Mateusz Kołakowski, whom the Polish Cultural Institute presented at age 15 playing at the Knitting Factory with U.S. clarinetist Brad Terry, comes back at 21, with three albums to his credit and many musical awards, including the prize for "most promising pianist" at the Martial Solal competition, Paris, 2002, and an honorable mention in the Jazz Piano Competition at the 2002 Montreux Jazz Festival. In 2003, his solo recital in Prague was recorded by Czech Radio during the “8th International Festival of Jazz Piano." A CD of the performance “14th Spring” was released in Poland by Jazz Forum. In his solo piano improvisations, Kołakowski creates a unique marriage of jazz and elements of classical music. He continues to receive wide acclaim from leading jazz critics.