Kasia Rokicka is a vocalist blending the styles of jazz, world and pop music. Her gentle timbre and a unique sound can be attributed to her main influences such as Noa, Dianne Reeves or Bobby McFerrin.
From the early childhood she loved music and...
Kasia Rokicka is a vocalist blending the styles of jazz, world and pop music. Her gentle timbre and a unique sound can be attributed to her main influences such as Noa, Dianne Reeves or Bobby McFerrin.
From the early childhood she loved music and singing, therefore, she could be heard wherever she went. She sung in different school happenings, concerts, theatrical performances and contests, where she’s always been noticed. Her love for music made her study classical guitar, flute and piano.
In high school, after her audition to one of the Warsaw musical theatres led by Janusz Jozefowicz, she started her real vocal education under the supervision of Elzbieta Zapendowska, the teacher cooperating with the theatre. It was also the moment when she first heard jazz music, mingled with the jazz community and decided to go in this direction. Consequently, in 1999 she started to attend a three-year-long jazz school (Niepubliczna Szkoła Wokalna im. J. Wasowskiego), where she was discovering jazz language and learned from teachers like Bogdan Holownia, a Berklee alumni, a recipient of Fryderyk for the solo jazz album.
On the workshops organized in Poland in Pulawy, in Chodziez and in Krakow she set foot on the jazz scene for the first time. There, under the supervision of great Polish vocalists: Marek Balata, Ewa Uryga and Janusz Szrom she developed her jazz vocabulary. It was also there, where she met Polish jazz musicians, with whom she later performed in the Warsaw clubs such as Piwnica Pod Harenda, Tam Tam, Helikon, Traffic, Wola Theatre or the various Centers of Culture in Warsaw. She appeared on stage with such musicians like Bogdan Hołownia, Serek, Daniel Biel, Wojciech Traczyk, Maciek Ulatowski or Wojciech Majewski.
Except for her love for jazz, Kasia was always interested in choral singing, therefore she joined an accapella vocal group SPOKO, with which she entered Mufka competition in Warsaw as well as the Christmas carols contest and was awarded a special prize. With the group, she also visited Denmark, where she performed, recorded in a studio and took part in a workshop led by Niels Norgaard, the leader of the Danish vocal group BaSix (performances with DeeDee Bridgewater or Katie Melua).
Graduation from the jazz school and the Warsaw University motivated Kasia to move to Boston to continue her education and grow as a musician. She started the renowned Berklee College of Music, where she blossomed not only as a vocalist but also as a songwriter, arranger and producer. Musicians like Joey Blake (performing with Bobby McFerrin for 23 years), Donna McElroy (Grammy nomination for Bigger World (WB)), Gabrielle Goodman (having worked with Chaka Khan and Roberta Flack), Marlon Saunders (recording with Sting, Stevie Wonder or Dianne Reeves) or Bob Stoloff (the autor of Scat! Vocal Improvisation performing with Bobby McFerrin) have taught her vocal technique and improvisation. Lawrence Watson, with whom she performed in Boston, showed her the Afro-American approach to Soul and R&B music. Yakow Gubanov (the famous pianist and composer, a former student of Schostakovich) has taught her composition; Mark Walker (Grammy recipient, performing with Paquito D’Rivera, Michel Camilo or Dave Samuels) familiarized her with percussion and Jeff Covell educated her in piano playing. In Boston Kasia performed not only jazz but also sung in the African choir led by Joe Galeota as well as sung with R&B, gospel and soul ensembles.
During the years at the school she developed her composition skills, which allow her to speak out her heart. Her search of her own voice led her to a unique style of writing influenced by what surrounds her and the people she meets. In 2009 she released her debut CD which consists of her original compositions.
