Adam Makowicz

Adam Makowicz born Adam Matyszkowicz (August 18, 1940 in Hnojník, during World War II) is a Polish-Canadian pianist and composer living in Toronto. He performs jazz and classical piano pieces, as well as his own compositions. Besides playing solo, he has worked with such musicians as Michał Urbaniak, Tomasz Stanko and Leszek Możdżer, as well as with the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington DC, at the Kennedy Centre, at the Carnegie Hall, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and other major orchestras at concert halls in Americas and in Europe. His technical skills as jazz pianist have been compared to that of Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Errol Garner among others. His specialty in classical piano since his studies in the 1950s has been the music of Chopin.

Biography


Adam Makowicz was born into a family of ethnic Poles in Gnojnik (now in the Czech Republic), in an area annexed by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II (see also: Polish minority in Czechoslovakia). After the war, he was raised in Poland. He studied classical music at the Chopin Conservatory of Music in Kraków. Overcoming cultural restrictions under communism, he developed a passion for modern jazz. At the time, freedom and improvisation were disapproved by the pro-Soviet authorities. Nonetheless, he embarked on a new professional life by switching from the career of a classical pianist to that of a touring jazz pianist. After years of hardship, Makowicz got a regular gig at a small jazz club in a cellar of a house in Kraków. By the mid-1970s, Makowicz established himself as one of the leading pianists in Europe. He was named the "Best jazz pianist" by the readers of "Jazz Forum" magazine, and was awarded a gold medal for his contribution to the arts.

In 1977 Makowicz made a 10-week concert tour of the United States, produced by John Hammond. At that time he recorded a solo album titled "Adam" on CBS. In 1978 he settled in New York. Makowicz was banned from Poland during the 1980s after the Polish regime imposed martial law to crush the Solidarity movement. At that time he took part in Ronald Reagan's initiative called "Let Poland Be Poland," joining many artists and public figures.

During the 2000s, he moved to Toronto, Canada, and continued his career as a concert pianist and recording artist. In the course of his career spanning 40-years, Makowicz performed with major symphony orchestras, such as the National Symphony Orchestra, at the Carnegie Hall, at the Kennedy Centre, and other major concert halls in Americas and in Europe. Eventually he recorded over 30 albums of jazz, popular, and classical music, with his own arrangements of pieces by Chopin, Gershwin, Berlin, Kern, Porter, Rogers, and other composers. Makowicz also wrote and recorded his own compositions for piano.

Makowicz has been building bridges between cultures by his numerous concerts performance and recordings of cross-cultural and cross-style compositions. He performed and recorded music by Chopin and Gershwin with the Warsaw Philharmonic, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony in Washington, London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and other internationally recognized companies. In 1999, in commemoration of 150th anniversary of Chopin's death, Adam Makowicz played his piano tribute to Chopin at the French Embassy in Washington. His interpretations of classical pieces by Chopin and Gershwin are marked by finesse, inventiveness, and extraordinary technical virtuosity.

Instruments

 * Bösendorfer pianos - some live performances in the 1990s and 2000s, some recordings
 * Steinway & Sons pianos - most stage performances with symphony orchestras, and solo from 1950s through the 2000s, some recordings
 * Baldwin pianos - some performances in the USA
 * C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik pianos - live performances and some recordings in Europe
 * Bluthner pianos - some performances in Europe
 * Fazioli pianos - some performances
 * Rhodes electric piano - live recording in Europe
 * Yamaha pianos - some performances and studio recordings

Selected discography

 * 1965  AM trio with Novi Singers Exlibris GC, Zurich Switzerland
 * 1968  Novi in Wonderland Saba SB. West Germany
 * 1968   New Faces in Polish Jazz. Muza. Poland
 * 1973  "Adam Makowicz Unit" Polish Jazz, Vol. 35 Muza. Poland
 * 1975   Live Embers - Adam Makowicz, Piano Muza SX 1218. Poland
 * 1975   Tomasz Stanko & Adam Makowicz Unit JG Records. West Germany
 * 1977   "Adam"  CBS Columbia
 * 1983   "The Name is Makowicz"  live at Sheffield Lab with Phil Woods, Marc Johnson, Bill Goodwin, and Gene Estes
 * 1986   "Moonray"
 * 1987   "Interface"
 * 1993   The Music of Jerome Kern  Concord / Bellaphon, Germany
 * 1993   Live at Maybeck Recital Hall Concord / Bellaphon, Germany
 * 1994    ''My Favorite Things: The Music of Richard Rodgers ) Concord
 * 1997   A Tribute to Art Tatum   VWC Records
 * 1998   Gershwin Bank Slaski. Poland
 * 2000   "Reflections on Chopin" AM Records
 * 2000   Adam Makowicz plays Duke Ellington Musicians Showcase Records. USA
 * 2003   Songs for Manhattan Adam Makowicz, solo piano. USA
 * 2003   "A Tribute to George Gershwin" with the Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana. (DVD) Image Entertainment
 * 2004   Makowich vs Mozdzer at Carnegie Hall Pomaton. EMI.
 * 2006   "From My Field"  Classical music of Chopin, and jazz themes of Gershwin, Berlin, Kern, and Porter.
 * 2007    "Indigo Bliss"  Jaymz Bee / Univesal Music Canada