Biography

Naturally, this experience galvanized Dwonszyk to continue his studies at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the University of Hartford. There, Dwonszyk developed a profound rapport with Steve Davis and Nat Reeves, who impressed jazz’s vocabulary and swing on the young bassist. His insight led to a career as a top-call bassist in his native Connecticut.

 

After graduating with a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Studies from UHart, Dwonszyk obtained a Master’s of Music at SUNY Purchase College in New York, where he studied with professors in trumpeter Jon Faddis, guitarist John Abercrombie, and bassists Todd Coolman and Doug Weiss.

 

SUNY acted as a bridge from Connecticut to New York; he gradually began playing more in the Big Apple. In his second year at SUNY, he moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This led to performances at legendary jazz venues like Smalls, Smoke, Minton’s, Zinc Bar, Birdland, and the Jazz Standard.

 

He solidified his link with Barber when the drummer invited Dwonszyk onto his regular gig at Smalls. He made many recorded appearances, including on tenor saxophonist Jovan Alexandre’s 2015 debut, Collective Consciousness, alongside Barber, pianist Taber Gable, and guitarist Andrew Renfroe.

 

That year, Dwonszyk was accepted into the Bosyie Lowery Jazz Living Residency for his original compositions and was awarded in DownBeat Magazine for his arrangement of “What A Wonderful World.”

 

In 2018 — the year he released his debut album, Wonderful World, — Dwonszyk toured Russia as part of the Rainy Days Jazz Festival. In 2019, he toured through Canada with the Oleg Butman Trio and in 2020 with Jonathan Barber and Vision Ahead through the West Coast.

 

He released 2022’s A Year and a Day, recorded with his versatile, namesake ensemble, the Dwonztet. That year, with the Julieta Eugenio Trio, Dwonszyk won the 2022 DC JazzPrix Competition at the Washington, DC Jazz Festival. 

 

In 2023, the Dwonztet performed at the Hartford Baby Grand Jazz Series, The Northampton Jazz Strut, Smalls Jazz Club, The Side Door Jazz Club, and the Poli Club. The following year, they performed at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, Hartford Jazz Festival, and Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival.

 

True to his roots, Dwonszyk’s latest album was 2024’s Donny Time: The Music of Don DePalma, an album-length tribute to Hartford’s late, great pianist — with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the DePalma Roy Scholarship.

 

That year, Dwonszyk toured Europe with Barber, performing in London; Paris; and Muri, Switzerland — in the former, at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Club. He also performed in Mexico City and Guadalajara with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s New York Jazz All Stars — produced by DeQuinta Producciones, and featuring drummer Joe Farnsworth, pianist Emmet Cohen, and Hanahan.

 

In 2025, Dwonszyk will perform and record in Buenos Aires, Argentina; his next album will be recorded live at the Side Door Jazz Club. With his Dwonztet, he will perform July 26 at the Litchfield Jazz Festival. He will also be teaching jazz bass at Amherst College.

 

Education has long been core to Dwonszyk’s artistry and purpose. Since 2015, Dwonszyk has been a substitute teacher at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz. Every summer since 2017, he has taught at Bennie Wallace’s BackCountry Jazz Program and Litchfield Jazz Camp.

 

Since 2020, he has taught jazz bass at Manchester Community College and Central Connecticut State College; at the latter, Dwonszyk also teaches jazz history. He also teaches privately.

 

“I really try to take care of the music to the best of my ability,” Dwonszyk says, surveying his career. “I try to play every gig at 110 percent, no matter who it’s with. This is my calling; I’ve been doing it for more than half my life. It's all about community.”