Rafał Sarnecki is a guitarist, composer, and arranger, born in 1982 in Warsaw, Poland. In 2005, he left his hometown to study jazz in New York, where he spent the majority of his career. He earned a BFA from the Jazz & Contemporary Music Program at The New School and an MA from the graduate jazz program at CUNY Queens College.
While living in New York, Rafał performed with a wide range of ensembles, including the Lucas Pino No-Net Nonet (2009–2019), which held a monthly residency at the renowned Smalls Jazz Club. In addition to his work in America and Europe, he is also active on the Chinese jazz scene and has completed 20 concert tours across Asia. He currently resides in Warsaw, where he serves as an adjunct professor at both the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music and the University of Music in Łódź.
He has released five original albums, three of which—Song From a New Place (2008), Cat’s Dream (2014), and A View From The Treetop (2022)—were nominated for the Fryderyk Award, Poland’s equivalent of the Grammy. His recordings have also been recognized by prestigious American jazz media outlets such as DownBeat and All About Jazz. The album The Madman Rambles Again was listed by All About Jazz as one of the most notable releases of the year.