Slavic Touch from the Heart of Europe but to Freely Draw on Each of Them, in the Hope of finding One of Her Own
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Anna Maria Jopek - composer, arranger and singer with respectful, honorable carrier has sold one million records and collaborated with the most outstanding musicians - Pat Metheny, Bobbi Mc Ferrin, Ivan Lins, Youssou N'Dour, Makoto Ozone, Richard Bona and others. AMJ has been faithful to Polish musical tradition since her very first album and all along her solo career. As AMJ says: 'music itself has always been my prime concern. It is the great challenge to face the audience that does not understand Polish and does not know me at all. It's a lesson in humility, in sheer communication through sound. We can win, we can fail, but we have to be absolutely honest and pure when it comes to making music.' For seventeen years Anna Maria Jopek studied classical music. At the same time, at home was surrounded by traditional music, her parents being active in Poland's famous folk ensemble Mazowsze. However, AMJ decided to bestow her affection on jazz, with its wide-ranging scope, its openness to so many diverse influences, with the constant intimate dialogue between performing musicians that it entails. And finally it happened. Anna Maria Jopek Today AMJ chooses not to belong to any of these worlds, Slavic Touch from the Heart of Europe but to freely draw on each of them, in the hope of finding one of her own. ’Just thirty seconds of Anna’s tune belong to the most beautiful music I’ve heard in months’ ‘Anna is original, unique, different. She’s brace, she’s modest, she’s open. She’s a great musician. What she’s been doing all her life is just trying to play the best notes. Trying to sound good. In that particular sense, she’s a lot like me and that’s why I decided to work with her. Because she just cares for the music.’ - Pat Metheny (said at the press conference when their album „Upojenie” went gold on the day of its release). 'Please do not file my music under jazz', Anna Maria Jopek says, though. ‘Nor under pop, folk... whatever. I embrace a lot of influences. Jazz is by far the most important in its freedom, its harmony and its sense of time but I was brought up with the old Polish folk songs. So I'm kind of rooted here in all these Slavic landscapes and sounds. Anna Maria Jopek collaborated with giants of music such as: Pat Metheny, Brandford Marsalis, AMJ & Brandford Marsalis Oscar Castro Neves, Bobby McFerrin, Youssou N’Dour, AMJ & Oscar Castro-Neves Nigel Kennedy, Chris Botti, Makoto Ozone, Richard Bona, AMJ & Christian McBride Mino Cinelu, AMJ & Pat Metheny Christian McBride, Gil Goldstein, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, AMJ & Tord Gustavsen, Richard Bona Tomasz Stańko AMJ & Youssou N'dour Manu Katche, Ivan Lins, Sara Tavares, AMJ & Camane, Makoto Ozone Tito Paris, Paulo de Carvalho, Dhafer Youssef. AMJ & Chris Botti AMJ & Bobby McFerrin AMJ performed in the greatest international venues like: Cornegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Blue Note Tokyo, Royal festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, The Israel Opera in Tel Aviv Tokyo Opera City Apart from that, she was a guest of many festivals in Austria, Spain, France, Germany, South Korea, Italy, UK, Sweden, Turkey or Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Russia. International press about Anna Maria Jopek: "Jopek’s voice is like a drug I could have taken all night.” Fest (Scotland, 2014) "Haiku - My best album 2012” Jazz Life Japan magazine (Japan, 2013) “Jopek’s jazz fusion hypnotized the audience in Guanajuato” Milenio (Mexico, 2012) „The artist from Poland has charmed the audience of Durango with her talent and strong personality.” EL SIGLO (Mexico, 2012) I treat music as an energy carrier. A concert must be a form of communication. When you stand on the stage and listen to your audience honestly, you just know how the music should flow - Jopek tells the Taipei Times. (2015) Her music (...) is a unique combination of Jazz and World Music (Jazz-World Fusion), incorporating a vast scope of musical influences like Polish folklore, Brazilian Bossa Nova, African chanting and of course the European Classical tradition. It doesn’t take a genius to realize by now that I loved the concert every possible way. The Jerusalem Post (Israel, 2007) 12 brilliant albums in just 10 years are surely an awe-inspiring record for even a most accomplished musician. jazzis.com about ID album (2007) Despite her intense interaction with the audience in Indonesian, it was her music that brought everyone to a standing ovation, a just appreciation for a breathtaking performance. The Jakarta Post (Indonesia, 2009) When most people think of Polish music. they think of Chopin. But I have just done an album, Polanna, where we tried to find the essence of Polish soul in music. In one sentence, Polish music is a curious mix of wrath and melancholy. AMJ in The Irish Times (2011) As beautiful as she is talented, one could easily imagine her choosing a dual career as a model or actress, but Anna singularly focuses on what she feels is most important, the music. JAZZREVIEW.COM (2004) more about Anna Maria Jopek: Anna Maria about more www.annamariajopek.pl 4music Management & Booking TOMASZ GAJEWSKI / mob. +48 602 405 142 / [email protected] PROMO PHOTOS: http://annamariajopek.pl/pub/promo/PHOTOS/ .