Michał Aftyka Quintet represents the new generation of Polish improvised music. Their music communicates the emotions experienced by modern individuals – ranging from unabashed delight in the present moment, through confusion in unverified theories, to fear associated with the development of cutting-edge technologies. The quintet’s music is inspired by the contemporary German scene (Petter Eldh, Christian Lillinger, Robert Landfermann, Elias Stemeseder) as well as the American scene (Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman, Mark Turner).

On October 31, 2023, their debut album Frukstrakt was released by Multikulti Project. The album was honored with a Fryderyk award (Polish Grammy) in the “Phonographic Debut of the Year – Jazz” category, and received a nomination for the prestigious Deutscher Jazzpreis in the “Debut Album of The Year – International” category. This fall, they plan to release another studio recording.