Jacek Kochan

Jacek Kochan - composer, arranger, producer and percussionist. Graduate of Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow (Master degree). He has studied percussion and vibraphone in Grant Mac Evan College in Edmonton.

In early '80-ties he moved to New York. There he has studied among the others with Jaco Pastorius, Mike Clark, Robbie Gonzales.

By the mid 80s, Jacek moved to Montreal, where he further expanded his musical lexicon to include writing for choirs and orchestra (ENSEMBLE VOCAL TUDOR, REPERCUSSION) as well as playing and recording ethnic music (Latin, African, Balkan). There he worked with Michel Donato, Karen Young, Andrew Leroux, Yannick Rieu, Oliver Jones, Jean-Pierrre Zanella, Michel Cusson, Helmut Lipsky, Lazaro Saucedo, Geoff Lapp, Johnny Scott and many others, perfoming at the clubs and jazz festivals.

In 1990, after moving to Toronto, he started to work as a leader and sideman in countless live and recording projects with artists like John Abercrombie, Jerry Bergonzi, Pat Labarbera, Kenny Wheeler, Don Thompson, Mike Murley, Neil Swainson, Reggie Schwager, Lorne Lofsky, Bernie Senensky, John MacLeod, Dave Restivo and Brian Dickinson.

In 1995 he returned to Europe where he continues to compose, play, tour and record music. He is playing with different music formations such as JACEK KOCHAN & CO., N.A.K. TRIO, ONE EYED-HORSE, AJEE, musiConspiracy, WAGON 8, BERGONZI-KOCHAN-LEMANCZYK TRIO, PAANSORI PROJECT and THIRD OF THREE-PAPERSONUS.

He played number of festivals and concerts of improvised music, jazz and contemporary music (i.e. Internationales Musikinstitut (IMD)-Darmstadt, International Festival of Contemporary Music Warsaw Autumn, Music Electronica Nova, International Drum Festival Drumblys, Festival of Jazz Pianists in Kalisz, Avant Art in Wroclaw, Sibiu Jazz Festival, New New Yorkers Festival, Cracow Audio Art, Warsaw Audio Art, Miedzynarodowy Festiwal Perkusyjny - Zrodla i Inspiracje,Montreal Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Toronto Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival, Edmonton Jazz Festival, Kaunus Jazz Festival, Krakowski Festiwal Kultury Alternatywnej, Warsaw Summer Jazz Days and may others). He played with artists such as Dave Liebman, Gary Thomas, Greg Osby, Uri Caine, Joey Calderazzo, George Garzone, Miroslav Vitous, Palle Mikkelborg, JonBalke, Eddie Henderson, Mark Copland, Uwe Oberg, Nguyen Le, Seamus Blake, Dave Tronzo, Eivind Aarset, Dave Fuczynski, Briggan Krauss, Cuong Vu, Franz Hautzinger, The Syndicate, François Corneloup, Phil Minton, Eric Vloeimans, Bo Stief, Lars Danielsson, Christian Spering, Furio DiCastri, Michel Benita, Uchihashi Kazuhisa, Jakob Dinesen, Adam Simmons, Tellef Ogrim, Mats Eilertsen, Klaus Dickbauer, Axel Dorner, Skerik, Tomasz Stanko, Gianni Gebbia, Gavin Ahearn, Petter Eldh, Fabrizio Brusca, Mauro Schiavone, Stefano d’Anna, Zbigniew Namyslowski, Leszek Mozdzer, Iva Bitova, Jarek Smietana, Michael Markus, Joe Fonda and Eddie Schuller.

In 2006, during International Festival of Contemporary Music Warsaw Autumn, Jacek has presented 30 min composition for small wind ensemble, quartertone trumpet, electronics, live electronics, percussion, trash percussion and small choir. Later that year, he performed his new composition for solo percussion, trash percussion and electronics, to be followed by composition for trumpet , drums and live electronics. By the end of 2006, he composed music for spectacle of the movement theater AKT called “Garden of pleasures” and the music score for Italian silent movie “Railways”, later in 2008 music for contemporary dance production “Niewidzialna”, “Surrogates” oraz Sulla via dell’immortalita - On the way to immortality (premiera - Berlin, maj 2011).

During the third edition of Musica Electronica Nova he presented his new project Papersonus, featured unique instrument: papersonix plus electronics and two pianos . He is also quite active, participating as performer in other projects like contemporary opera, by Cezary Duchnowski, “Marta’s garden”(world premiere, September 2010, Warsaw Autum Festival) and “Monada 5”. He was featured as a soloist, performing with Radio Symphonic Orchestra in Warsaw and with MOM Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra in New York, in “Course J” by Boguslaw SCHAEFFER and “Lipps” by Krzysztof Knittel. In project Chopin Around Ensamble, he contributes 6 variations of F.Chopin’s preludes is (world premiere , April 2010 in Vienna). In 2013 he wrote music for LUTOSL trio project, which was based on Witold Lutoslawski’s compositions.

Jacek has toured whole Europe, Azjia and North America.

Jacek has recorded 17 CDs as a leader: "Visitor" feat. Pat Labarbera, "Corporate highlanders", "Gray angel", "Standard transmission" feat. John Abercrombie, "Tomorrow's dreams", "Alberta" feat. Kenny Wheeler, "Our standards" feat. Joey Calderazzo, "Plastinated black sheep" feat. Adam Pieronczyk, Eddie Schuller, "Monorain" feat. Andre Leroux, Jean Pierre Zanella, "Double life of a chair" feat. Palle Mikkekborg, Dave Tronzo, "Another blowfish" feat. Michel Donato, Piotr Wojtasik, Eric Vloeimans), "New expensive head" feat. Cuong Vu, Eivind Aarset, Skerik), “One eyed horse” feat. Greg Osby, Franz Hautzinger, "Yearning" feat. Uschihashi Kazuhisa, Franz Hautzinger, Francois Corneloup, Adam Simmons, Slawek Jaskulke, “Man of no words” feat. Gary Thomas, “Filing the profile” feat. George Garzone, “Ruth, send an sms” with Franz Hautzinger and Uschihashi Kazuhisa . “Three point shot” feat. Jerry Bergonzi, “Amhran” feat. Seamus Blake,“What’s wrong with now?”Clementine Gasser, Tellef Ogrim, “Third of three” with Dominik Wania and Mauro Schiavone, “The other side of if” with N.A.K. trio.

He recorded many more CD’s as a sideman (Eddie Henderson, Seamus Blake, Tellef Ogrim, Tomasz Stanko, Eddie Schuller, Zbigniew Namyslowski, Jarek Smietana, Miroslav Vitous, Helmut Lipsky, Michel Donato, Karen Young). Show less