classically educated clarinettist who won renown playing free jazz with leading representatives of this music scene. His versatility and creativity as a composer soon led him to explore other musical styles and traditions, such as minimalism, India’s classical music, and the Moroccan gnawa. His solo CD Lines (2016) proved a career breakthrough career. On that album he used analogue electronic instruments, which became his new fascination. Quite unexpectedly, Zimpel shifted from playing in jazz clubs to appearances at the world’s major electronic music festivals and collaborations with visionaries of contemporary electronic music such as James Holden, Forest Swords, and Shackleton.
In 2020 Zimpel released two solo albums (Massive Oscillations under the Amsterdam-based label Ongehoord and Ebbing in the Tide for the independent Warsaw company Tak Picture, which he had founded with Sara Kałużna) as well as two duo CDs (Long Weekend EP with James Holden for London’s Border Community and Primal Forms with Shackleton for Berlin’s Cosmo Rhythmatic label).
He also composes music for films (Silent Night, dir. Piotr Domalewski) and theatre (in collaboration with Ewelina Marciniak and Michał Zadara). He is a recipient of the Passport Award of the Politykaweekly in the category of popular music.
Discography: The Light (Zimpel/Traczyk/Rasz Trio, 2008), Four Walls (Zimpel/Daisy, 2008), Afekty / Affections (The Light, 2009), Hera (Hera, 2010), The Passion (Undivided, 2010), Where My Complete Beloved Is(Hera, 2011) Moves Between Clouds (Undivided, 2011), Last Train to the First Station (Reed Trio, 2011), Yemen: Music for the Yemenite Jews (Zimpel/Robinson/Zerang/ Rogiński, 2012), Tyle tego ty / So Much of You (Miłobędzka/ Zimpel, 2012), Seven Lines (Hera with Hamid Drake, 2013), Stone Fog (Wacław Zimpel Quartet, 2013), Nature Moves (Wacław Zimpel To Tu Orchestra, 2014), Switchback (Switchback, 2015), Green Light (Ziporyn/Zimpel/Zemler/Riley, 2015), Saagara (Saagara, 2015), Live in Ukraine (Switchback 2016), Lines (2015), LAM (Zimpel, Dys, Zemler) LAM (2016), Zimpel / Ziołek Zimpel / Ziołek (2017), 2 (Saagara, 2017), Primal Forms (Shackleton/Zimpel, 2020), Ebbing in the Tide (2020), Long Weekend EP (Holden/Zimpel, 2020), Massive Oscillations (2020).