Maggie Babiarz came to Chicago alone at age 16 from a small village in the Polish highlands. Today, she leads the Megitza Quartet, a Chicago band that plays an energetic mash-up of traditional and original music from eastern and southern Europe. Jay Shefsky has the story on Chicago Tonight at 7:00 pm.
Babiarz is a singer and an upright bass player. The rest of the quartet includes Andreas Kapsalis, an exceptional guitarist of Greek descent, who uses a unique technique of finger tapping and incorporates his guitar’s body as percussion instrument; Marek Lichota, a Polish bayan virtuoso; and Jamie Gallagher, an excellent, innovative drummer who uses a hybrid, multicultural drum set.
With their high-energy stage presence, original compositions and arrangements, the Megitza Quartet offers its audiences an insurmountable dose of adventure, where even without knowing the language, anyone can be captivated by their songs.
The Megitza Quartet released their newest single and music video on Thursday, called "What I Desire." Watch it below.
Watch them perform at the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival in the video below.
In the following video, the Megitza Quartet performs at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.
Listen to the Megitza Quartet sing in the audio clips below.
"Bolerita":
"Highlander's Heart":
"Gelem Gelem":
For more information on the Megitza Quartet, please visit the links below.
