Szymon Mika (born April 14, 1991, in Bielsko-Biała) – Polish jazz guitarist, composer, and educator.
Biography.
He was born in Bielsko-Biała, Poland and grew up in Wadowice, where he was involved in music from an early age. At the age of four, he was already playing drums in his father's jazz band.
At the age of 11, he began studying classical guitar, taking lessons from, among others, Jarosław Dzień and Adam Zalas, gradually turning towards jazz guitar and music.
From 2010 to 2016, he studied jazz guitar under Prof. Karol Ferfecki at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, graduating with honors.
Awards and distinctions.
In 2012, he received the individual Grand Prix award "Jazz Personality" at the Jazz Nad Odrą Festival. That same year, he won 1st place at the Young Best Jazz competition with the band Organ Spot and received a special award for Best Soloist, as well as 2nd prize at the 5th Azoty Tarnów International Jazz Contest.
In 2013, he won the Grand Prix at the Grupa Azoty Jazz Contest with his original project Pałka/Mika Quartet and received the Special Award for the Most Promising Talent. In 2014, he was awarded a Special Prize at the Krokus Jazz Festival, and in 2015, another Special Prize at the Bielska Zadymka Jazz Festival.
In 2015, he won first prize at the International Jarek Śmietana Jazz Guitar Competition in Kraków, awarded by a jury including Mike Stern, Ed Cherry, Wojciech Karolak, and John Abercrombie. Fourteen artists from Poland, France, the USA, Israel, Hungary, Italy, Germany, and Japan were selected for the live auditions
In 2016, he began studies at the Music Academy Basel in Switzerland, where he studied under renowned musicians such as Wolfgang Muthspiel, Julian Lage, Peter Bernstein, Lage Lund, Lionel Loueke, Miguel Zenón, Guillermo Klein, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Bill McHenry, and Aydin Esen.
From 2017 to 2018, he participated in the prestigious Focusyear scholarship program in Basel, during which he performed alongside artists such as Dave Holland, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Joshua Redman, Avishai Cohen, Becca Stevens, Steve Swallow, Theo Bleckmann, Django Bates, and many others
Artistic activity.
Szymon Mika leads his own trio featuring bassist Max Mucha and drummer Ziv Ravitz. The group has released two albums: "Unseen" and "Togetherness". He also leads a quintet that includes vocalist Song Yi Jeon (South Korea), trumpeter Oskar Török (Slovakia), drummer Péter Somos (Hungary), and bassist Andrzej Święs.
As a session musician, he collaborates with leading Polish and European artists such as Yumi Ito, Aga Zaryan, Ziv Ravitz, Grażyna Auguścik, Florian Arbenz, Piotr Wyleżoł, Adam Bałdych, and many others.
He has performed his music at numerous concerts in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Ireland, Austria, Spain, and Portugal.
Musical instruments.
Since June 2012, Szymon Mika has been an endorser of guitars made by German luthier Stefan Schottmüller. He also plays a custom-made octave guitar crafted by Jakob Biehler, as well as an acoustic guitar built by Polish luthier Jacek Śliwa.
Honors.
In 2016, he was named "Hope of the Year" by readers of Jazz Forum magazine, and in 2022, he was awarded the title of "Guitarist of the Year" by the magazine's critics