Marcin Cichy
Igor Pudło
Skalpel, formed by Marcin Cichy and Igor Pudło, is a classic of European nu jazz.
On their first two albums, Skalpel and Konfusion, released on the Ninja Tune label, the duo translated the sound and atmosphere of Polish jazz from the 1960s and 1970s into the language of contemporary electronics, creating music with a sophisticated structure and a strong emotional charge. Both releases resulted in excellent reviews in prestigious music titles: from NME to Pitchfork, The Wire to DJ Magazine, and concerts all over the world.
After Igor and Marcin's solo projects, the Skalpel duo joined forces again in 2012 at the Sacrum Profanum Festival in Krakow. There, they presented bold but stylish interpretations of four of the best-known contemporary composers of Polish music: Penderecki, Lutosławski, Górecki and Kilar.
The albums from the Ninja Tune catalogue are today ranked among the classics of jazztronica, while the subsequent “Transit” (2014) and “Highlight” (2020) are an exquisite update and modification of the duo's unique analogue-digital sound. The latter was released in collaboration with cult outfit !K7 Records.
In 2022. Skalpel returned with the album “Origins” - here we find jazz as well as drum'n'bass, downtempo and electro, trip- hop and Balearic. The band received the 2023 Fryderyk Award in the electronic category for this release.
Skalpel are also winners of such awards as the Paszport Polityki, the Man with the Golden Ear, the Wrocław Artistic Award, and have been nominated for the Fryderyk as well as the BBC Gilles Peterson Award.
Skalpel Big Band is another chapter in the history of Polish jazz. The two-CD release ‘Big Band Live’ (2023) is a concert recording of the band's greatest classics recorded live with the 17-member Big Band led by Patryk Piłasiewicz. Vitality, virtuosity, vibe - an album-length reminiscence of Skalpel Big Band concerts brilliantly documents the mood and emotion that has accompanied this project since its inception.
24.10.2025 / Friday / 20:00 / Sala Koncertowa JCK Ulica Bankowa / SKALPEL AV SET
