Rafal Rokicki Trio
Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF
Music
Press
"The choice of Rokicki to open the series turned to be an incredible success. (...) Rokicki is a gifted artist of a well-mastered technique and ideas. He seems to prefer an aesthetic of romanticism. He played focused, gently choosing nicely sounding chords and skilfully shaping moods shifting smoothly from piano to forte." - Jazz Forum Magazine 4/5 2011
"Rafał Rokicki has a subtle style of playing, great sensitivity and the ability to create the mood. (...) It seems that on the Polish jazz scene there appeared a jazz pianist of a great potential." - Jazz Forum Magazine 03/2011
"The most beautiful jazz phrases emerge when there is no obvious chase after notes, when the technical eloquence of a pianist is equally important as his creative sensitivity. The music of Rafal Rokicki is one shapely creation in which there is no crazy harmonic passages, but because of that it forms the sound which should be associated with the grace and elegance of jazz. It is not a cocktail jazz and fast keyboard arpeggios so often offered by young pianists, who unconsciously play with phrases by Corea, Jarrett or Rubalcaba. Rafal has a good technique and a great potential of musical, jazzy associations. He has fun with music! And this is the shortest way to artistic fulfillment." - arguments his choice Dionizy Piatkowski. - Dionizy Piątkowski - Era Jazzu Festival
"They have enchanted the audience with a Chopin's lyricism, scandinavian minimalism and a beautiful elegant sound." - Jazz Forum
“(…) I heard two artists who have stayed with me: Rafal Rokicki, a pianist who transformed short kernels of thought into thunderous declamations, in lock step with his trio mates and..."" - Jeff Levenson - affiliations include posts at Half Note, Sony, Warner Bros, Downbeat and Billboard
Discography
2014 - Rafał Rokicki Trio "Chopin Revisited" - LP
2011 - "Litttle Story For K." Rafal Rokicki (Era Jazzu) - Single
2010 - "Winter's Night" Rafal Rokicki (Ellyah Music) - Single
2009 - "G.H.R." Rafal Rokicki Trio (Ellyah Music) - LP
2009 - "Violet River" Kasia Rokicka (Ellyah Music) - LP
Photos
Bio
Rafał Rokicki is a Polish pianist, composer and arranger. His music is characterised by beautiful sound, gentle but forceful touch and rich dynamics.
His captivating performances enchant with his melodic visual compositions that combine lyrical scandinavian jazz with the slavic romanticism and modern perception of third stream jazz.
Rokicki is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston (2008) where he received a prestigious Jazz Performance Award (2008).
In 2009 he came back to Poland and since then he has been noticed and awarded at numerous festivals: Summer Jazz Festival in Cracow on Piwnica Pod Baranami (2012), the Era Jazzu Festival (2011), Krokus Jazz Festival (2010), Jazz Forum Festival "Ci Na Których Liczymy" (2009), Jazz Improvizacija in Vilnius (2010, 2011), Novum Jazz Festival in Łomża (2009); won the "Key to Career" at Jazz Celebrations in Gorzów Wielkopolski (2010) and was awarded the II prize at the Krzysztof Komeda Composers Competition in Słupsk (2009). In 2008, together with Beklee graduates Zak Croxall and Thomas Hartman, Rokicki recorded his debut album "G.H.R", which was warmly received by the listeners both in the US and Poland. Rokicki's arrangements repeatedly reached the top of the charts of Ourstage Music (Visit: http://www.ourstage.com/profile/rafalrokicki ) as well as have been presented in jazz radios.
Rokicki has performed in Poland and overseas (US, Spain, Germany, Lithuania and Finland). He has been playing mainly his own compositions with many jazz talents of young generation as Rafał Rokicki Trio, yet he sometimes performs solo concerts as well as he collaborates with a vocalist Kasia Rokicka.
In 2014, the pianist teamed with Michał Kapczuk (double bass) and Paweł Dobrowolski (drums).
Together as Rafał Rokicki Trio, they recorded his second album "Chopin Revisited" which presents Rokicki's arrangements of the music by Chopin.
The CD is released by Ellyah Music and distributed by CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon etc...
Apart from being a performing, recording musician, Rokicki writes visual music that constitutes a perfect material for audio-visual synchronisation. His compositions create a unique mood, which perfectly enhances the visual experience.
Band Members
Links
