Joanna Duda Trio

Joanna Duda Trio “Fumitsuke”

(PL) 

Polish keyboardist Joanna Duda is an improviser with astonishing technical gifts, but she resists efforts to define and limit the world of sound that lives in her imagination. She embraces a deep stylistic mobility, moving easily between post-bop, contemporary music, film scores, and ambient traditions. Duda is not interested in staying in only one lane, and her career has thus far been defined by her own brand of freedom. At the same time, there is no denying her mastery of post-bop tradition when she works as a side person, such as her long-time membership in the band led by bassist Wojtek Mazolewski. Duda shines on his recent album “Spirit to All”, both through her imaginative solos and the way she helps direct the proceedings.

The duo she brings to Berlin, with bassist Ksawery Wójciński and drummer Michał Bryndal, offers a complete portrait of her vast talents. The group’s celebrated 2021 album “Fumitsuke” presents listeners with a cornucopia of approaches, all stemming from the keyboardist’s restlessly creative practice. Her nimble band serves up elastic grooves that can accommodate stretches of ambient sound, corkscrewing, contrapuntal passages, and furiously swinging expanses. She routinely complements her piano technique with electric keyboards and synthesizers, consistently widening an already broad sonic template.