The power and imagination in his composing and arranging have made Ed Partyka a major contributor to the European big band scene. A trombonist from Chicago, Partyka leads a formidable big band and chairs the Jazz Institute at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. Mentored by the late Bob Brookmeyer, Partyka uses in his teaching and his writing much of what he learned from Brookmeyer. Having absorbed that influence, he developed his own unique and identifiable orchestral style. The Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra’s two most recent albums reflect a distinct musical personality and, often, his relaxed and refreshing approach to serious music. In this, video from a recent concert, Partyka’s bilingual introduction to one of his compositions contains both aspects.
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The trumpet soloist was Jakob Helling. A performance of that piece featuring Benny Brown on trumpet  and Reinhold Schmölzer on Drums is the lead track in Partyka’s album Kopfkino (Mons Records). The second recent release by his orchestra is In The Tradition (Neu Klang Records). Both albums feature the talented young singer Julia Oschewsky.