Darek Oleszkiewicz


Darek Oleszkiewicz, also known as Darek Oles, is a jazz bassist, composer, arranger, and educator.

Biography

Oleszkiewicz was born in Wrocław, Poland, on February 20, 1963. He lived in Kraków in the early 1980s, then moved to Los Angeles in 1987. He was a protégé of Charlie Haden. In the early 1990s and 2000s he built a reputation on the West Coast of the United States. He co-founded the Los Angeles Jazz Quartet in 1993, with saxophonist Chuck Manning, guitarist Larry Koonse, and drummer Kevin Tullius. They recorded for Naxos Records and Not Two Records.
Oleszkiewicz's first album as sole leader was Like a Dream, which consisted largely of his own compositions. It included quartet and trio tracks, and duets with pianist Brad Mehldau. He had earlier played on Mehldau's Largo. Oleszkiewicz was featured prominently with Koonse on the 2006 album Storybook.
In 2010 Oleszkiewicz was a co-leader with Peter Erskine, Bob Mintzer, and Alan Pasqua on the album Standards 2: Movie Music. Oleszkiewicz was co-leader with Adam Czerwniński for the album Raindance.
Oleszkiewicz is a faculty member at California Institute of the Arts, and the University of Southern California, He continues to record, including on trombonist Bob McChesney's Chez Sez in 2015, and with other USC faculty members, including on Kait Dunton's Mountain Suite in the same year.

Playing style

On his debut as leader, Oleszkiewicz's style was described as containing "the inevitable lineage to Scott LaFaro and Bill Evans, combines a certain economy of style that is reminiscent of Charlie Haden". The woodiness of his tone was also compared with Haden's, with the addition of "a certain Gary Peacock-like edge to it".

Discography

As leader/co-leader

With Kei Akagi
With Bill Cunliffe
With Kait Dunton
With Yelena Eckemoff
With Peter Erskine
With Terry Gibbs
With Anna Maria Jopek
With Larry Koonse
With Charles Lloyd
With Bennie Maupin
With Bob McChesney
With Brad Mehldau
With Josh Nelson
With Sara Niemietz
With Jack Nimitz
With Alan Pasqua
With Bobby Shew
With David Sills
With Kuba Stankiewicz and Peter Erskine
With Gavin Templeton
With Ben Wendel
With Mike Wofford
With Aga Zaryan
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