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Began his artistic career in Poland and abroad while
still a student at the Jazz and Popular Music Department of the Music
Academy in Katowice (19831987). He was then a member of the ONew
Presentation1 Group of Wojciech Niedziela.
At the end of the 1980s he performed with Young Power, taking part in such
prestigious festivals as OJazz and Blues1 in Stockholm, OBerliner Jazz
Tage1 and OMolde Jazz Festival1 in Norway. In 1990 he recorded his debut
cd OPiotr Wojtasik1 (Polonia Records) with the participation of leading
Polish jazzmen (Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Wojciech Niedziela, Andrzej
Cudzich and Eryk Kulm). In the early 1990s he started close collaboration
with the group Quintessence and the ensembles of Krzysztof Popek, flautist
and owner of Power Bros, a company with which he has been associated since.
His second cd OLonely Town1 (recorded with Zbigniew Namys1owski, Jarek
Âmietana, Krzysztof Popek, Maciej Sika1a and Leszek Mo›d›er) was
named the Album of the Year in the 1994 poll of the Jazz Forum magazine.
Highlights of his career have included participation in a week-long
session of ebu1s Big Band in Amsterdam, under the direction of Jerry van
Rooije.
In 1996 he recorded his third cd OQuest1. The recording session,
preceded by a concert tour, brought together three New York musicians:
Billy Harper (saxophone),
member of the Thelonius Monk Quartet, legendary bass player Buster
Williams, and Ben Riley (percussion), as well as Leszek Mo›d›er
(piano) from Poland. On subsequent tours Piotr Wojtasik performed with the
Billy Harper ensemble (alongside Clarence Seay, Newman Taylor Baker and
Francesca Tanksley). He has also collaborated with such stars as
D. Friedman, Ed Schuller, Harwie Swartz, Carter Jefferson, Garry Bartz,
Luis Hayes, David Friesen and Mark Soskin.
In 19972001 he led his own quintet, to which he invited Maciej Sika1a,
S1awomir Kurkiewicz, Krzysztof Dziedzic and Poland1s most famous tenor
saxophone player Tomasz Szukalski. They have performed at all of top jazz
festivals in Poland.
Most recently Wojtasik collaborated with the saxophonist Piotr Baron
(OBogurodzica1 project).
His latest cd OHope1 has been recorded with David Liebman, Ronnie
Burrage, Clarence Seay and Leszek Mo›d›er.
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