Record Reviews

RASM ALMASHAN ~ YEMENIA SOLITON 365 (Barcode: 5901571093659) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2018 - 2019 Released: 2020 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish (of Yemeni origin) vocalist Rasm AlmashanFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Rasm Al-MashanFind albums by this artist), recorded with an excellent group of musicians: percussionist Adeb ChamounFind albums by this artist, oud player Mateusz SzemrajFind albums by this artist, drummer Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Bartozzi WojciechowskiFind albums by this artist and keyboardist Adam LemanczykFind albums by this artist. Saxophonist Grzech PiotrowskiFind albums by this artist, who is the musical producer of the album, guests on three tracks and violinist Stanislaw SlowinskiFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album presents nine songs, six of which are composed by Almashan, two are co-composed by her and Piotrowski and one is a traditional Yemenite song, made world-famous by Israeli singer Ofra HazaFind albums by this artist as "Im Nin´alu", who also had Yemenite roots. Most of the lyrics (In Yemeni Arabic and English) were also written by Almashan, except for "Im Nin´alu" which has lyrics in Hebrew written by Rabbi Shalom ShabaziFind albums by this artist, and two songs with lyrics by the great Yemeni singer Abu Bakr Salem BelfqihFind albums by this artist. The music is an amalgam of Pop and Middle Eastern / African Folklore elements with a strong Jazz-World Fusion accompaniment, excellently put together and very entertaining. Melodically and rhythmically the music is mostly quite European, but the arrangements are strongly influenced by Ethnically sounding ornamentations and Jazzy improvisations. For a person like me, who is surrounded by Middle Eastern music every day, this music does not sound "authentic" enough, but for European listeners this might work out perfectly, especially in view of the fact that Middle Eastern scales and phrasing can sound very outlandish to a European ear. However, this music sounds great regardless of its distance from authenticity, thanks to the great melodies and superb performances by all the participants, mixing perfect doses of European melody and exotic Middle Easter spices. Almashan is an excellent vocalist, whom I have been lucky to hear live many times, with a wide range, great sensitivity and wonderful musicality. The Jazzy accompaniment suits her perfectly and personally I love most the songs on which she lets go of the strict melody and ventures into more improvised passages, which are the absolute highlight of this album. Listeners who love Pop songs with strong Ethnic elements and Jazzy accents, similar to the music of the lamented Ofra Haza, should be delighted by this album from start to finish, as it is full of great playing and superb vocal parts, offering new musical layers with each repeated listening session and bridges Cultures in a most accessible and heartfelt manner. Warmly recommended!

Updated: 05/03/2020Posted: 05/03/2020

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MILO ENSEMBLE ~ D`EN DIA EN DIA MILO 306 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 Poland’s almost one thousand years of Jewish Culture, severed and annihilated by the Holocaust, enjoys a miraculous revival in the last two decades or so on the Polish Cultural scene, with music being just one of its many facets. Jewish Culture festivals and concerts of Jewish music are a pretty common phenomenon in Poland these days, but sadly all those reflect primarily just a part of the Jewish Cultural tradition, namely the Ashkenazi Jewry heritage. Its counterpart, the Sephardic Jewish Culture, is consistently absent on the Polish scene, sadly almost always intentionally. Polish Jews were of course predominantly Ashkenazi, and Sephardic Jews (like myself) were a tiny minority, with their Cultural heritage regarded as inferior and systematically ignored by the Polish Jewish establishment in the past, as well as today. Of course Sephardic music has its roots in the Mediterranean Cultures, which often sound strange to East European Ashkenazi ears, and therefore it is hardly surprising that it took someone like Milo KurtisFind albums by this artist, a Polish Greek, to undertake the ambitious project of presenting a collection of Sephardic songs by his Milo EnsembleFind albums by this artist, one of the most colorful music gatherings on the Polish scene. This album, which is a live recording, presents eight Sephardic Jewish songs, sung in the Ladino language, and two versions of an original composition, which open and close the performance. The ensemble consists of Kurtis, who plays clarinet and other instruments, vocalist Masha NatansonFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Misza KinsnerFind albums by this artist and Bartosz SmoragiewiczFind albums by this artist, oud player Mateusz SzemrajFind albums by this artist and percussionist Adeb ChamounFind albums by this artist, as well as guest artist, American trumpeter Dave DouglasFind albums by this artist. Several other guests take part on selected tracks, like vocalist KayahFind albums by this artist, electronics wizard Tadeusz SudnikFind albums by this artist and others. The music follows the Jazz-World Fusion pattern, with each of the songs presented in its basic form and followed by extensive instrumental improvisations. The rhythmic background is predominantly close to Arabic / Greek patterns and the Sephardic originality is often stretched beyond recognition, but the concept holds water and offers an exciting glimpse of Jewish Music, which is rarely heard on the Polish stages. Listeners, who enjoy virtuosic instrumental improvisations and exotic atmosphere, full of Middle Eastern spirit, should enjoy this wonderful music to the max. Overall, this is an ambitious, original and exciting musical adventure, which adds some new color to the Jewish Culture and its presence in the Polish soil. Kurtis stays, as always, true to his roots and his capacity as a leader, who knows what he wants, is what keeps him afloat for all these years on this ever-changing seesaw ride of playing ambitious music. Thank you, my fellow Mediterranean soul Brother, for being what you are.

Updated: 23/11/2022Posted: 23/11/2022

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MILO ENSEMBLE ~ LIVE MILO 305 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is a live recording by the ensemble led by Polish (of Greek origin) multi-instrumentalist / composer / band leader Milo KurtisFind albums by this artist, which includes some of the top World Music musicians active in Poland, all of whom are multi-instrumentalists playing authentic acoustic instruments originating from many different corners of the world. They are: saxophonists Misza KinsnerFind albums by this artist and Bartosz SmoragiewiczFind albums by this artist, percussionist Adeb ChamounFind albums by this artist, multi-instrumentalist / vocalist Bart PalygaFind albums by this artist and oud player Mateusz SzemrajFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions, eight of which were composed by Kurtis, one was co-composed by him and Smoragiewicz and one each were composed by Smoragiewicz and Palyga. I had the pleasure not only to be present at the Polish Radio Agnieszka Osiecka Studio, where this album was recorded, but even introduced the ensemble to the public before the concert started. The album faithfully captures the music that was played during that evening, which was mostly improvised on the basis of the pre-composed themes, completely acoustic and deeply spiritual, with Kurtis directing the ensemble but allowing the individual players to venture into extensive improvisations, and eventually bringing them back into the structured framework. Amazingly everything worked out beautifully together and the superb sound quality and separation allows the listener to hear every tiny detail within the complex wall of sound created by the six musicians. In comparison to the earlier recordings by Kurtis, the music on this album is less Jazz oriented per se and is much more atmospheric, venturing into Improvised Music idiom, but more form the World music direction rather than from the Jazz direction. As a result this album emerges as one of the most successful achievements in his substantial recording legacy. Of course this is not only due to the compositions and direction setting done by the leader but also thanks to the amazing talents of the participation musicians, who offer a vast kaleidoscope of sounds, instruments and influences, more extensive than what Kurtis ever managed to collect within one ensemble. Overall this is probably the most impressive Jazz-World Fusion album released in Poland in 2019 and a most significant addition to the important recorded legacy of Milo Kurtis, who remains, after many years of activity, to be at the vortex of creativity and activity of the Polish musical scene, hopefully for many years to come. Se efcharistó file mou!

Updated: 01/01/2020Posted: 01/01/2020

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MILO ENSEMBLE ~ LIVE AT PROM KULTURY MILO 303 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is a live recording by an ensemble led by Polish multi-instrumentalist / composer / band leader Milo KurtisFind albums by this artist, which comprises of some of the top Jazz-World Music Fusion Polish or resident in Poland musicians: vocalist Rasm Al-MashanFind albums by this artist, oud player Mateusz SzemrajFind albums by this artist, kora player and vocalist Buba Badjie KuyatehFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Mariusz KozlowskiFind albums by this artist and percussionist Adeb ChamounFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, five of which were composed by Kurtis, one was co-composed by him and Al-Mashan and one each composed by Kuyateh and Kozlowski. Kurtis, in addition to being a charismatic bandleader and a colorful personality has also a rare talent of gathering around him excellent musicians, amalgamating their often diverse backgrounds into a stylistic blend, which is simply much more than just a sum of its ingredients. This happened with the NaxosFind albums by this artist ensemble, in which some of these musicians were members, as well as in his earlier ensembles, and it applies to this one with the exact same efficiency. The music on this album combines many seemingly dissimilar World Music elements from Africa, Middle East and other sources, wonderfully weaving them together with Jazz improvisation, producing an irresistible and enchanted musical flying carpet ride. Each of the ensemble members represents a different aspect of the music and their cooperation, despite the short lived period of preparation, works like magic. Al-Mashan is a soulful vocalist, bringing to life the great tradition of female vocalists from the Arab World, like the diva Umm Kulthum, updating it to the contemporary World Music idiom. Szemraj is an oud virtuoso and he can easily stand shoulder to shoulder with Middle Eastern Masters of the oud. Kuyateh adds a wonderful color and tonal harmony to the proceedings, Kozlowski is the Jazz element and Chamoun superbly creates a polyrhythmic foundation, which keeps the music flowing. Kurtis, as usual, is in charge of the atmosphere and leads the ensemble firmly on track. Although Jazz-World Fusion music is quite popular in Poland and produces some excellent recordings, only a very few of those come close to the level of this album, which is full of spontaneity, happiness of making music and unpretentious but highly effective and honest music. Hopefully this ensemble will record a studio album sometime in the future, but in the meantime let´s feast on this little gem of an album, which proves that music is one and universal, that borders are meaningless and that good music goes directly to the heart of people! Don´t miss that one!

Updated: 28/07/2018Posted: 28/07/2018

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MILO ENSEMBLE & NILS PETTER MOLVAER ~ LIVE MILO 307 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is a live album by the Polish Jazz-World Fusion Milo EnsembleFind albums by this artist, led by clarinetist / composer Milo KurtisFind albums by this artist, with guest Norwegian trumpeter / composer Nils Petter MolvaerFind albums by this artist. The ensemble includes reeds player / flautist Bartosz SmoragiewiczFind albums by this artist, vocalist Masha NatansonFind albums by this artist, bass saxophonist Misza KinsnerFind albums by this artist, oud player Mateusz SzemrajFind albums by this artist and percussionist Adeb ChamounFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten tracks, six composed by Kurtis, and two each by Molvaer and Smoragiewicz. The music was excellently recorded and offers a splendid sound quality and separation, which enables the listener to hear all the intricate nuances. Kurtis follows the same formula he devised for the ensemble since its establishment in 2015, as well as the tradition of recording his albums live, which has proven to be highly effective so far. The brilliant chemistry he manages to create, while leading his ensemble during live performances, is second to none and works perfectly to achieve the multiculti amalgam, with the music embracing Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern, Indian and African traditions. The ensemble’s members are all accomplished musicians, with intimate knowledge of their respective instruments, and considering the fact that they all play several different instruments, the result is very colorful, diverse and exciting for the entire duration. The presence of Molvaer does not have a dramatic impact on the music, and his melancholic Nordic tendencies, which are usually way more meditative and minimalist on his recordings as a leader, do not take over the general mood here, but integrate well with the rest of the ensemble. However, his trumpet and electronics dominate the two pieces he contributed, with the ensemble carefully taking a step back, which means that his pieces serve as a kind of interludes between the rest of the pieces. The more Jazz oriented listeners should be delighted by the extensive instrumental improvisations, and in in one case vocal improvisation, which are intensely present on the longer pieces. Overall, this is another highly successful recording my Kurtis and his ensemble, and although not innovative, it continues the established path faithfully, to the delight of his fans and followers. I am still hoping to hear a studio album by Kurtis and his cohorts, but perhaps sticking to a formula is the best solution. Time will tell…

Updated: 14/04/2024Posted: 14/04/2024

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NAXOS ~ COEXIST – LIVE AT POLIN MILO 302 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is the second album by Polish World Music ensemble NaxosFind albums by this artist, led by the charismatic musician of Greek origin Milo KurtisFind albums by this artist. Other musicians in the ensemble include vocalist Rasm Al-MashanFind albums by this artist, keyboardists and vocalist Konstanty JoriadisFind albums by this artist, guitarist Apostolis AnthimosFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Lena RomulFind albums by this artist, bassist Piotr OlszewskiFind albums by this artist, drummer Kamil SiciakFind albums by this artist and percussionists Adeb ChamounFind albums by this artist and Anna PatynekFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original pieces, four of which were written by Kurtis, another four by Joriadis, one by Anthimos and the final one co-composed by Joriadis and Al-Mashan. Following the ten tracks recorded live at Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the album includes a lengthy bonus track by another ensemble led by Kurtis, called Drum Freaks, originally released on the album "SmyrnaFind albums with this title". The music of Naxos is a perfect amalgamation of the beautiful Mediterranean music sources: Greek, Turkish, Arabic and Jewish, spiced with Rock and Jazz delicacies. Spectacularly performed by these highly talented musicians and fronted by the incredible vocal abilities of Al-Mashan, who not only sings beautifully but also is able to improvise with her vocals like al great Arabic singers, this music is a delightful musical trip to the heart of the Middle East. Of course reading about this music is not a substitute for listening to it and therefore I wholeheartedly recommend attending a Naxos concert anywhere possible, with a guaranteed satisfaction, and in the meantime getting a copy of this wonderful album and enjoying it to the max. Hopefully Kurtis and his cohorts will soon surprise us all again with some new music they so beautifully weave. In the meantime efharistó, shukraan and dziękuję my friends for the fabulous work and hope to see you all soon.

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NAXOS ~ THE TRIP AROUND THE BRAIN WARNER MUSIC POLAND 0825646292103 (Barcode: 0825646292103) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by the Polish ensemble NaxosFind albums by this artist, led by the celebrated musician / personality Milo KurtisFind albums by this artist, one of the pioneers of World Music and World-Jazz Fusion in Poland, who was a member of the legendary ensemble OssianFind albums by this artist in the 1970s and many other groups over the years. It was delightful to meet Milo in person just a few weeks ago in Warsaw and talk about the old times and the future, which for him is always full of bright things. I remember him taking part in my production of "The Book Of JobFind albums with this title" in 1985, under insane circumstances, and his worm personality didn´t change one iota over the years, which is truly remarkable Kurtis is one of several Polish musicians of Greek origin, same as guitarist Apostolis AnthimosFind albums by this artist of SBBFind albums by this artist fame, who also participates in this recording. Other members of the ensemble include keyboardist Konstanty JoriadisFind albums by this artist (also of Greek origin), female vocalist Rasm Al-MashanFind albums by this artist (of Yemenite origin), percussionist Adeb ChamounFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Marcin KajperFind albums by this artist and bassist Marcin PendowskiFind albums by this artist. Several guest musicians participate on selected tracks. The album presents thirteen tracks, most of which are credited to Kurtis and Joriadis, either separately or as co-composers. The music has a distinctive Mediterranean flavor, mixing Greek and Middle Eastern influences, rhythms and melodies into a lively and fascinating amalgam of cultures. On the Polish scene that kind of music is definitely quite unusual and exotic, but where I live this is basically a part of our everyday milieu and this kind of music can be heard all day long on the radio or on stage in music venues, big and small. This kind of synthesis has been the most distinctive characteristic of Israeli music over the last few decades, and it´s really heartwarming to hear it happening in Poland as well. Kurtis is doing his pioneering work again, and deserves to be encouraged and praised for it, especially in view of the impressive outcome, not to mention the popularization the idea that diverse cultures can work together for a common goal, as much aesthetic as practical. This music has no boundaries and should appeal to every open-minded fun loving person on this globe. The streets of Athens, or Beirut or Tel-Aviv swarm with fun loving people and their music reflects their love of life and the ability to live life in full, if only allowed to do so. This album could be a perfect soundtrack of that desire to simply enjoy life. Of course a glass of ouzo, arak or raki (preferably all three) definitely makes listening to this music even more enjoyable. So ευχαριστώ πολύ, my dear friend, I am looking forward to many more such great musical gifts in the future.

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