Jeff Ballard Fairgrounds released their debut album, Fairgrounds, on Edition Records.