Record Reviews

AN ON BAST ~ SONGS FOR RUNNING THROUGH GRASS GHOST KITCHEN 01 ~ POLAND ~ Electronic & Ambient Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 Polish Jazz enthusiasts are familiar with electronic producer and live performer An On BastFind albums by this artist (real name Anna SudaFind albums by this artist) thanks to a series of wonderful recordings she made with trumpeter Maciej FortunaFind albums by this artist, where her extraordinary creations met the Jazz idiom. But before recording with Fortuna she was already a world famous artists, performer and recording artist of her own accord with an ongoing career since 2006. An On Bast recorded this solo album after the recordings with Fortuna and its release also marks a debut on her own record label called Ghost Kitchen. It includes eleven relatively short tracks, all composed by her. Contemporary electronic / ambient music is rarely interesting to me, as it is based mostly on schematic, very predictable sound formulas and rhythmic patterns. The great Godfathers of electronic music, like Karlheinz StockhausenFind albums by this artist, Edgar VareseFind albums by this artist and many others, started the electronic explorations to expand the borders of sound as known to the human ear, but by the end of the 20th Century it was completely bastardized, commercialized and vandalized by the Pop (non)Culture of the time, becoming more of a noise pollution than music in any respect. Of course there are always exceptions and An On Bast is for me one of them. Her electronic / ambient sounds are aesthetically pleasing; non aggressive and diverse enough to keep the attention of the listener rather than hypnotize him by a drone like repetitious mechanical sound poison. There is enough melodic element, development and variety to keep things interesting for the duration of the album, and listening to it becomes quite a fun after a while, especially in a relaxed, hassle-free environment, like driving or late night listening. Although I hope An On Bast will continue her involvement with the Jazz world in the future, her electronic works are now another avenue of soundscapes I find worth following. Well done!

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AN ON BAST / MACIEJ FORTUNA ~ 1 FM 006 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012 This is the debut album by the duo of live-electronics performer An On BastFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Anna SudaFind albums by this artist) and the young Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Maciej FortunaFind albums by this artist. The nine tracks, which this album comprises of, are all co-credited to both artists. The music is created by amalgamating acoustic trumpet sounds with electronic effects, resulting in a new musical form and structure. This kind of cooperation between Jazz tradition and contemporary sound possibilities are quite popular among the young generation of Polish Jazz players and several recordings, conceptually similar to this one, have been made in the last few years in Poland. Even Pink FreudFind albums by this artist, Poland´s most popular Jazz outfit, uses the same trumpet / electronics formula since many years. Therefore this album loses some of the "surprise effect" one might expect from such an unusual setting. Nevertheless the resulting music is still very interesting and proves that Jazz should be open to new ideas at all times and that its heritage and concepts should not be sanctified just for the sake of conservatism. This album might perhaps be more appealing to the younger generation of Jazz connoisseurs, which grew up with electronic sound effects as an organic part of their musical milieu. Fortuna should definitely be congratulated for daring and keeping his mind open. Fortuna wrote some fabulous melodies, which are clearly distinguishable even after being electronically treated and transformed. His superb trumpet playing, which is well documented on his "straight-forward" Jazz recordings, is the key element of the successful overall effect this album transmits. Innovative, challenging, often subtle and intriguing, this music takes some time to digest and get used to, but good music often does. This album is recommended to the adventurous listeners, who keep looking for challenging music, although any open-minded music lover should find this fascinating and eventually rewarding.

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AN ON BAST / MACIEJ FORTUNA ~ ELECTROACOUSTIC TRANSFORMATION OF FILM MUSIC BY KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI FM 013 (Barcode: 888174357317) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2013 This is the third album by the Polish duo, which consists of ambient / electronic music artists An On BastFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Anna SudaFind albums by this artist) and Jazz trumpeter / composer Maciej FortunaFind albums by this artist. The album includes thirteen tracks, which were composed and conceived by the duo, all inspired by music composed by the Polish Classical composer Maestro Krzysztof PendereckiFind albums by this artist, which was either composed as soundtrack music for cinematographic productions or used in such capacity. The album also includes a DVD, which presents six short videos by visual artist Pawel WypychFind albums by this artist, based on six tracks present on the CD, which visualize the music using black & white animations and collages. Penderecki´s involvement with film music is relatively less acknowledged in comparison to his large scale symphonic works, but it has always been some of the most impressive and dramatic of its kind and accompanied some of the best films by some of the most important directors, like David LynchFind albums by this artist, Stanley KubrickFind albums by this artist, Martin ScorseseFind albums by this artist, Andrzej WajdaFind albums by this artist and others. This is by far the most complex and advanced project realized to date by the duo, which shows another perspective as well as another depth of their music. The personal and artistic courage to undertake a project like this one is to be admired and encouraged. After generations of Polish Jazz repeatedly dealing with the music of Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist, often ad nauseam, the young and bold Polish Jazz lions discover contemporary Polish Classical music as the source of their inspiration. In 2012 the pianist Piotr OrzechowskiFind albums by this artist released a sensational album with his interpretation of music by Maestro Penderecki ("Experiment: PendereckiFind albums with this title") and now this album does it again, no less boldly one may add. Other Jazz albums, for example with music by Wojciech KilarFind albums by this artist, were also released lately. This is definitely a refreshing trend. The music included herein is truly overwhelming. Listeners with little or no experience with electronic music or the usage of electronic effects might find it initially strange and a bit difficult, but a couple of listening sessions should break the ice. An On Bast uses an array of different sound effects to create a rich and diverse background upon which Fortuna adds his incredible trumpet passages. These two elements: the electronic and the acoustic, work perfectly together to create a deeply atmospheric musical creation, floating in the infinite sonoric space. Album after album and step after step Fortuna builds up a body of work that is most impressive and simply can not be ignored. His immense talent and versatility, as demonstrated herein in the collaboration with contemporary musical vocabulary, is awe-inspiring. The level of intellectual and emotional dialogue between these two young artists is a ray of hope in this dark age where most things seem to be simply fading out. Thank you!

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AN ON BAST / MACIEJ FORTUNA ~ LIVE FM 010 (Barcode: 888174021560) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 This is the second album by the Polish duo, which consists of ambient / electronic music artists An On BastFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Anna SudaFind albums by this artist) and Jazz trumpeter / composer Maciej FortunaFind albums by this artist. The album includes ten tracks which were composed and conceived by the duo, all recorded live on two different occasions. The last track is a tribute to the memory of the great Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Andrzej PrzybielskiFind albums by this artist, who died in February 2011. This album continues the direction set up by the duo´s debut album, which combines electronic / synthesized ambient vistas with trumpet solos stating the melodic elements of the music. Although not completely innovative, this music differs from most similar projects since it involves a virtuosic player like Fortuna, who is capable of lengthy and complex improvisations, keeping a clear tone and superb fluency at all times. Although this music is not very easy to listen to, requiring maximal attention blended with fruitful imagination, it speaks to a wider population of listeners than the very limited Jazz audience. Ambient / electronic music gained quite a following in the last decades and therefore there is a good chance this music might be appealing to them as well. Of course the trumpet parts played by Fortuna are the focus of this music, as the melodic sounds he produces are what the human ear is used to, much more so than the ambient sounds in the background. And yet an experienced listener quickly discovers the symbiotic relationship between these two layers, which enables the existence of one only in the presence of the other. The combined sound is dense, engaging and aesthetically pleasing, even at its darkest moments. The fact that Fortuna is engaged in this project in parallel to his numerous other, mostly Jazz oriented activities proves his diversity as an artist and his open-mindedness, which is often quite limited among other players. Overall this is a project that deserves to be heard and praised for bridging the cross-genre gaps and exploring uncharted territory. This is definitely worth investigating, especially for the more adventurous listeners, who are willing to take certain risks in order to gain new experiences.

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AN ON BAST / MACIEJ FORTUNA ~ LIVE (LIMITED EDITION) FM 008 (Barcode: 888174021560) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 This is the second album by the Polish duo, which consists of ambient / electronic music artists An On BastFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Anna SudaFind albums by this artist) and Jazz trumpeter / composer Maciej FortunaFind albums by this artist. The album includes ten tracks which were composed and conceived by the duo, all recorded live on two different occasions. The last track is a tribute to the memory of the great Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Andrzej PrzybielskiFind albums by this artist, who died in February 2011. This album continues the direction set up by the duo´s debut album, which combines electronic / synthesized ambient vistas with trumpet solos stating the melodic elements of the music. Although not completely innovative, this music differs from most similar projects since it involves a virtuosic player like Fortuna, who is capable of lengthy and complex improvisations, keeping a clear tone and superb fluency at all times. Although this music is not very easy to listen to, requiring maximal attention blended with fruitful imagination, it speaks to a wider population of listeners than the very limited Jazz audience. Ambient / electronic music gained quite a following in the last decades and therefore there is a good chance this music might be appealing to them as well. Of course the trumpet parts played by Fortuna are the focus of this music, as the melodic sounds he produces are what the human ear is used to, much more so than the ambient sounds in the background. And yet an experienced listener quickly discovers the symbiotic relationship between these two layers, which enables the existence of one only in the presence of the other. The combined sound is dense, engaging and aesthetically pleasing, even at its darkest moments. The fact that Fortuna is engaged in this project in parallel to his numerous other, mostly Jazz oriented activities proves his diversity as an artist and his open-mindedness, which is often quite limited among other players. Overall this is a project that deserves to be heard and praised for bridging the cross-genre gaps and exploring uncharted territory. This is definitely worth investigating, especially for the more adventurous listeners, who are willing to take certain risks in order to gain new experiences.

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WOJCIECH JACHNA / JACEK BUHL ~ PANJABU MONOTYPE ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2009 Released: 2009 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz duo consisting of trumpeter Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist (Contemporary Noise SextetFind albums by this artist, Sing Sing PenelopeFind albums by this artist) and drummer Jacek BuhlFind albums by this artist (SyfonFind albums by this artist, GlabulatorFind albums by this artist). It presents eleven original compositions, all co-composed by the duo members. The music is beautifully innovative and embodies a new sub-genre of the thriving Polish Jazz scene, which combines the tradition of trumpet / drums duos combined and expanded here with electronic and ambient sound vistas. A somewhat similar approach to music was also adopted a few years later by the An On BastFind albums by this artist / Maciej FortunaFind albums by this artist duo, which shares many sonic similarities with this duo. This music consists of expanded melodic themes developed by the trumpet and accompanied harmonically and rhythmically by the ambient electronic background and the drum parts. This approach seems to offer a wide plane of new possibilities, with are just being discovered lately. Such recordings like this one emphasize the vitality and the constant drive of the young Polish Jazz musicians to innovate and discover new possibilities, rather than stay on the beaten track of mainstream Jazz, which is probably the most important characteristic of the entire scene. Of course Jachna and Buhl already demonstrated their creativity and pioneering spirit as members of other ensembles they played with, but their work in this duo is the most impressive in that respect. Their next album as a duo ("Niedokonczone KsiazkiFind albums with this title"), recoded a year later, brought this wonderful concept to perfection. Sadly this album is relatively quite anonymous and known mostly to a small number of Polish Jazz Avant Garde fans, which is a pity. It is definitely worth searching for and deserves an honorable place in any serious Polish Jazz collection, especially for people following new trends and bold pioneering progress.

Updated: 17/12/2018Posted:

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