BIOGRAPHY
Ilona Damięcka – Polish jazz pianist, vocalist and composer.
A graduate of the Faculty of Jazz and Pop Music at the Academy of Music in Katowice. One of the first female pianists who has graduated from the Academy in Wojciech Niedziela’s jazz piano class. A laureate of the Krzysztof Komeda Composers’ Competition in Słupsk in 1999 – third prize for her composition „Bossa for Bosa” with Andrzej Schmidt’s lyrics.
Since her youth Ilona has been developing her musical skills under the tutelage of Wojciech Niedziela, and thus improving her knowledge about harmony, improvisation and jazz styles. A participant of jazz workshops in Puławy and Chodzież conducted by pianists Kuba Stankiewicz, Artur Dutkiewicz, Wojciech Niedziela and Bogdan Hołownia.
At the end of her studies she moved to Cracow, where she started her two-year collaboration with an outstanding saxophonist Janusz Muniak who taught her teamwork. After two years, she decided to change her place of residence and moved to Gdańsk, where she began an fruitful collaboration with local musicians.
Ilona has released five albums so far, two of them with her original compositions: „Hurry up” – Siloe Records, „Fifth Side” – Siloe Records, „Monk’s Midnight”- Hevhetia, „Pieśni Polskie vol. 1”- Tomasz Licak Music. In August 2020, the artist put out her second original album – „Hope” recorded in a trio with Paweł Urowski and Krzysztof Szmańda, and released under the Soliton label.
Ilona Damięcka has collaborated with the most distinguished Polish musicians such as: Janusz Muniak, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Andrzej Cudzich, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Michał Miśkiewicz, Piotr Wojtasik, Maciej Sikała, Andrzej Olejniczak, Marcin i Mateusz Pospieszalscy, Mietek Szcześniak, Natalia Niemen, Mateusz Smoczyński, Piotr Lemańczyk. The list of these wonderful people could go on and on. She also toured with musicians from Denmark and Italy: Richard Anderson, Rasmus Schmidt, Francesca Bertazzo Hart, Helga Plankensteiner, Enrico Tommasini.
Ilona used to sing in the Polish Gospel choir „Trzecia Godzina Dnia” – ( The third hour of the day ) and also with Aleksandra Tomaszewska Big Band at the Sopot Jazz Festival. As the first Polish vocalist and pianist in the history of Polish jazz music, she expertly combines piano playing with singing and performed with the Big Band at the Jazzonalia Festival 2023 in Konin. Ilona Damięcka could be heard during many concert tours and festivals in Poland and abroad.
She is the leader of her own jazz projects : a trio, which she co-creates with Machał Jaros on double bass and Krzysztof Szmańda on drums; a duet and quartet with the outstanding violinist Mateusz Smoczyński; and quintet with Jerzy Małek on trumpet and Maciej Sikała on saxophones.
Damięcka is a versatile artist who, both as a pianist and a vocalist, performs mainstream jazz as well as free jazz. It has been written about her: „beautiful, talented, sensitive, with a warm timbre …”
All photos: Renata Dąbrowska