Darek Oles

Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz was born on February 20, 1963 in Wroclaw, Poland. At the age of five Darek began his music education at the State Music School in Wroclaw. Piano was his first instrument, but later he played guitar, electric bass and finally, at eighteen years old, he switched to acoustic bass. While in his teens he played with amateur groups, evolving in popular music styles from rock, blues, and jazz-rock to straight ahead jazz.

In the early 1980s, Darek participated in various jazz festivals and national competitions for young musicians. In 1983, he was the best decorated musician at the Jazz Juniors in Krakow, winning the first individual prize, first prize for jazz composition and a second prize in the jazz combo category. Later that year Darek was invited by Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski, a jazz legend in Poland, to join the saxophonist's quartet on tour.

In the following five years Darek Oleszkiewicz was working steadily with some of the best jazz bands in the country, including the Zbigniew Namyslowski Quartet, Tomasz Szukalski Quartet, Henryk Majewski Quintet, Wojciech Karolak Trio and Andrzej Jagodzinski Trio and Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski Quartet. With those groups he recorded for Polish Jazz, Polskie Nagrania, East Wind and also for the radio and television in Poland and abroad. Darek toured extensively in Poland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Cuba and Mexico, performing at major festivals, concerts and jazz clubs.

In 1988, Darek arrived in Los Angeles with a simple plan in mind: to broaden his musical horizons. One year later he received a full scholarship from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and began studies with the legendary bassist Charlie Haden. After graduation in 1992, he accepted a teaching position at the Institute, where he has been conducting jazz ensembles and teaching bass ever since.

In addition to teaching, for the past 15 years Darek has been very active as a performer and is one of the most sought after bass players on the West Coast. "Oles" (his American nick-name) has had the opportunity to perform and record with some of the greatest masters in jazz. A partial list of his collaborations include Brad Mehldau, Billy Higgins, Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, Eddie Henderson, Charles Lloyd, John Abercrombie, Bennie Maupin, Lee Konitz, Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, Bennie Wallace, Victor Lewis, Art Farmer, Horace Silver, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, James Newton, Arthur Blythe, Lew Tabackin, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Marian McPartland, Bob Brookmeyer, Curtis Fuller, Tom Harrell, Larry Goldings, Bill Stewart, Chris Potter, Kei Akagi, Billy Childs, Bob Sheppard, Joe LaBarbera, Bill Cunliffe, Patrice Rushen, Bennie Golson, Teri Lynn Carrington, Buddy De Franco, Terry Gibbs and the Los Angeles Jazz Quartet.

With these and many others artists Darek has recorded approximately 50 CDs and performed hundreds of concerts throughout America, Europe and Asia. Several of these CDs received Grammy nominations. In 2003, Darek was also nominated for a Fryderyk's Award in Poland in the category "Jazz Musician of the Year." His new recording project Like a Dream, featuring Brad Mehldau and Bennie Maupin, is due for a fall 2004 release on Cryptogramophone Records.