2010 All Soul's Day Jazz Festival

This year was the 12th annual version of this event and saw performers and fans delayed by a bomb scare which closed the expressway for nearly an hour and a half. Delayed in traffic, I arrived too late to hear what I understand was an exceptional set of music from 25-year-old pianist Pawel Kaczmarczyk and his Autofeeling band, but I was able to catch the talented young pianist in action with the excellent Polish-born, NYC-based guitarist Rafal Sarnecki and was impressed with both the musicality and compositions of these two rising stars and their bandmates. Producing intelligent, yet melodic music with a strong European current, these artists will bear watching in the years ahead.

Below on the basemant stage, bassist Krzysztof Pabian, guitarist Luciano Antonio and percussionist Heitor Garcia perfromed some well-played Brazilian numbers and were joined by veteran vocalist Neusa Sauer for an enjoyable set.

On the main stage, vocalist Agnieszka Iwanska and her talented band entertained the crowd with a nice mixture of songs from her recent release, All That I Am and surprising standards like "Black Coffee." This fine singer's confidence seems to grow with every gig and it is a true pleasure to see her blossoming and truly coming into her own.

Prior commitments forced me to leave at this juncture, but I can assure you that I am already anticipating next year's event.