bassist, composer, teacher, writer, record producer and record company owner/executive.
Born 29 June 1960 in Gdańsk, graduate of Jazz and Popular Music Department at The Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, a son of jazz and pop composer and arranger Leszek Bogdanowicz.
DEBUT AND EARLY CAREER
Mariusz debuted In 1978 in his home town’s flagship Gdańsk Big Band (until 1981) and local jazz combos (Time Quartet).
He co-founded the famous Heavy Metal Sextet (1982-1984) awarded the first prize at Jazz Juniors ‘82 festival/contest, Key to Career trophy at The Pomeranian Jazz Autumn ’82, first prize at Festival International de Jazz ‘83 in Dunkirk (France), and second prize at International Jazz Contest for Youth Orchestras Jazz Hoeilaart’ 83 ‘(Belgium).
BANDLEADER
In 1991 he formed his first band, Mariusz Bogdanowicz Quartet, which released three albums: Back to the Bass (1995), Confiteor Song (2001) and Syntonia (2013).
The band plays its leader’s compositions. It’s the music of well articulated melodies, wide sound-space, and powerful emotional charge. Despite its identity in the jazz idiom, it is deeply rooted in the European musical culture. MBQ current program is entitled SYNTONIA and it also features Adam Wendt – ts, ss; Miłosz Wośko / Paweł Tomaszewski – p, kb; Sebastian Frankiewicz – dr.
2012 saw the launch of Mariusz’s new project, Przy Tobie [Next to You] of his songs with lyrics by prominent poets, incl. Wojciech Młynarski, Andrzej Poniedzielski, Jan Wołek, Marek Gaszyński, Justyna Holm, Wojciech Ziembicki and Maria Przybysz.
FEATURED SOLOIST
For over twenty years Mariusz has been the court bass player of great pianist/composer/leader Włodzimierz Nahorny (Nahorny Trio, Nahorny Sextet, Śpiewnik Nahornego [Nahorny’s Songbook]).
He’s also shared stage and studio with Ewa Bem, Lora Szafran, Urszula Dudziak, Edyta Geppert, Hann Banaszak, Wojciech Karolak, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Andrzej Jagodziński, Sławomir Kulpowicz, Andrzej Kurylewicz, Zbigniew Preisner, Jarosław Śmietana, Wiesław Pieregorólka, Jacek Kaczmarski, Marek Bałata, Krzysztof Herdzin, Janusz Strobel, David Gołoszczokin, Sergiey Davidov, Richard Ross, Michelle Hendrix, Deborah Brown, and Bill Molenhof. He performed in Stanislaw Tym’s theatrical production Kobieta z widokiem na taras [A Woman with a View of the Terrace] .
WRITER
Mariusz is also a contributing writer to Jazz Forum monthly, for which he interviewed Włodzimierz Nahorny, Wojciech Karolak, Maciej Sikała, Piotr Lemański, Krzysztof Herdzin, and Jacek Niedziela-Meira. The first two have been the lengthiest interviews ever published by JF magazine. He also reviews records and concerts for Jazz Forum .
Since 2004 he has broadcast his own radio show Jazz Travels (Jazz Radio, Radio Jazz.FM).
He writes a column for TopGuitar monthly.
TEACHER
Since 2006 he’s taught the double bass and bass guitar class, as well as instrumental ensembles, at the Faculty of Arts of Maria Curie- Sklodowska University in Lublin, where he is an assistant professor.
In March 2012 The Council of Instrumental Music Department of The Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz granted Mariusz Bogdanowicz the Doctor of Arts degree for dissertation: Double bass multivocality and role in the contemporary jazz band.
In 2005 he was awarded The Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.
RECORD PRODUCER
Mariusz produces records and releases them in Confiteor record company, which he owns and manages.
COMPOSER
Mariusz Bogdanowicz’s music and his double bass playing draw from sources also outside the jazz idiom.
They can be hardly pigeonholed and set into a stylistic framework, they are expressive, sometimes lyrical, restrained and reflective. Mariusz is an instrumentalist with his own original sound.
Design photo: Natalia Wierzbicka - Lubelski Magazym LAJF, Piotr Gruchała, Paweł Waga
