Michał Ciesielski is a composer, arranger and jazz pianist from Gdańsk, Poland, currently living in Brussels.
He completed his studies in the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, where he received his master’s degree as a jazz composer and jazz pianist. He also studied for a year in the Institute of Jazz in Katowice.
In years 2018-2022 he was living in Beijing, where he was teaching Jazz Piano at the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy, and collaborating with numerous musicians of the Chinese music scene.
In 2022 he moved back to Europe and until 2024 was teaching at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk.
Composer and producer of contemporary music, jazz, film and theatre music, musical, chamber and symphonic music as well as songs or piano miniatures.
Apart from being the leader of his own trio - Confusion Project, with which he recorded 5 albums and played numerous concerts around the world, Michał performs as a sideman in various jazz-oriented projects. He also recorded three solo albums and performs with his solo repertoire.
He collaborated with many top musicians of the Polish and international jazz scene, such as:
Maciej Sikała, Cezary Gadzina, Piotr Baron, Piotr Lemańczyk, Dorota Miśkiewicz, Krystyna Prońko, Maciej Grzywacz, Marcin Gawdzis, Grzegorz Nagórski, Cezary Paciorek, Marcin Jahr, Rafał Sarnecki, Stanisław Słowiński, Cezik, Victor Bastidas, Simona de Rosa, Li Xiaochuan, Brian Fentress, Oran Atkin, Antonio Fusco, Massimiliano Rolff, Nathaniel Gao, Noah Hocker, Fishdoll, Daniel Nosewicz.
Daniel Nosewicz's project (which Michał is a part of) was awarded the Fryderyk award for the best jazz debut album in Poland in 2022.
As a pianist Michał toured around Europe (Poland, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Sweden, Lithuania, Nederlands), Asia (China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Russia and Kazakhstan.) and also in the U.S.A.
Selected venues and festivals:
Blues Alley, Washington D.C. USA
Giant Steppes of Jazz, Ulanbaatar, Mongolia
Binh Minh Jazz Club, Hanoi, Vietnam
Beijing Concert Hall, Beijing, China
Meeting Jazz Festival, Xi'an, China
Taihu Jazz Festival, Beijing, China
Tsinghua World Music Festival, Beijing, China
Jazz At The Lincoln Center, Shanghai, China
Blue Note, Beijing, China
Blue Note, Shanghai, China
Baikal Waves Jazz Festival, Irkutsk, Russia
Usadba Jazz Festival, Moscow, Russia
Kaliningrad City Jazz Festival, Kaliningrad, Russia
Bozar, Brussels, Belgium (The Voice of Polonia)
Teatro Summarte, Naples, Italy
Beilla Jazz Club, Beilla, Italy
Hallevik Jazz Festival, Sweden
Blue Note, Poznań, Poland
Jazz Nad Odrą, Wrocław, Poland
Jazz w Ruinach, Gliwice, Poland
Jazz w Lesie, Sulęczyno, Poland
Novum Jazz Festival, Łomża, Poland
Komeda Jazz Festival, Słupsk, Poland
Jazz Jantar, Gdańsk, Poland
Selected competitions:
International Komeda Jazz composition competition (Poland) - 2nd prize, 3rd prize (twice) and distinction
European Jazz Contest (Italy, Netherlands) - finalist
Novum Jazz Festival (Poland) - 3rd prize
Big Sky International Jazz Competition (Russia) – special prize
He completed his studies in the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, where he received his master’s degree as a jazz composer and jazz pianist. He also studied for a year in the Institute of Jazz in Katowice.
In years 2018-2022 he was living in Beijing, where he was teaching Jazz Piano at the Beijing Contemporary Music Academy, and collaborating with numerous musicians of the Chinese music scene.
In 2022 he moved back to Europe and until 2024 was teaching at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk.
Composer and producer of contemporary music, jazz, film and theatre music, musical, chamber and symphonic music as well as songs or piano miniatures.
Apart from being the leader of his own trio - Confusion Project, with which he recorded 5 albums and played numerous concerts around the world, Michał performs as a sideman in various jazz-oriented projects. He also recorded three solo albums and performs with his solo repertoire.
He collaborated with many top musicians of the Polish and international jazz scene, such as:
Maciej Sikała, Cezary Gadzina, Piotr Baron, Piotr Lemańczyk, Dorota Miśkiewicz, Krystyna Prońko, Maciej Grzywacz, Marcin Gawdzis, Grzegorz Nagórski, Cezary Paciorek, Marcin Jahr, Rafał Sarnecki, Stanisław Słowiński, Cezik, Victor Bastidas, Simona de Rosa, Li Xiaochuan, Brian Fentress, Oran Atkin, Antonio Fusco, Massimiliano Rolff, Nathaniel Gao, Noah Hocker, Fishdoll, Daniel Nosewicz.
Daniel Nosewicz's project (which Michał is a part of) was awarded the Fryderyk award for the best jazz debut album in Poland in 2022.
As a pianist Michał toured around Europe (Poland, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, Sweden, Lithuania, Nederlands), Asia (China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Russia and Kazakhstan.) and also in the U.S.A.
Selected venues and festivals:
Blues Alley, Washington D.C. USA
Giant Steppes of Jazz, Ulanbaatar, Mongolia
Binh Minh Jazz Club, Hanoi, Vietnam
Beijing Concert Hall, Beijing, China
Meeting Jazz Festival, Xi'an, China
Taihu Jazz Festival, Beijing, China
Tsinghua World Music Festival, Beijing, China
Jazz At The Lincoln Center, Shanghai, China
Blue Note, Beijing, China
Blue Note, Shanghai, China
Baikal Waves Jazz Festival, Irkutsk, Russia
Usadba Jazz Festival, Moscow, Russia
Kaliningrad City Jazz Festival, Kaliningrad, Russia
Bozar, Brussels, Belgium (The Voice of Polonia)
Teatro Summarte, Naples, Italy
Beilla Jazz Club, Beilla, Italy
Hallevik Jazz Festival, Sweden
Blue Note, Poznań, Poland
Jazz Nad Odrą, Wrocław, Poland
Jazz w Ruinach, Gliwice, Poland
Jazz w Lesie, Sulęczyno, Poland
Novum Jazz Festival, Łomża, Poland
Komeda Jazz Festival, Słupsk, Poland
Jazz Jantar, Gdańsk, Poland
Selected competitions:
International Komeda Jazz composition competition (Poland) - 2nd prize, 3rd prize (twice) and distinction
European Jazz Contest (Italy, Netherlands) - finalist
Novum Jazz Festival (Poland) - 3rd prize
Big Sky International Jazz Competition (Russia) – special prize
