At 33 Leszek Mozdzer (pronounced LESH-ek MAWZH-jer - i.e., "jer" as in "her") has recorded over 30 CDs. Not yet widely known in the U.S., he was introduced to the American audience in two "bouts" with Adam Makowicz in a "clash of the champions" at Carnegie Hall in September, 2004, and a day later in a solo performance at the Jazz Gallery. The reception at both performances was wildly enthusiastic. Jazz Gallery founder Dale Fitzgerald applauded Mozdzer by exclaiming before his audience, "You are a baaad mother******!" Born in 1971, Leszek Mozdzer has been playing the piano since he was five, graduating from the Stanislaw Moniuszko Conservatory in Gdansk in 1996. He considers that his true development began with his founding of the Milosc ("Love") Band in 1991, whereupon he began receiving major citations and awards on an annual basis, including the Krzysztof Komeda Prize in 1992, First Prize at the International Jazz Improvisation Competition in Katowice in 1994, the Fryderyk Prize in 1998 for Jazz Musician of the Year, as well as many citations in the magazine Jazz Forum, including nominations six times as Best Pianist between 1993 and 1998. During the six years in which Mozdzer led Milosc, it became the most popular jazz group in Poland, recording six albums, including two with the American trumpeter, Lester Bowie. At the same time he was also a star attraction of the Zbigniew Namyslowski Quartet, and has performed with many other outstanding Polish jazz musicians, like Tomasz Stanko (Farewell to Mary), Janusz Muniak (One and Four), Michael Urbaniak (Live in Holy City), and Piotr Wojtasik (Lonely Town, Quest). He has also collaborated with such international stars as Arthur Blythe, Buster Williams, Billy Harper, Joe Lovano, and Archie Shepp. Mozdzer has recorded 30 CDs, including four under his own name, the best known of which is Chopin Impressions. At the prestigious Piano Festival in Chartres, his jazz interpretations of Chopin's pieces received a standing ovation. The CDs Talk to Jesus in 1996 and Living in Sofia in 1997 were both voted Album of the Year by Jazz Forum readers. Leszek Mozdzer has given concerts throughout virtually all of Europe and Central Asia, as well as Brazil and Canada, has been a regular collaborator on film scores and has composed music for theater including a "trans-opera" based on Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and an adaptation of Tuwim's poetry, "Mandarins and Oranges", in a jazz-rock mode. He has worked with pop- and rock-artists and been known to consort with hip-hoppers. Mozdzer plays solo piano as part of this year's Oscar-winning score by Jan A.P. Kaczmarek for the highly acclaimed film, Finding Neverland, starring Johnny Depp as Peter Pan author James Barrie. On March 2, 2005, the "Makowicz vs. Mozdzer" "bout" was repeated at Warsaw's National Philharmonic Hall in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Poland's national film archives, during which Mozdzer also provided live piano accompaniment for a selection of historic silent films. And he has just written the music for a Wroclaw Musical Theatre performance called Skat, which premieres in April 2005 and features "skat" singing. Some say that as an improviser on themes by Chopin Leszek Mozdzer is unmatched. What Mozdzer has said about responses to his Chopin Impressions is this: "Yes, there were compliments&. However, for people professionally interested in Chopin, it was an inconvenient record. If [the critics] take money for telling how one should play Chopin, and how one shouldn't play him, and suddenly a dude with jazz interpretations pops up, it is hard for them to know what to say. But I was raised on Chopin, I love him and respect his music." For more information visit Leszek's website: www.mozdzer.com. "Leszek Mo|d|er, one of the greatest piano virtuosos, could easily be dubbed the Star of the East" - Frankfurter Allgemeine "I consider him to be the greatest talent among Polish jazz pianists of recent years" - Zbigniew Preisner "Leszek Mo|d|er is a revelation we have not had for years. The leader has arrived on the stage. And, whether we like it or not, he is already becoming the most distinguished musician of Polish jazz" - Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski
