Michał Zadara All Stars Dansing Band

What happens when extraordinary artists play wedding party music? The All Stars Dansing Band will play Polish dance party classics – Elvis, Paul Anka, Peter Szczepanik or Wojciech Gąsowski, making art of what thousands of wedding bands call just another job. The band's leader and guitarist is director Michał Zadara, winner of the prestigious Paszport award, famous for his 13-hour long unabridged rendition of Dziady, a Polish Romantic classic. The band's singer is Sean Palmer, composer and conductor, the creator of the experimental choir GreBadanie, the resident artist of the Polin Museum. The band also includes clarinetist Wacław Zimpel, one of the greatest European jazz musicians, leader of numerous bands playing contemporary jazz; Jacek Szymkiewicz, leader of the legendary Polish band Pogodno and the author of theatre music, on piano; Leszek Lorent – an outstanding interpreter of Iannis Xenakis – on drums; and Ksawery Wójciński, double-bassist for magnificent contemporary European jazz projects, on double-bass.

All those artists came together to play songs that usually can be heard at wedding parties. Not to parody them, or to remix them, but to emphasize their peculiar beauty. They want to play them without irony, as beautifully as they can. And because most of the band consists of truly great musicians (although the team leader is an amateur), this beauty is sometimes surprising and moves listeners in unexpected ways.

All Stars Band Dansing plays rarely, but over the years it has collected a faithful multigenerational audience.

We have a variety of audiences - says Michal Zadara – I have never seen such a mixed audience. Our shows in Saski Park brought pensioners who just came to dance; hipsters who see the peak of irony in our lack of irony and serious listeners who want to hear great musicians in a completely different context. Once, when we played at a club, only three people came: legendary composer Krzysztof Knittel, great jazzman Krzysztof Sadowski, head of the Jazz Jamboree festival, and director Barbara Wysocka. It was the most sophisticated audience in the world! 

All Stars Dansing Band recently played for Aden Kebab customers and for art dealers at an art fair. The great success was the performance at a fashion show by Gosia Baczyńska where everyone – including Gosia Baczyńska herself – failed to realize that this was not a regular wedding band from the town of Siedlce.

Line-up:

• Guitar - Michal Zadara
• Vocals - Sean Palmer
• Clarinet - Waclaw Zimpel
• Piano - Jacek Budyń
• Drums - Leszek Lorent
• Double bass - Ksawery Wójciński

Free admission.