About the concert

‍

Join us for a concert by the Piotr Schmidt Quintet with special guest Grzech Piotrowski.

“Piosenki Komedy bez słów” (Komeda’s Songs Without Words) is an album on which Piotr Schmidt takes some of Krzysztof Komeda’s most recognisable melodies and gives them new life as instrumental narratives. It is music rooted in the cinematic poetics of the 1960s, but told in the contemporary language of jazz – full of tension, subtlety and open improvisation.

Schmidt treats Komeda’s themes not as closed forms but as a starting point for a creative dialogue within the band. He draws pure lyricism and emotional depth from the melodies, building a drama that unfolds naturally – without words, but with a clear, evocative story. Band chemistry and a conscious use of silence, colour and dynamics play a key role.

A magical evening of Komeda nostalgia and beautiful melodies that have permeated the history of Polish jazz for decades – compositions written as songs with lyrics, here presented as purely instrumental pieces, stripped of words but not of their wonderful melodiousness and emotional depth. A masterful performance.

– Paweł Brodowski, editor-in-chief of Jazz Forum, after the premiere concert at Jassmine, 12 February 2026.

Although Piotr Schmidt doesn’t go for the crowd-pleasers (he left out the cult ballad “Sleep Safe and Warm” from “Rosemary’s Baby”), he brilliantly reworks Komeda’s famous, characteristic themes such as “Filiżanka Czarnej Kawy”, “Le Départ”, “Ja nie chcę spać”, “Nim wstanie dzień”, “100 Years – The Riot” and “Z ręką na gardle”. The result is modern jazz interpretations in which the composer’s melodic intent does not crowd out the band’s harmonic and sonic ideas.

– Dionizy Piątkowski, (Era Jazz)

‍

‍

Band

‍

Piotr Schmidt - trumpet

Grzech Piotrowski - saxophones

Paweł Tomaszewski - piano

Andrzej Święs - double bass

Sebastian Frankiewicz - drums

‍

Additional information

‍

We don’t take table reservations and seating is limited, so we recommend arriving early to get a seat.

19:00 – doors open

20:30 – concert

Powered by Singleton. The event is supported by Singleton, renowned for its exceptional single malt whiskies, prized for their smoothness and depth of flavour.