Record Reviews

PATER / KAMINSKI / UROWSKI / GORZYCKI ~ DZIKI JAZZ MW 002 (Barcode: 5905912556926) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2009 Released: 2009 This is an excellent album by a quartet of young generation Polish Jazz musicians: guitarist Kamil PaterFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Aleksander KaminskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel UrowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Rafal GorzyckiFind albums by this artist. They have all appeared in different local ensembles since the turn of the Century and have an established reputation as some of the biggest hopes of the future Polish Jazz scene. The album presents eight original compositions, with two each by Pater, Urowski and Pater / Kaminski, one by Gorzycki and the remaining one by all four musicians. The music is an interesting blend of modern Jazz and some Blues, Rock, Electronics and Contemporary Classical influences. The overall atmosphere is contemplative and relaxed and the up-tempo passages are usually brief and serve as a contrast to the low-key attitude, which dominates this recording. There are clear melodic themes stated in each of the compositions, but there is also a lot of freedom and individual expression herein. The two main soloists (i.e. guitar and saxophone) play some beautiful duets and the level of interplay between the four musicians is simply phenomenal. It is great to see musicians finding ne ways to express their talents and innovate, rather than follow the beaten path of mainstream Jazz, which has been over-exploited for decades. This music is original, fresh, fascinating and stylistically diverse to keep the listeners on their toes time and time again. Three of the musicians playing here recorded another splendid album entitles "A-KinetonFind albums with this title" with saxophonist Irek WojtczakFind albums by this artist replacing Kaminski, which is also a "must have" for all Polish Jazz connoisseurs.

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PATER / WOJTCZAK / UROWSKI / GORZYCKI ~ A-KINETON OWOC 001 (Barcode: 5903292101378) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2012 This wonderful album, recorded by the Polish quartet comprising of guitarist Kamil PaterFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Irek WojtczakFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel UrowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Rafal GorzyckiFind albums by this artist, with guest trumpeter Maurycy WojcinskiFind albums by this artist, is an excellent example of contemporary Jazz, played by young musicians who slowly establish a new school of Polish Jazz, continuing the splendid tradition of the country´s achievements in that area. For people following the scene these names won´t be completely new, as they have been active in many different ensembles during the last decade, like Sing Sing PenelopeFind albums by this artist, Ecstasy ProjectFind albums by this artist, Contemporary Noise SextetFind albums by this artist and others. Pater, Urowski and Gorzycki, with saxophonist Aleksander KaminskiFind albums by this artist, recorded the splendid "Dziki JazzFind albums with this title" (Wild Jazz) album earlier on. Pater wrote five of the eight compositions on this album, with Urowski and Gorzycki contributing one composition each and one being a group composition. The music is excellent modern Jazz, with some basic melodic content, but mostly improvised with a lot of both individual and collective freedom extended towards the participants. The performances are all inspired and highly professional, and overall the album is a great piece of music, which flows elegantly from one composition to another, constantly keeping the listener on the edge. By and large the atmosphere is somewhat similar to the music played by the groundbreaking Polish ensemble Sing Sing Penelope, which of course is not entirely surprising and should be seen as a compliment. Hopefully this quartet has a lot more to offer in the future, and I´m looking forward to hear their next album. Wholeheartedly recommended!

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PAULINA PORSZKE ENSEMBLE ~ ADDAPTACJA NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz keyboardist / vocalist / composer Paulina PorszkeFind albums by this artist recorded with a seven piece ensemble with second keyboardist Jan JareckiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Aleksander KaminskiFind albums by this artist and Michal Jan CiesielskiFind albums by this artist, cellist Weronika KulpaFind albums by this artist, bassist Filip ArasimowiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Maksymilian KreftFind albums by this artist. Except for the two saxophonists and the bassist, the rest of the players have no previous recording experience as far as I know. The album presents five original compositions, one in two parts, all composed by Porszke. From the very onset of the music it becomes immediately apparent that this is a completely original and idiosyncratic piece of music, unlike almost everything that the Polish Jazz scene produced in 2020. Although obviously Jazz oriented, the music is all over the place (in the best meaning of the aphorism), touching on contemporary Classical Music, Free Improvisation, solid melodic themes and at times heartbreaking expressionism and even Romanticism. Such diversity might be a sign of a lack of focus and coherency, but in this case the opposite is true, since although the music is based on cross-genre pollination, it has unifying determination and above all Artistic / aesthetic depth, rarely achievable by such young musicians as Porszke. The complex and challenging music is spectacularly executed by the ensemble. Although there are many inspiring individual statements herein, it is the ensemble performance that is the true forte of this recording. The individual soli are usually short and concise, obviously purposely so, as the leader / composer wishes to present a specific collective ensemble sound and ambience rather than feature the individual statements. Porszke´s use of wordless vocalese deserves a special mention, and is another refreshing facet of the music. It is great to see that some of the representatives of the new generation of European Jazz realize that Jazz music is no longer a simplistic couple of chords theme, 4/4 rhythmic structure and "let´s go" approach. Jazz is becoming more and more Artistic, sophisticated, expressive, intellectual, emotional and above all personal, similar to what one can hear on this album. This music is obviously deeply personal and Porszke uses it as a vehicle to express her innermost experiences, exactly as other true Artists do regardless of what Art Form they utilize to express themselves. It is almost "frightening" to think that if this is Porszke´s debut album, what she will come up with next. Personally I can´t wait to hear it, but on second thought just take your time young Lady…I keep my fingers crossed!

Updated: 07/01/2021Posted: 07/01/2021

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SING SING PENELOPE ~ THIS IS THE MUSIC / VOLUME 1 MW 004 (Barcode: 5903292102245) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 - 2012 Released: 2012 This is the 6th album by the brilliant Polish ensemble Sing Sing PenelopeFind albums by this artist, formed and led by drummer Rafal GorzyckiFind albums by this artist, which includes also trumpeter Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Aleksander KaminskiFind albums by this artist (new member) and Tomasz GlazikFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Daniel MackiewiczFind albums by this artist and bassist Patryk WeclawekFind albums by this artist. Two guest artists, who played on the ensemble´s previous recordings, are also present here: violinist Sebastian GruchotFind albums by this artist and DJ StrangefruitFind albums by this artist from Norway on live electronics. It seems that SSP (as they are known in this age of shortcuts) can do no wrong and this album is every bit as grand as everything else they attempted previously, which after six albums and ten years amounts both to a substantial body of music as much as their impeccable reputation. The music, contributed collectively or individually by all participants, is as usual a completely original mix of styles and sub-genres, disregarding boundaries and freely moving from one territory to another. Atmospheric / ambient electronic sounds over strong, pulsating rhythmic patterns and Jazz solos on top seems to be shortest way to describe this music, although it manages to escape any simple depiction, which of course means there is interesting stuff happening here. In many respects this album sums up the decade of the ensemble´s existence, covering everything from their Jazz-Rock efforts, through the Free Jazz improvisations and recent ambient vistas. In retrospect SSP emerge as perhaps the most interesting phenomenon of the first decade of the 21st Century on the Polish scene, being the most consistent, searching and completely disregarding fads group of young musicians around. An absolute must to any serious Jazz listener, wishing to reach beyond the obvious!

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SING SING PENELOPE / DJ STRANGEFRUIT ~ ELECTROGRIDE MOZG 001 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2010 This is the 5th album by the sensational Polish ensemble Sing Sing PenelopeFind albums by this artist, recorded in cooperation with Norwegian DJ StrangefruitFind albums by this artist (real name Pal NyhusFind albums by this artist) and Polish (resident in Norway) violinist Sebastian GruchotFind albums by this artist. The regular SSP lineup (trumpeter Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Tomasz GlazikFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Daniel MackiewiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Patryk WeclawekFind albums by this artist and drummer / percussionist Rafal GorzyckiFind albums by this artist) is slightly changed with saxophonist Aleksander KaminskiFind albums by this artist fulfilling the position of the absent Glazik. The circumstances surrounding the recording of this album are connected to the Smolensk catastrophe, in which a plane carrying Polish Government officials crushed killing everybody on board. The musicians who recorded this album were suppose to tour Polish clubs, but as a result of the mourning the concerts were cancelled and instead they recorded the album, which was distributed free of charge in the clubs, where the concerts were supposed to be played. Of course today this album is a rare collector´s item. Musically this album marks another expansion of SSP already adventurous music into new territory, with the inclusion of electronics and ambient elements. The music becomes more contemplative and spacey, in comparison to their earlier efforts, but the Jazz solos and overall atmosphere is unmistakably SSP. Another innovation is the use of World Music percussive elements by Gorzycki, which adds another dimension to the music. The album´s ac hoc nature and the short (EP size) repertoire are all results of the on the spot decision to make the album at the time and the fruition of the ideas contained herein was fully realized in their next album. In retrospect this little gem appends a valuable add-on to the splendid recorded legacy of the ensemble so far and as usual is a splendid piece of contemporary music of rare quality.

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