prof. dr hab. Jacek Meira

Since 1988 he has been a lecturer at the Jazz Department/Institute of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice (of which he is a graduate, 1986 – diploma with distinction in the double bass class of Andrzej Zubek). He runs the double bass class and lectures in Jazz History. Since 2005 he has held the title of Professor at the Academy of Music in Katowice. Between 2002 and 2005 he served as Dean/Director of this Department/Institute. He has educated dozens of graduates – today prominent figures on the Polish jazz scene such as Adam Kowalewski, Sławomir Kurkiewicz, Michał Barański, Tomasz Kupiec, Robert Kubiszyn, Kuba Olejnik, and Maciej Adamczak.

An outstanding jazz double bassist, he was voted Poland’s No. 1 double bassist in Jazz Forum magazine polls in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007. He made his debut in 1982. He has collaborated with renowned U.S. musicians including Eddie Henderson, Art Farmer, John Clayton, Victor Lewis, Bobby Watson, Kevin Mahogany, Mike Mainieri, Deborah Brown, Jack Walrath, and Garrison Fewell, as well as with leading Polish jazz artists: Zbigniew Namysłowski, Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski, Leszek Możdżer, Anna Maria Jopek, Ewa Bem, Urszula Dudziak, Grażyna Auguścik, Lora Szafran, Mieczysław Szcześniak, Piotr Wojtasik, Andrzej Jagodziński, Piotr Baron, Vadim Brodski, and the group “Walk Awal.” He has also led his own ensemble.

He has performed at numerous jazz festivals in Poland and abroad (Copenhagen, Athens, Thessaloniki, Milan, Rome, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington, Oklahoma City, Paris, Istanbul, Ankara, Tel Aviv, Berlin, Cologne, Moscow, Kyiv, Sofia, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Riga, Vienna). He has appeared at the most prestigious jazz clubs, including “Birdland” and “Village Gate” (New York), “Blues Alley” (Washington), “New Morning” (Paris), “Quasimodo” (Berlin), “Montmartre” (Copenhagen), “A-Train” (Berlin), and “Porgy and Bess” (Vienna).

He has made numerous recordings – five original albums (Wooden Soul, Poetycje jazzowe, Sceny z Macondo, Historia roku minionego, and Bassville) and more than 30 as a sideman. His solo album Bassville was nominated for the Fryderyk Award in 2006. He has also participated in many recording sessions for Polish Radio and television programs.

Since 1991 he has been invited to conduct double bass classes and lecture on Jazz History during Jazz Workshops in Puławy, Kraków, and Pułtusk, as well as to serve on juries of jazz competitions such as Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa, Jazz Juniors (Kraków), and Jazzowy Krokus (Jelenia Góra). In June 2007 he was invited to present a solo recital during the World Bass Convention in Oklahoma City, USA.

He is also a lecturer at the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław and a professor at the University of Zielona Góra. He has given guest lectures at the Universities of Louisville (Kentucky) and Cincinnati in the USA.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including First Prize at the Jazz Juniors Competition (Kraków, 1983), the Grand Prix of the International Jazz Federation Competition – Leverkusen 2013 (Germany, 1985), and the Stanisław Wyspiański Young Artists’ Award (1986, 1988). With the group “Walk Awal” he won the Grand Prix at the Jazz on the Odra Festival (Wrocław, 1985) and the “Key to a Career” Award at the Pomeranian Jazz Autumn (Bydgoszcz, 1986).

He was decorated by the President of the Republic of Poland with the Silver Cross of Merit (2005), received the Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis (2005), as well as the Rector’s Award of the Academy of Music in Katowice (1998). He is a member of the Polish Jazz Society and ZAIKS. His output includes around 30 compositions registered and published on recordings. He is listed in the PWM music encyclopedia, various lexicons, and Who is Who in Poland.

He is also a poet, with a debut poetry volume Na niepogodę [For Stormy Weather] published by the Silesian Library in 2004. His literary and poetic interests have long been a source of musical inspiration, resulting in his albums Poetycje jazzowe, Sceny z Macondo, and Historia roku minionego.