Polish pianist and composer Joachim Mencel will present his compositions to Hanoi jazz-lovers when he debuts in the city this weekend.

Graduating from the Faculty of Jazz and Light Music at the Music Academy in Katowice in southern Poland in 1991, the musician has composed not only chamber music, but also soundtracks for film, ballet and pantomime.

He was the winner of the Jazz Improvisation prize at Katowice in 1986. Three years later, Mencel once again affirmed his talent when he took top prize at the Jazz Pianists Competition in Kalisz in 1989. He was also among the finalists of the Thelonious Monk Competition in Washington the same year.

Together with being a lecturer at the Cracow Music Academy , Mencel has also run jazz improvisation classes at a summer music workshop in Aberystwyth in Wales and another improvisation composition class at the Webster University in St Louis in the US .

All of Mencel's compositions are inspired by the poetry by writers such as Polish Jan Kochanowski, American Emily Dickinson, and Irishman Oscar Wilde. His music creations have offered a fresh style and go far beyond jazz stereotypes, moving across different genres, including ethnic and contemporary music.

He is among members of the jmTrio, with which he has been giving concerts since 2003. The group performs mainly the compositions by Mancel, who is also the band's pianist and leader.

Popular Vietnamese jazz musician Quyen Van Minh, who began his adventure with jazz some 30 years ago, will join Mencel during his performances in the city.

As part of the ongoing Europe Days in Vietnam, which are organised by the EU Delegation to Vietnam and EU member states embassies in Vietnam, the gigs will start at 8pm on May 15 and May 16 at the Hanoi Jazz Club, 31 Luong Van Can Street./.