Record Reviews

KALUZA / MAJEWSKI / MAZUR / SUCHAR ~ TONE HUNTING CLEAN FEED 285 (Barcode: 5609063002850) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 This is the debut album by the Improvising Music quartet, which consists of German saxophonist Anna KaluzaFind albums by this artist and three Polish musicians: trumpeter Artur MajewskiFind albums by this artist, acoustic bass guitarist Rafal MazurFind albums by this artist and drummer Kuba SucharFind albums by this artist. Majewski and Suchar are or course known as the excellent duo MikrokolektywFind albums by this artist and Mazur is a member of the TRC TrioFind albums by this artist. The album presents five extended improvisations, credited to all quartet members and was released by the excellent Portuguese Clean FeedFind albums on this label label. The music is a great example of the vitality of the Polish / European Improvising Music scene, which is enjoying a tremendous Renaissance and involves a new generation of players and enthusiasts. These four musicians are among the most innovative and interesting representatives of the genre and have been already recognized internationally as important creative forces. Listening to this album clearly shows why they deserve such recognition. Although improvised, the music presents a diverse stylistic collage of sound vistas, from minimalistic and delicate breathing tones to expressive collective forceful statements. Most of the sounds and tones heard on this album are quite remote from what one would expect from the conventional usage of the instruments involved, and yet they somehow make all perfect sense and create a wonderful amalgam, which is obviously unlike almost anything heard before. In most cases the quartet members produce a series of rapid staccato sounds, which then are all intermixed into one sonic whole. In contrast to most "conventional" music, which once stated becomes unwavering in consequent listening encounters, this music is constantly alive and chameleonic, changing each time one listens to it. That elusiveness and constant ability to be transformed is of course what makes this music so fascinating. Obviously this is definitely not something for a casual listener and its overall accessibility is limited to connoisseurs of the genre, but as such, it is unquestionably one of its finest exhibits.

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