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This project was made possible by funding through the Canadian Culture Online Strategy and the Heritage Policy Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Canadian Heritage

Jack Zorawski

Biography

JACEK (JACK) ZORAWSKI (bassist) was born September 11, 1963 in Szczecin, Poland. As a teenager he undertook professional classical double bass training, but also tried his luck as a folk singer-songwriter and actor-vocalist in an experimental musical theater. In the mid 1980s, he began to focus on his career as a jazz bass player.

Jack first appeared on the Toronto jazz scene in 1986. Since then, he has established himself as an "in demand" freelance bassist. He has performed in all major jazz venues around Toronto including the Top o' the Senator, the Montreal Bistro and the Rex Jazz Bar. He has worked with many Canadian and international stars, among them Michael Urbaniak, Bernie Senensky, Brian Dickinson, Big Rude Jake, Norman Marshall Villeneueve, Kirk MacDonald, Peter Appleyard, Jake Langley, and many others.

As a member of various Canadian acts, Jack Zorawski has appeared in jazz festivals all over Ontario. He also performed in concert venues in Montreal, Quebec City, Winnipeg, Calgary, Red Deer, and Saskatoon. He has toured in the United States and played in famous venues including The Fillmore in San Francisco, House of Blues in Los Angeles, The Red Room in New Orleans, and CBGB in New York. His performances in Europe include the Jam Potatoes Jazz Festival in Lunree (France 1985), the Arcachon Jazz Festival (France 1998), Blue Balls Festival in Lucerne (Switzerland 1999), Hot Jazz 2000 (Germany 2000), the Cognac Jazz Festival (France 2000) as well as many jazz clubs in the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Germany.

He is leader of the Jack Zorawski Trio with Richard Whiteman and Kevin Coady, as well as the Jack Zorawski Quartet with David Braid, Quinsin Nachof and Kevin Coady. As a sideman he has performed with Swing Rosie, the Jake Langley Trio, Big Rude Jake, Alex Pangman and her Alley Cats, Glenn Anderson, Tony Quarrington, the Norman Marshall Villeneuve Sextet, Melissa Stylianou, Chris Plock and the Swingint Outlaws, the Jazz Vipers, the Starlight Orchestra, to list just a partial roster. As a studio musician, he is featured on several albums including Tony Quarrington’s "Loose Changes", Doreen Smith’s "Notes from Home", Glenn Anderson’s "Swinging the Blues", Melissa Stylianou’s "Slim's Joint" and The Hot Club Trio’s "Moonglow". His own Jack Zorawski Trio recorded their first, all original, CD “First Train”' in the spring of 2006. Jack's compositions are also featured on CDs recorded by Glenn Anderson and Kevin Clarke.

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Jack Zorawski