About Me
Piotr Baron, born in Wroclaw, Poland in 1961 made his professional jazz debut as a teenager in 1977.In 1978 he was acknowledged as a soloist at the Jazz nad Odra festival in his home town and received a second prize at that festival in 1980.Four years later in 1984 Piotr won a Grand Prize as a soloist at the San Sebastian festival "Jazz Aldia" in Spain.Throughout his successful career Piotr Baron has collaborated with all accomplished jazz musicians from Poland and most of the European countries.Some of the names include Zbigniew Namyslowski, Tomasz Stanko, Henryk Majewski, Henryk Miskiewicz, Jaroslaw Smietana, Wojciech Karolak, Zbigniew Lewandowski, Krzesimir Debski, Janusz Muniak, Tomasz Szukalski, Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz, Piotr Wojtasik, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Bo Stief, Jasper Van't Hof.In 1998 Piotr was featured as a concert master (first alto saxophonist) with the European Broadcasting Union International Big Band 1998 in Stockholm.He has performed with many jazz stars from USA such as: Ray Charles, Art Farmer, Al Porcino, Billy Harper, David Murray, Kevin Mahogany, Victor Lewis, Roy McCurdy, John Hicks, Jon Mayer, Eddie Henderson, Marvin "Smitty" Smith, Carter Jefferson, Bobby Watson, Kei Akagi, Larry Koonse, Joe LaBarbera, Charlie Shoemake, Mark Soskin, Kevin Hays, Billy Hart, Harvie Swartz, David Friesen, Clarence Seay, Ed Schuller, John Betsch, Wadada Leo Smith, Ronnie Burrage, Greg Bandy, Malcolm Pinson, Skip Hadden, Wayne Bartlett, Carlos Johnson, and Karen Edwards.Besides his jazz touring, Piotr performs occasionally with symphonic and chamber orchestras conducted by Jacek Niedziela (soprano saxophone soloist in a symphonic poem "Scenes of Macondo"), Jan Walczynski, Bohdan Jarmolowicz in jazz, pop, classical and contemporary repertoire and with Piotr Wojtasik, playing tenor saxophone and bass clarinet on "Monada" series by Cezary Duchnowski.Piotr Baron is featured as a sideman on more than 60 albums. Some of the recordings include jazz legends as Art Farmer, Eddie Henderson, John Hicks and Victor Lewis. He was also a co-founder and a co-leader of Traveling Birds Quintet along with Piotr Wojtasik, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Kuba Stankiewicz and Cezary Konrad.This cult band recorded two CDs: "Traveling Birds Quintet" (1994) and "Return To the Nest" (1995).As a leader of his own projects, Piotr Baron has released six CDs."Take One" (1995),"Tango" (1996),"Blue Rain" (1997),"Bogurodzica" (2000),"Reference" recorded in New York City (2004) with Eddie Henderson - trumpet, John Hicks - piano, Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz - bass and Victor Lewis - drums,"Salve Regina" recorded in Pasadena, California (2007) with Ishmael "Wadada" Leo Smith - trumpet, Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz - bass and Marvin "Smitty" Smith - drums.For the last 20 years Piotr maintains the highest rankings in the Jazz Forum magazine readers poll as the best tenor and soprano saxophonist, and highly regarded as alto and baritone saxophonist.He was nominated to prestigious Fryderyk Awards as the musician of the year in 2000 and 2004.His solo CD project "Bogurodzica" was nominated to Fryderyk Awards as best jazz album (2000).In honor of his established position at the European music scene, Mr. Baron has been chosen as an endorsee for companies such as "Henri Selmer Paris", "SD Systems Microphones", "Vandoren Paris" and "Kisielewski Cases".Since 1998 Piotr Baron has been working as an educator, teaching saxophone, jazz harmony and improvisation at the Wroclaw School Of Jazz and Popular Music and at the University of Zielona Gora (since 2007) .He has conducted various jazz workshops in the United States at University Of California Irvine, California Institute Of The Arts in Valencia, at the Ankara Bilkent University in Turkey , Prague in Czech Republic, Lwow in Ukraine and annual summer workshop programs in various cities in Poland: Chodziez, Pultusk, Pulawy, Boleslawiec, Leszno, Brzozow and Przemysl. In 2005 Mr. Baron has earned a Master of Fine Arts degree at the Karol Lipinski Academy of Music in Wroclaw. Since 1994 Piotr hosts his own weekly radio jazz show at the Polish Radio Wroclaw. He has been freelancing as a reviewer and publicist for Jazz Forum European Magazine and Diapazon.pl.At the present time, Piotr performs extensively in Europe with his own groups - trio, quartet or quintet and as a featured sideman with top European bands - Piotr Wojtasik Group and Jaromir Honzak Quartet East.
