BIO
Amalia Umeda is an improvising violinist, composer, arranger, and leader of Amalia Umeda Quartet.
She has been playing the violin since the age of 7, but when she discovered improvisation, she started to feel a deeper connection with the instrument. Shortly after, she began composing and consciously creating her own musical path. In her opinion, taking risks is the most fundamental element in developing her artistic language. When creating music, what she values the most is the possibility of manipulating space, reflecting various emotional states, building tensions, and illustrating even the most abstract ideas.
Amalia Umeda Quartet is the main project of the violinist, which includes Franciszek Raczkowski on piano, Michał Aftyka on double bass, and Michał Szeligowski on drums. The violinist describes this project in the following words: "Amalia Umeda Quartet is the synthesis of four musical personalities and the diversity of reactions between them. Every concert is a process of meditation - we follow paths that are created at the right moment. It's a big story of various emotional states, authenticity, and a sort of… rawness."
The quartet released its debut album "Nowoświt" in April 2022. The album is co-produced by Polish Radio Program 2. It has been nominated for the Fryderyk Award 2022 (Jazz Debut category). Before the release, this pre-premiere material was presented at two Polish jazz festivals - Letnia Akademia Jazzu (Klub Wytwórnia, Łódź) and Jazztopad Festival (Narodowe Forum Muzyki, Wrocław).
Amalia is one of 6 artists selected for the international program Footprints Europe 2021. In August 2022, as a result of that program, the quartet started the Nowoświt Footprints tour. The tour included concerts at the Oslo Jazz Festival (Oslo, Norway), Umea Jazz Festival (Umea, Sweden), Cologne Jazzweek/NICA Exchange (Cologne, Germany), Nasjonal Jazzscene (Oslo, Norway), NOSPR (Katowice, Poland), Periscope (Lyon, France), Bimhuis (Amsterdam, Netherlands), and Jazzahead! European Showcase (Bremen, Germany).
Amalia is the winner of the 3rd prize at the Zbigniew Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition 2022, a special prize at the Young Crocus Jazz Contest 2021 (Amalia Umeda Quartet), and the 2nd prize at the Blue Note Poznań Competition 2020 (solo category).