Winners of both the "Azoty Tarnow International Jazz Contest 2012" (Kenny Garret; head judge) and the prestigious 36th "Jazz Juniors" Competition. Critics often note the group`s mature sound and unique musical language. Group improvisation is emphasized in high-energy original compositions which draw from jazz tradition, the Avante-Garde, Groove and more modern musical forms and styles. The group is planning to release their first album this spring/summer 2013.
"N S I presents a wealth of musical ideas, executed with great maturity and technique, displaying their own distinctive musical language firmly rooted in the best of modern jazz."
Mateusz Magierowski, www.jazzarium.pl
"Mike Parker grinds out thick bass lines, not shying away from repetitive grooves, while Dawid Fortuna is all fire on the drums. Prucnal (sax) and Baszynski (trumpet) race through the air with the lightness of flight, in a mutual embrace and dance. Together, they create a very mature sound..."
Jakub Sokołowski, www.jazzsoul.pl
CYPRIAN BASZYŃSKI
Born in Dubrovnik, Croatia into a musical family, Cyprian Baszynski moved to Poland at the age of 8. After beginning his studies on classical trumpet, Baszynski switched to jazz after completing his first year at the Music Acadamy in Gdansk and is a current student in the Department of Jazz and Contemporary Music at the Academy of Music in Krakow. In addition to winning the Grand Prix at both the 5th Azoty International Jazz Contest and the 36th edition of the festival "Jazz Juniors" with N S I , he is also the winner of the 8th Meeting of Jazz Musicians in Dalachow competition with his band Often Hide.
He has collaborated with theaters such as S.I. Witkiewicz in Zakopane, J. Slowacki in Krakow, and A. Mickiewicz in Czestochowa and played alongside musicians such as Marcin Pospieszalski, Piotr Baron, Frank Parker, Joachim Mencel, Wojciech Groborz, Jan Pilch, Maciej Adamczak, Marcin Ślusarczyk, as well as with the Zbigniew Namysłowski Big Band. In addition to N S I , Baszynski currently participates in several ensembles, including Mike Parker`s Unified Theory.
BARTEK PRUCNAL
Originally from Debica, Bartek Prucnal is a student at the Music Academy in Kraków in the Jazz and Modern Music Department. He has collaborated with many highly esteemed bands and musicians including Leszek Żądło, Wojciech Groborz, the Zbigniew Namysłowski Big Band, Jarek Śmietana, Michał Urbaniak. He is a current member of the Krakow-based quintet New Bone and international jazz project Mike Parker`s Unified Theory.
DAWID FORTUNA
Dawid Furtuna attended high school in Bydgoszcz at the Artur Rubinstein Music School where he studied under Mirosław Żyta. He has a Master`s degree in Classical and Jazz Music from the Academy of Music in Kraków. In addition to his awards as a member of N S I , he has won individual distinction awards at both Jazz nad Odrą (2008) and Jazz Juniors (2012) and the Grand Prix as a member of PeGaPoFo at Jazz Juniors (2011).
One of the most in-demand drummers on the Polish jazz scene, he is a member of New Bone, Pawel Kaczmarczyk Audiofeeling Band, and Mike Parker`s Unified Theory. In addition, he has performed with Janusz Muniak, Tomasz Stańko, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Leszek Możdżer, Adam Pierończyk, Joachim Mencel, Wojciech Groborz, Dominik Wania, Sebastian Bernatowicz, Wojciech Karolak, Aga Zaryan, Jerzy Małek.
MICHAEL PARKER
At the age of 26, Mike Parker has already toured all over Europe and America with both jazz and rock bands, won several international contests and awards, studied with and played with some of the greatest musicians alive, and recorded 2 albums of his own compositions.
A native of New York, Mike began playing music seriously at the age of 14 when his older brother, also a musician, put an electric bass in his hands. By the time he was 17, he was leading his own band, playing funk and rock gigs in New York City clubs, and teaching private music lessons. Around this time, Mike began playing the double bass after being inspired by the music of Charles Mingus and other jazz greats.
Mike attended Skidmore College where he studied Evolutionary Psychology and Music and spent a semester abroad studying Jazz Bass at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. While studying at Skidmore, in addition to playing in orchestra, string ensemble, big band, small jazz ensemble, and working on his own musical projects, Mike began playing professionally with the school’s professors and the area’s best veteran jazz musicians. He also had the opportunity to study with some of the world’s greatest bassists (Scott Colley, Reid Anderson, Reubin Rogers) and perform with some of the world’s greatest jazz musicians including John Scofield, Chris Potter, and Eric Harland. Upon graduating with Highest Honors in 2010, Mike received the Joseph Garrison Parker Prize for excellence in both science and the arts and was given a Periclean Award for his outstanding senior project, a concert featuring both free improvisation and original compositions.
After graduating, Mike spent a year in New York’s Capital Region playing with the area’s best musicians, including as a member of the Brian Patneaude Quartet (Metroland magazine poll’s ‘Best Jazz Group’ 2009-2011), and recording his first album as a leader (‘Prelude’) before deciding to move to Europe. After traveling extensively around the continent Mike settled in Krakow, Poland where he discovered a young and vibrant jazz scene. Over the next two years, Mike had many fruitful collaborations there, including recording his second album of original material (‘Embrace the Wild) and winning 2 international jazz contests (2012 Tarnow International Jazz Competition and the 2012 Jazz Juniors International Jazz Competition) as a member of N.S.I.
Currently, Mike calls both New York City and Krakow home when he is not on tour. He performs on both upright and electric bass as a member of several touring groups including the ‘Nat Osborn Band’, ‘Arctica’, and his own ‘Mike Parker’s Unified Theory’ and ‘Mike Parker’s Trio Theory’.
N S I Quartet
Cyprian Baszyński - trumpet
Bartek Prucnal - saxophones
Dawid Fortuna - drums
Michael Parker - double bass
Free entrance.
