Record Reviews

PAWEL WSZOLEK ~ CHOICE FRESH SOUND 478 (Barcode: 8427328424783) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz bassist Pawel WszolekFind albums by this artist recorded with his quartet with also includes guitarist Lukasz KokoszkoFind albums by this artist, pianist Sebastian ZawadzkiFind albums by this artist and drummer Szymon MadejFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Wszolek and was released on the Spanish Fresh SoundFind albums on this label label as part of the prestigious New Talent series. The music is all within the melodic modern mainstream boundaries, solid and well crafted, but not particularly ambitious. It is, however, excellently executed, especially due to the superb piano parts by Zawadzki and sensitive drumming my Madej, who have both already appeared with great success on other Polish Jazz recordings in the last few years. Wszolek also plays well, handling the bass solos with self confidence and playing alongside his cohorts amicably. Of course, although he is the quartet´s leader, playing a bass solo on every track of the album is a bit excessive. The guitar, however, I find a bit overbearing, as it is loud in the mix and its sound is slightly harsh (too much echo?), not fitting ideally to the acoustic piano trio setting of the rest of the band. Stylistically the round guitar sounds are definitely way too related to Pat MethenyFind albums by this artist for my taste. Nevertheless this is still a very strong debut effort, which should satisfy most mainstream Jazz fans and serve as a sold proof of the talents of these young musicians, who are after all at the very early stages of their career. I look forward to hear more of Wszolek´s music in the future, after he matures a bit and gains the experience so much needed when playing Jazz.

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