Paweł Mańka Semiotic Quintet – Kubizm
The quintet’s music is engaging and heterogeneous. The musicians are subordinated to the narrative of the piece, but their playing reflects a refined sensitivity and awareness of sound. (…) Very consistent and an exceptionally successful debut.
-Jędrzej Janicki (JazzPress)
Paweł Mańka’s Semiotic Quintet conjures a splintered Harlem ballroom daubed with Polish Expressionism.
-Nick Hasted (Jazzwise)
The creative freedom in the form of an excellent technique and incredible precision in performance are unquestionable assets of the debut of Paweł Mańka’s quintet.
-Rafał Zbrzeski (Jazz Forum)
composer & guitarist
Paweł Mańka is undoubtedly one of the outstanding jazz guitarists and composers of the young generation in our country.
-Dominik Wania
He is currently one of the most interesting composers of the young jazz scene in Poland. In his works one can find surprising ideas and solutions regarding the form, harmony and functions of individual instruments in an ensemble.
-Rafał Sarnecki
Inspired by the perception of reality as a complex coexistence of order and chaos, Paweł Mańka, an award-winning Polish composer and guitarist, blends contemporary classical music concepts with the freedom of modern improvisation. His debut album with the Semiotic Quintet, Kubizm (2021), earned a Fryderyk Award nomination, following its premiere during Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, with subsequent performances at many other festivals, including Jazz nad Odrą, Jazz Juniors, Jazz w Ruinach, and Polska Jazz Festival.
In his compositions, the boundaries between structured ideas and freedom often blur, creating dynamically evolving musical scenarios. A recipient of scholarships from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Młoda Polska) and National Institute of Music and Dance (Jazzowy Debiut Fonograficzny), Paweł holds a Master’s degree in Composition from Syddansk Musikkonservatorium and currently resides in Copenhagen. His sophomore album for a large ensemble is set to be released in 2025.
Paweł Mańka 