We are glad to introduce you to our artist of the day: Piotr Budniak, one of the most ecxiting young jazz drummer in Poland.
With 20 albums with various groups, Piotr Budniak earnd his place among the best young musicians in Poland.
He established Piotr Budniak Essential Group in 2014, consisting of amazing Polish and Czech instrumentalists. They excel in Jazz and recently released „Heart, Mind & Spirit”. The 7 tracks project will bring you into a unique musical journey, a rare moment of real music through guitars, piano, drums, and bass. Thank you for this gift Piotr Budniak Essential Group.
Discover our Exclusive Interview with Piotr Budniak.
Hello Piotr Budniak. Can you introduce yourself to our reader and tell us who you are and how you started to make music?
I am 29 years old drummer from Poland. I spent my childhood in a small town called Zielona Góra near the German border but I am currently living in Warsaw. I graduated from two music academies: in Katowice and Kraków. I play in many young Polish jazz combos i.e. Kasia Pietrzko Trio, Adam Jarzmik Quintet, Klara Cloud & The Vultures but also shared the stage with likes as Jeff Parker, Mike Moreno, Troy Roberts, Adam Larson, Corcoran Holt, Rob Mazurek, David Doružka and Polish giants: Janusz Muniak and Tomasz Stańko.
I started to play drums when I was 11 because of my older brother who is a bassist. He used to practice for 8 or 10 hours per day starting at 6 AM in our co-shared room! Man, he gave me a good lesson! He also bought me my first drumset. I’ll always be grateful to him for that.
What inspires you to write music?
My biggest inspiration is my own experience of life, nature and humanity. I’m also a kind of thinker so I wonder about some philosophical and social things all the time. I’m sure it stimulates me in writing music.
Do you have a specific creative process?
There is no one specific way. Sometimes I start from a bass line, sometimes from rhythm, sometimes it’s a chord progression or just a general idea of the song that I develop in various ways. Also the time of writing is not constant: there are tunes I’ve composed in less than one hour and there are tunes I’ve been writing for a few years!
Can you tell us more about your latest release?
The latest release is the fourth album of my quintet Piotr Budniak Essential Group which features: David Doružka, Wojciech Lichtański, Kajetan Borowski and Piotr Narajowski besides me. The album is titled “Heart, Mind & Spirit” and You can get it absolutely for free on our website www.pbessentialgroup.com. The title loosely refers to the concept of a human being as the sum of the spirit, soul and body professed in early Christianity and derived from Hebrew philosophy. As the band we are trying to capture the essence of human integrity with the whole palette of his feelings, thoughts, beliefs, experiences and struggles. The musical layer of the album differs from the earlier recordings: we’ve added electric instruments, electronic elements and modern production procedures.
What do you plan for the future?
Hard to say. Hopefully touring over Europe but in Corona times, who knows?
Get the new album of Piotr Budniak Essential Group for FREE at www.pbessentialgroup.com
