MySpace a place for friends

Aaron Kaczmarek, at 23 years of age, is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and independent ethnomusicologist. In 2003, he left northeast Indiana, choosing to pursue his education through travel, mysticism, and cultural immersion. It was in Asheville, NC where he first established himself as a solo, world musician in the local, global music scene before moving to South Florida in late 2008.

Brand new to Palm Beach County, FL, he is currently seeking new opportunities as a performer and instructor, composing new material for current and future projects, and excitedly awaiting the birth of his first child. In Asheville, Aaron leads Ba Man Bia (see left), his most recent collective project with growing success and an overwhelmingly positive response everywhere they perform. With plans of tours and recordings to be released summer 2009, he is welcoming this time to be with his family, tending a garden, and developing new sounds.

It was at 13 when he finally saw an electric guitar played up close that he thought to himself, "I want to do that!". Ambitious and full of excitement for the instrument, he was only 15 when he began wowing audiences on stage with ferocious shred licks at local rock clubs, earning him a prodigious reputation. By 18, his admiration for musical virtuosity had led him to a deeper understanding and appreciation for the more subtle, mystic qualities of music. It was 2004 when he began his study of world music as a private apprentice under Sri Pandurang Mutalik, a highly accomplished Sitar professor at the Government College of Classical Music in Secunderabad, AP, India. Later, in 2007, during a voyage through Northern & Western Africa, he met Djeli Ba Cissokko, a traditional Griot living in Senegal who by long family lineage, is a keeper of oral history by means of music. Aaron was adopted into the family whom he lived with, learning the ancient songs of the kora, a celestial, harp-like instrument. Amidst traveling abroad, he has been involved in the US with numerous world music ensembles in West African Percussion, Balinese Gamelan Orchestra, Balkan, Klezmer, Afghani, Moroccan, Turkish, Chinese, Brazilian, and Afro-Cuban traditions.

A free spirit at heart, Aaron's adventurous attitude and love for the arts has led him to work with an exciting variety of performers and venues around the world from small cafes and hookah lounges to large theaters and international music festivals. Outside of his solo and group projects, he is often commissioned for studio sessions and creative direction positions with artists of differing genres including rock, reggae, jazz, and indian pop with his various, unusual string instruments including the Sitar (India), Pipa (China), Kora (West Africa), Ngoni (West Africa), and Rebab (Afghanistan), as well as an assortment of percussion, his favorites being the Kanjira (South India) and Bendir (Morocco) frame drums.

What is most distinct about Aaron's style is also what he loves about music most, the ability to invoke moods and ecstatic states of awareness. Drawing from a rich reservoir of ideas and experience, he is a truly dynamic performer, crafting or complimenting the energy of any given space whether it be soft ambience, meditative trance, or all out, high-energy dance. Though Aaron aims to preserve traditional artforms, the music is original; his compositions and improvisations are organic and inventive, feeling free to explore and allow his many influences to intermingle. With his talent, he conjures indigeneous sensibilities: using the power of music to heal, enliven, and create a spirit of community.

Kaczmarek is now excited to share his talents in the South Florida area. Available for public as well as private performance, he is drawn to opportunities where he can provide audiences atmosphere, and a uniquely memorable experience. Aaron also enjoys teaching and is willing to instruct musicians who wish to expand their understanding to non-western musical forms.