Bio — Paweł Mańka

An emerging voice on the European improvised music scene and currently based in Copenhagen, Paweł Mańka is a composer and guitarist acclaimed for his creative freedom, refined sensibility, and above all for his “densely woven” compositions that challenge formal and harmonic conventions. He made his debut in 2021 with the album Kubizm, recorded with his Semiotic Quintet and premiered at the Warsaw Summer Jazz Days. The album earned him a Fryderyk nomination, while his upcoming release with the nonet Akimbo is set to appear on the New York label Inner Circle Music in 2026.

In his work, Paweł Mańka combines expressive forms and rigorous concepts with an intuitive propensity for creative risk, generating a distinctive tension between conceptualism and expression. The boundaries between structure and freedom frequently become indistinct, giving rise to music that is constantly evolving and oriented toward the discovery of the unknown. His strives to create works that avoid repeating ideas he has explored before.

He has performed at festivals such as the Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Central European Jazz Showcase (Brno), Polska Jazz Festival (Budapest), Jazz w Ruinach (Gliwice), and Jazz Juniors (Kraków).

The guitar is just one of many expressive tools in Paweł Mańka’s creative arsenal. His work also explores real-time electronic sound processes and elements of microtonality, expanding the sonic possibilities of the ensemble. He aims to craft a dynamic, multi-layered musical narrative shaped by his interpretation of global society’s condition amid geopolitical and cultural tensions.

Paweł holds a master’s degree in composition from Syddansk Musikkonservatorium in Odense, where he studied with leading contemporary Scandinavian composers: Erik Ørum von Spreckelsen, Ejnar Kanding, and Rasmus Zwicki.

In 2025, he participated in an artistic residency at Lyd Camp in Præstø (Denmark), organized by Autor Association, where his mentors included pioneering sound artists and electronic music innovators Christian Fennesz, Maja S. K. Ratkje, and Simon Steen-Andersen.

Throughout his musical path, the artist has gained experience under the guidance of some of the most prominent figures in the improvised music scene, such as Christian Lillinger, Kit Downes, Lage Lund, Samuel Blaser, Jim Black, John Escreet, and Marc Ducret. He has taken part in various workshops and residencies, including the New York Jazz Masters, the International Jazz Platform, and Engelsholmstævnet.

He is a laureate of the Jazz Phonographic Debut program run by the National Institute of Music and Dance and a recipient of the Young Poland scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.