Jan Jarczyk

Jan Jarczyk, Polish born pianist, composer and teacher moved to North America in 1977. While in Boston, Mass. he worked with several Boston based musicians and taught harmony and composition from 1980 to 1985 at Berklee College of Music. Over the years he has written a lot of music for various size ensembles-from solo pieces to full size Symphony Orchestra, the likes of which have been performed in Boston, Washington (DC), Chicago, Minneapolis, Montreal, Mainz (Germany), London and Poland.

He has recorded several albums in Montreal as pianist, leader and arranger-composer. One of them, Things To Look For received a nomination for a Félix Award in 1996. Mr. Jarczyk has composed music for The Polish Jazz Studio Orchestra, Polish TV and Radio Networks both in Cracow and Warsaw, music for theaters and has appeared on many records as a member of various Polish Jazz Groups between 1970-1976.

He was the 1974 recipient of the Grand Prix of De Concours D'Improvisation de Piano Jazz in Lyon, France and the Socan award for Best Jazz Composition during the Montreal Jazz Festival in 1999. He has performed in Poland, Germany, the Czech Rep., Hungary, Austria, France, Benelux, Scandinavia, the USA, Japan and Canada. He divided his time between composing performing and attending to his teaching duties as a Professor at McGill University's Faculty of Music. Sadly Jan Jarczyk passed away on August 3, 2014.