Kinga Glyk, who is only 25, yet highly talented, became the front woman as the greatest jazz sensation in Europe with her new take on bass guitar grooves.
The daughter of Poland's famous vibraphone artist Irek Glyk, she started playing music when she was 12 in a music band. Her father was her source of admiration and greatly contributed to her independence as a musician. Her father challenged her many times and never let her give up or lower her ambitions and expectations.
"It wasn't easy to start at such a young age and to become a band leader but I have no regrets about that. I'm happy I could learn so much by playing for small audiences. This helped me understand what is important to me in performing and that it is not all about having huge success. I think for me, it is about being persistent and having a clear vision of the next step. With time I have learned more about what I need to improve and what I look for in music. The variety of circumstances has taught me to appreciate my audience regardless of its size," she said.
She never planned her future when she was a kid, yet life took her to the musical world step by step, trying to be open all the time, even though the next move can be terrifying and uncomfortable, she always considered taking the risk in her journey.
The world of music has been her medium of language through which she strives to extend her vocabulary. She always speaks in a very personal way but she hopes to keep improving her word choice in her tunes and find better ways to tell stories.
"It is a real skill to know what to say, when to say and choose the right words depending on the context and moment. For as long as I can remember, I tried to focus on the music more than just the sound. I don't ever want to get lazy in my creative process, so I keep exploring and it is probably an endless pursuit to think outside the box and the next box. There is always another box to leave," she elaborated.
She became a phenomenon on social media after her cover song "Tears in Heaven." Rapidly, the jazz goers dubbed her the savior of Europe's youth jazz.
About her fame on social media, she said: "I'm thankful that social media allowed me to reach a larger audience. It is very hard these days to attract an audience, there is music everywhere. It seems that we have to fight for the market more than ever. The virtual world sometimes swallows precious things. They just disappear in a jungle of information because 'likes' are masters of everything. I'm worried that nowadays people can suddenly receive these titles of being 'the best" or 'the up and coming.'" When so many "artists" get the title of being best, its meaning diverts and it is a bit challenging to discriminate the quality within so many options.
Glyk recently released an album called "Dream," which she describes as more than an album.
"Every step changes me. No matter if I am practicing in my room and suddenly realize something, if I am on stage with hundreds of different emotions, or if I am in the studio recording an album. Sometimes the change is more visible and I love when it is, because you know you are improving. Being in the studio with such great musicians is a very powerful experience," she explained.
For the first time, she will be on stage in Türkiye's capital Ankara, on the spacious CSO Ada Ankara stage, one of the most famous, on Saturday night, promising a night full of dazzling melodies of jazz. She said she has come across some Turkish music and appreciated the fact that it is so distinctly recognizable.
"It will be my first time in Türkiye and I just feel honored that I get to explore countries through my music-making that I wouldn't be able to see otherwise. For me, personally, these shows also mean my journey with my album' Feelings' is slowly coming to an end and I think it will be special that I can play the last shows somewhere I have never played them before," Glyk shared her excitement before her show in Türkiye.
