Raz Dwa Trzy

Formed in Poland in the early '90s, alternative rock band Raz, Dwa, Trzy (One, Two, Three) are hard to pin down, mixing folk, rock, and jazz through a myriad of instrumentation -- clarinet, piano, accordion, guitars, double bass, drums, and assorted percussion -- while maintaining a direct enough approach that the band is regularly featured in year-end award ceremonies and makes respectable chart placements with each release. Signed to international label EMI, Raz, Dwa, Trzy released their first album in 1992. Over the years, the band has appeared in a number of countries, has toured Poland, and in 1999 -- thanks to the album Niecud -- won Poland's highest-level industry award, the Fryderyk Award for Best Album in the Alternative Music Category. In 2007, Raz, Dwa, Trzy (Adam Nowak, vocals and guitars; Grzegorz Szwalek, clarinet, accordion, and electric piano; Jarek Trelinkski, guitars; Mirek Kowalik, bass; and Jacek Olejarz, drums) released the number one album Mlynarski. ~ Chris True