MAREK BALATA (Bah-wah-tah) is probably the premier male vocalist in all of Eastern Europe in the realm of improvised music. His wide ranging creativity has also engaged him deeply in visual arts (graphic design) and theatre. He has performed and recorded with the great Polish jazz musicians: Tomasz Stanko and Zbigniew Namyslowski, and has also performed in Poland with original (USA/PL) formation (vocals and bass only) CANTABILE IN JAZZ featuring Urszula Dudziak, Michele Hendricks, Judy Niemack and Anthony Jackson. Balata has produced a CD of his own compositions entitled "Voice Paintings" (1994), in which he has taken the rich, folkloric roots of his native Kraków and merged them with his considerable understanding of American blues and bebop and the harmonic language of F.Chopin. He has a daring virtuosity and imagination, a startlingly wide range and flawless intonation. Singing or even rapping in both English and Polish, Balata has a gift for both languages and tone colour. He is also a founder of TRILOGY with great American pianist Art Lande and Austrian flute-player Günter Wehinger. The group`s 1997 tour in Poland concluded with a brilliant concert broadcast nationally at the Polish Radio Studio in Warsaw. This resulted in the trio`s CD "Trilogy" released in 1998 on the GOWI label in Poland. And then in April 1999 the group had successful tour in USA (California and Colorado) with special guest Paul McCandless at Yoshi's - San Francisco Oakland.
/by Art Lande/. The last international stuff called "SONGLINES" with Heinrich Von Kalnein,
Achim Tang, Uli Rennert.

Marek Balata has also performed with: Billy Hart, Steve Davis, Ernie Adams, Peter Madsen (USA), Jeanfrancois Prins, Jack Van Poll (B), Heinrich Von Kalnein, Uli Rennert, Achim Tang, Marco Piludu, Klaus Ignatzek (D), Patricia Beysens (B), Andy Manndorff (A)

Festivals & tours:
Jak Jazz - Jakarta Jazz Festival - Indonesia,
Inventionen - Drums Festival in Berliner Philharmonie,
Brosella International Festival - Belgium,
Kaunas Jazz festival - Lithuania,
Jazz At The Philharmonic Hall - St. Petersburg,
Bratislava International Contemporary Festival Bratislava Jazz Days - Slovakia,
Gostenhofer Jazz Tage - Nurnberg,
Solo-Duo-Trio Festival - Cracow,
Warsaw Autumn Contemporary Festival World Art - Wieliczka
* USA, Canada, Indonesia, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Czech, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belorus, Russia, Kuwait, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Lithuania, ...

Prizes:
From 1990 to 2000: the Best Jazz Vocalist - Jazz Top / Readers Poll of the Jazz Forum Magazine
1988: 1st Prize at the International Meeting of the Jazz Vocalists in Zamosc / Poland
1983, 1982: Honor Prize at the Jazz Juniors Festival in Cracow / Poland