Tenor and soprano saxophonist. Born in 1961 in Gdańsk.

Sikała graduated in 1987 from the Academy of Music in Katowice, where he studied jazz.

He has worked with a number of bands, including Miłość, the Piotr Wojtasik Quintet, the Piotr Rodowicz Quartet, the Leszek Możdżer Quintet and Sextet, and Vintage Band. He has recorded and performed with trumpeters Lester Bowie and Kenny Wheeler, with the pianist Dolph Castelano and with the vocalist Miles Griffith. In April 2004, he toured with American saxophonist Billy Harper.

Sikała has won many awards. These include: first prize at the International Jazz Improvisation Competition in Katowice in 1986; the award of the Polish Radio program "Mateusz" in 1995; the award for best tenor saxophonist from "Jazz Forum Magazine"'s readers' poll in 1995 and 2004; and best soprano saxophonist from the same magazine in 2001.

He has worked with the Maciej Sikała & Piotr Wojtasik Quartet, the Wojciecha Niedziela Quartet, the Artur Dutkiewicz Quartet and the Sopot-Hamburg Jazz Quintet, as well as with musicians like Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski and Henryk Miśkiewicz.

Sikała has recorded almost 40 jazz records and two albums of his own, Blue Destinations (1998) and The Sheep is Found (2001). The latter was nominated for the Frederick Prize in 2001, while Sikała himself was nominated in the category Jazz Musician of the Year.

He has been playing with Piotr Lemańczyk and Tomasz Sowiński since 1998. Cezary Paciorek joined them in 2002, transforming the band into the Maciej Sikała Quartet.

Projects:

• Maciej Sikała & Piotr Wojtasik Quartet
• Piotr Wojtasik Quintet
• Sopot-Hamburg Jazz Quintet
• Maciej Sikała Trio (Piotr Lemańczyk - bass, Tomasz Sowiński - drums)
• Macieja Sikała Quartet M

Selected discography:

With the Maciej Sikała Trio:

• Maciej Sikała "The Sheep is Found", Not Two, 1999

With the Piotr Wojtasik Quintet:

• Piotr Wojtasik Quintet "Escape", Power Bros, 1999

With the Maciej Sikała Quartet:

• Maciej Sikała Quartet "Another One for...", BCD Records, 2006

With the band Miłość:

• Miłość "Taniec Smoka", Gowi Records, 1994
• Miłość & Lester Bowie "Not Two", Gowi Records, 1995
• Miłość "Asthmatic", Gowi Records, 1996
• Miłość "Film Music 'Sztos'", Gowi Records, 1997
• Miłość & Lester Bowie "Talkin' About Life and Death", Biodro Records, 2000

Author: Marek Romański, January 2009