Record Reviews

ESKAUBEI & TOMEK NOWAK QUARTET ~ 10/10 NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rap Fusion Recorded: 2024 Released: 2024 This is the 5th album by Polish Rap and Jazz ensemble which finds rapper Bartlomiej SkubiszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. EskaubeiFind albums by this artist) combining forces with a Jazz quartet led by trumpeter Tomek NowakFind albums by this artist, which also includes keyboardist Kuba BanaszekFind albums by this artist, bassist Alan WykpiszFind albums by this artist and drummer Maksymilian OlszewskiFind albums by this artist. DJ Wojciech DlugoszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Mr. KrimeFind albums by this artist), vocalist Aleksandra TockaFind albums by this artist and a string quartet also take part in the proceedings. The album present ten original compositions, all of which were composed by Nowak. Skubisz wrote all the lyrics. As the title suggests, the album celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the ensemble’s existence. The album continues the same basic concept that was used on the previous albums, which sets the lyrics written by Skubisz against Jazz tunes, which serve at times as background / accompaniment to the lyrics but also take the front stage when Nowak or Banaszek play solo parts. After ten years of working together the Jazz-Rap Fusion is brought to perfection and seems as natural as any other cross-genre exploration and combined with the wonderful musicianship by the participants it offers its own aesthetic ambience, rather than a random opportunistic conglomerate of styles. The arrangements on this album are more elaborate than on early recordings, which adds another layer of interest. Overall this is another solid release by this ensemble, which maintains the same level of execution and musical ingenuity. As I already pointed out earlier on, the very close stylistic similarity of all the albums released so far, should perhaps be refreshed / reconsidered in forthcoming projects. But so far the formula works out splendidly, so on the other hand not trying to change something that works well is a better choice. I had a blast listening to this music, as usual!

Updated: 21/01/2025Posted: 21/01/2025

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ESKAUBEI & TOMEK NOWAK QUARTET ~ BEDZIE DOBRZE FOR TUNE 0058 (Barcode: 5902768701456) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rap Fusion Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is a very interesting album, which amalgamates Rap and Jazz; a concept that has been attempted many times before, but rarely turned out to be a success. Polish rapper Bartlomiej SkubiszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. EskaubeiFind albums by this artist) combines forces with a Jazz quartet led by trumpeter Tomek NowakFind albums by this artist, which also includes keyboardist Kuba PluzekFind albums by this artist, bassist Alan WykpiszFind albums by this artist and drummer Filip MozulFind albums by this artist. A few guests appear on selected tracks. The album presents eleven original songs, all composed by Nowak (with the exception of one tune which includes music composed by Pluzek) and with lyrics by Eskaubei (with the exception of two song lyrics written by the a.m. guests). The album also includes the radio edit of the title song as a bonus track. Rap and Jazz are seemingly two completely contrasting Art Forms. Rap focuses on the spoken word, which attempts to deliver a message, and which uses music as a background stimuli, mostly rhythmically, with the melody part being usually pretty limited, repetitive and ornamental rather than substantial. Jazz on the other hand is all about complex melodic and harmonic structures and unlimited improvisation. The Jazz & Poetry idiom successfully managed to combine spoken word and Jazz music since the 1950s but Rap & Jazz, as already mentioned above, has been much less consistent and successful in trying to present a contemporary artistic attempt of amalgamating spoken word and Jazz. When analyzing a Rap & Jazz project, like the one here, I usually try to separate the contents into two separate planes and than estimate the level of correlation between them. In this case my feelings are as follows: The Rap part, i.e. the strength of the lyrics and their delivery (sadly limited to Polish speaking audiences only) is cohesive, intelligent and moving. The subject matter touches upon many of the problems we all encounter in our lives, like social injustice, personal relationships, morality, hypocrisy of the media and the pitiful state of music industry. The delivery is emotional, clearly understandable and above all classy. The music is also quite excellent: funky, melodic, uplifting and intelligent. The performances are excellent with Nowak´s trumpet delivering many scorching solos and Pluzek playing a beautiful soulful electric piano, like a true pro, also delivering several heartwarming solos. The rhythm section is the backbone of this music, keeping the beat and pushing the groove rolling. This music could have easily stand on its own (without the Rap on top), producing an excellent Funk-Groove-Soul-Jazz album. But of course most importantly these two layers placed upon each other produce the best Polish Rap Jazz effort so far. This result is hardly accidental, in view of one of the album´s songs, in which Eskaubei tells about the deep influence of Miles DavisFind albums by this artist on his artistic creation. Overall this is a most enjoyable, aesthetically pleasing piece of music, which puts a smile on the listener´s face. Warmly recommended!

Updated: 31/01/2017Posted:

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ESKAUBEI & TOMEK NOWAK QUARTET ~ SWEET SPOT FPJ 56A-19-01 (Barcode: 5907558261905) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rap Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the third album by Polish Rap and Jazz ensemble which finds rapper Bartlomiej SkubiszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. EskaubeiFind albums by this artist) combining forces with a Jazz quartet led by trumpeter Tomek NowakFind albums by this artist, which also includes keyboardist Kuba PluzekFind albums by this artist, bassist Alan WykpiszFind albums by this artist and drummer Maksymilian OlszewskiFind albums by this artist. DJ Wojciech DlugoszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Mr. KrimeFind albums by this artist), saxophonist Bartlomiej PrucnalFind albums by this artist, vocalist Aleksandra TockaFind albums by this artist and a few additional vocalists also take part in the proceedings. The album present thirteen original compositions, nine of which were composed by Nowak, one by Pluzek and three are collective instrumental improvisations. Skubisz wrote all the lyrics except two which he co-wrote with other people. The album repeats the same basic concept that was used on the two previous albums, which sets the lyrics written by Skubisz against Jazz tunes, which serve at times as background / accompaniment to the lyrics but also take the front stage when Nowak or Pluzek play solo parts. After five years of working together the Jazz-Rap Fusion is brought to perfection and seems as natural as any other cross-genre exploration and combined with the wonderful musicianship by the participants it offers its own aesthetic ambience, rather than a random opportunistic conglomerate of styles. Skubisz manages to express his views, often very controversial, critical and bitter, with clarity and coherence, using well developed language and eschewing vulgarism and simplistic shortcuts. Although the resulting Rap is somewhat "soft" in comparison to the usual hardcore roughness that characterizes the genre, his messages are my no means less striking, penetrating of evocative. Of course his target public is probably quite different from the typical Rap followers, especially when combined with Jazz, but his consistent activity definitely managed to create a strong following over time. Overall this is another solid release by this ensemble, which maintains the same level of execution and musical ingenuity. The only point worth consideration for future releases might be the very close similarity of the three albums released so far, which perhaps should be refreshed / reconsidered in forthcoming projects.

Updated: 19/06/2019Posted: 19/06/2019

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ESKAUBEI & TOMEK NOWAK QUARTET ~ TEGO CHCIALEM FOR TUNE 0117 (Barcode: 5906395808205) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rap Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is the second album by Polish Rap and Jazz ensemble which finds rapper Bartlomiej SkubiszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. EskaubeiFind albums by this artist) combining forces with a Jazz quartet led by trumpeter Tomek NowakFind albums by this artist, which also includes pianist Kuba PluzekFind albums by this artist, bassist Alan WykpiszFind albums by this artist and drummer Filip MozulFind albums by this artist. This time they are also supported by DJ Wojciech DlugoszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Mr. KrimeFind albums by this artist) who performs turntablism, saxophonist Mateusz SliwaFind albums by this artist and vocalist Patrycja ZarychtaFind albums by this artist. A couple of guest musicians appear on one track. Together the ensemble performs ten original songs, seven of which were composed by Nowak, two by Pluzek and one by Mozul (an instrumental intro). Skubisz wrote the lyrics to all nine songs and was helped out by the guest on one of them. This album continues the direction set by its predecessor, which combines Funky / Groovy Jazz tunes with Rap. In contrast to most attempts of such amalgamation, in which the musical content is rather limited and mostly very sketchy not to say primitive, this album offers a series of excellent full fledged compositions, which easily hold their own ground musically. This is even more emphasized on this album with the addition of Sliwa and expanding the quartet into a quintet on about half of the tunes. The Rap elements, although occupying a separate plane, are fully integrated within the musical structures. The turntablism, courtesy of Mr. Krime, who is prominently featured on the album, brings this album up to date with updated sound trends The instrumental work by the quartet / quintet is excellent from start to finish. Nowak plays superb soulful / funky phrases, Sliwa adds strength creating a brass section feel and soul when he plays solo, Pluzek plays absolutely wicked keyboards, using a plethora of sounds and groovy touches, Wykpisz, who is a wonderful Jazz bassist, turns here into a wizard of Funk and Groove and finally Mozul takes care of the rhythmic continuum, steady as a rock and devilishly inventive; in short a dream team! The Rap, which in fact is more a form than contents, turns out to be a recitation of Poetry, which deals with a wide range of subject matter, which Skubisz and his generation are facing in this strange and cruel world, which is consistently becoming less human. The lyrics are often bitter and frustrating, but from time to time also touch upon dreams and hope. They are a great example how one can express protest and anger without using even one four (or in Polish five) letter word. Overall this is another great album by Skubisz and his cohorts, proving that their debut effort was not just a lucky coincidence. The Rap and Jazz concept is again proven to be valid and creatively sound and the execution is once more just right on the money. Hopefully the Artists involved in this project will develop the idiom further in their future recordings, and in the meantime we are happy to enjoy this excellent effort. Well done again!

Updated: 31/01/2017Posted: 31/01/2017

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KRZYSZTOF PUMA PIASECKI & ADAM WENDT ~ WE SEE THE LIGHT SOLITON 1048 (Barcode: 5903684230488) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Blues Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is an album by two veteran Polish Jazz musicians: guitarist / composer Krzysztof Puma PiaseckiFind albums by this artist and saxophonist / composer Adam WendtFind albums by this artist, recorded live at the early days of the pandemic (when such things were still possible) in the famous Polish Jazz club Pod Filarami. Rapper EskaubeiFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Bartlomiej SkubiszFind albums by this artist) joins the duo on one track and adds some electronics on others. The album presents twelve original compositions: five by Piasecki, four by Wendt and three co-composed by them both. The music is all melody based, moving between Blues / Fusion influences (Piasecki) and mainstream Jazz (Wendt), offering mostly beautiful melodic themes, full of typical Polish melancholy. The entire atmosphere of the album is unique, with the spooky ambience of the empty club and the poignant uncertainty of the pandemic influencing the proceedings. Both Piasecki and Wendt perform brilliantly and their obvious mutual respect and understanding, as well as vast performing experience are immediately apparent here. Despite the limited instrumentation and the rather unusual guitar / sax pairing, the music sound just perfect and lacks nothing more to express the emotions involved. Piasecki´s superb guitar parts, both as accompanist and soloist, are simply breathtaking. Wendt adds wave after wave of heartwrenching emotion and together the duo is as perfect as one might wish for. Overall this is a beautiful album, full of great music and masterful performances, which is not trying to dazzle or surprise but concentrates on communicating music at its purest and most emotional form, which works here perfectly. The album´s optimistic title certainly has a bit of prophecy in it, with the end of the pandemic now in sight. This album is highly recommended to guitar fanatics, as it offers some highly unusual craft, but also to all music lovers, who can enjoy it in its purest form.

Updated: 02/01/2021Posted: 02/01/2021

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SKUBISZ / LEMANCZYK COOPERATION ~ STORIES ABOUT LIFE AND LOVE AFRO VIBE 004 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rap Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by Polish ensemble Skubisz / Lemanczyk CooperationFind albums by this artist, which comprises of rapper Bartlomiej SkubiszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. EskaubeiFind albums by this artist), bassist / composer Piotr LemanczykFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Tomek NowakFind albums by this artist and drummer Grzegorz PalkaFind albums by this artist. DJ Wojciech DlugoszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Mr. KrimeFind albums by this artist) appears as a guest musician and plays synthesizers. The album presents nine tracks, eight of which are original compositions by Lemanczyk with texts by Skubisz and one is a composition by iconic Polish Jazz trumpeter Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Janusz MuniakFind albums by this artist with text by Skubisz, dedicated to Stanko. Listeners familiar with the Polish Jazz scene are already familiar with the Jazz-Rap Fusion recordings by Eskaubei & Tomek Nowak QuartetFind albums by this artist, which are clear predecessors of this album and include contributions by Nowak and Dlugosz. The format is very similar, but the brilliant compositions by Lemanczyk and his virtuosic electric bass performances take everything one notch higher. Skubisz, as usual, expresses his unequivocal opinions about the problems and circumstances of contemporary life, including fears and angers caused by politics, human stupidity and the ocean of excrements we all need to swim in, keeping our nose just above the surface, in order to survive. I have always admired his honesty and clear vision of reality, especially since his statements are intelligent and penetrating, rather than being rude and vile. Words of truth are definitely stronger than profanities. Nowak plays some excellent trumpet parts on this album, and being the main soloist he sets the entire mood of the music. The Jazz-Rap Fusion requires a very delicate balance between the spoken parts and the music, which this ensemble is able to maintain for the entire duration. Lemanczyk contributes the pulse, like a heartbeat, which keeps this music alive. It is worth to listen to this album several times, each time concentrating on the separate contributions by the participants, apart for listening to the album as a whole; especially Lemanczyk’s bass lines, which are Masterful, the trumpet solos and of course the texts. Overall, this is a most welcome return to the Jazz-Rap Fusion idiom by Skubisz, who is as always accompanied by excellent musicians, creating some relevant social criticism and life observations, which are not easy to hear but nevertheless absolutely necessary to keep one’s sanity. Kudos for keeping up the good work!

Updated: 13/10/2022Posted: 13/10/2022

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SOPHIA GRAND CLUB ~ 4 A.M. AFRO VIBE 001 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rap Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by the Polish ensemble Sophia Grand ClubFind albums by this artist, comprising of rapper EskaubeiFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Bartlomiej SkubiszFind albums by this artist), saxophonist Bartlomiej PrucnalFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Kuba PluzekFind albums by this artist, veteran bassist Vitold RekFind albums by this artist and drummer Maksymilian OlszewskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, four by Pluzek, three by Rek, one co-composed by Pluzek and Rek and one improvised piece credited to all members of the ensemble. Seven of the numbers feature lyrics by Eskaubei and one is an instrumental. Musically the album continues the formula set up by Eskaubei with his two albums recorded with Tomek NowakFind albums by this artist Quartet for the For Tune Label, i.e. Jazz tunes featuring Rap and spoken word amalgamating the genres into a new musical entity. Pluzek, who proves to be one of the most versatile players / composers on the young Polish Jazz scene, delivers again some fiery Jazz / Funk tunes and Rek adds his more melancholic contributions, together creating a wonderful collection of highly effective musical vistas. Eskaubei yet again delivers a set of meaningful texts, touching upon deeply troublesome problems of contemporary life, social relationships, loneliness, injustice and many others. It is a pity the lyrics were not included in the album´s artwork, as they are definitely worth reading on their own. These lyrics could be seen as contemporary revelation of what we once called "protest songs" fifty of so years ago, just to show that the world is nothing like a TV commercial, then or today. The instrumental work is also first rate, with Prucnal delivering some soulful solos and elegant accompaniment, Pluzek is master of the ceremony with his keyboards providing most of the melodic and harmonic framework, Rek plays wonderful bass parts, which are both very Jazzy and superbly Funky at the same time, and finally Olszewski adds his polyrhythmic Groove to keep things moving ahead. Overall this is another superb album by Eskaubei and his instrumental cohorts, which proves that Rap can be a meaningful idiom, both musically and textually. Highly recommended to open-minded listeners, who like to be told the truth straight in their faces, which even the Funk doesn´t make much easier to digest. Well done again!

Updated: 01/04/2018Posted: 01/04/2018

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VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ TRIBUTE TO ZBIGNIEW JAKUBEK AFRO VIBE 006 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2013 - 2023 Released: 2023 This is a 2CD album paying tribute to Polish Jazz keyboardist / composer / arranger Zbigniew JakubekFind albums by this artist, a prominent figure on the Polish Jazz scene for many decades and member of such ensembles like Walk AwayFind albums by this artist, Young PowerFind albums by this artist and others. Jakubek recorded many albums with the groups he was a member of, as well as a sideman in numerous projects with other top Polish Jazz musicians, but sadly never managed to record a solo album as a leader. Following his death in May 2023, guitarist / composer Marek RaduliFind albums by this artist, who was a close friend of Jakubek, undertook this splendid project to record an album with original music by Jakubek, with the help of many of the musicians Jakubek played with, such as bassists Michal GrottFind albums by this artist, Tomasz GrabowyFind albums by this artist, Robert KubiszynFind albums by this artist and Krzysztof ScieranskiFind albums by this artist, drummers Michal DabrowkaFind albums by this artist, Wojciech FedkowiczFind albums by this artist and Cezary KonradFind albums by this artist, vibraphonist Bernard MaseliFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Adam WendtFind albums by this artist, guitarist Damian KuraszFind albums by this artist and others. The album presents ten tracks (five on each CD), nine of which are original compositions of Jakubek and one is composed by Raduli, with lyrics by Bartlomiej SkubiszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. EskaubeiFind albums by this artist). Seven of the tracks are based on tracks left by Jakubek, recorded as sketches / preparations for his solo album and other sources, two are taken from Walk Away albums and the last one, was written (see above) especially for this album. The music is all brilliantly melodic, with typical Polish melancholy and lyricism, excellently performed by all the participants and offers an excellent sound quality. Raduli’s guitar playing is absolutely sensational and his emotional involvement with this project is evident and his dedication to carry it out is exceptional. Overall, this is a brilliant tribute album to a great musician / composer, warmly remembered by his peers and friends, and the music offers some of the finest guitar oriented Jazz / Fusion music recorded in Poland. For the lovers of the genre, this album is an absolute must, but all Jazz lovers around the world should be able to appreciate the superb compositions by Jakubek and enjoy the music wholeheartedly. Hats off to those who contributed to make this project a reality!

Updated: 09/04/2024Posted: 09/04/2024

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