Record Reviews

ADAM BALDYCH ~ POETRY ACT 9939 (Barcode: 614427993922) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is the seventh album on the prestigious German ACTFind albums on this label label by Polish Jazz violinist / composer Adam BaldychFind albums by this artist recorded with his Polish quintet, which comprises of saxophonist Marek KonarskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Krzysztof DysFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BaranskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Dawid FortunaFind albums by this artist. Italian Master trumpeter Paolo FresuFind albums by this artist expands the quintet into a sextet. The album presents eleven tracks, ten of which are original compositions by Baldych and one is an arrangement of a song composed by the enigmatic BjorkFind albums by this artist. The music was recorded at the fabulous Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, with the usual exceptional sound quality. Following a dazzling career, which developed over the last decade, Baldych emerges as a pillar of the Polish Jazz violin tradition, joining the ranks of the Giants of the generations that preceded his era. This album sets also Baldych’s status as a composer, perhaps more clearly and distinctly than any of his earlier recordings. The collection of his compositions on this album presents a remarkable stylistic clarity and coherence, which, at least for me, sound completely his own, with specific characteristics, which are now clearly distinguishable. The music is beautifully melancholic, brilliantly melodic and superbly lyrical, following the Polish musical tradition on every level, from Polish Folklore, Classical Music and of course the Polish Jazz tradition. There is an elegant restrain and easy pace inherent in all the pieces, which perhaps is a result of the fact that Baldych does not need to prove anything anymore, as far as his violin virtuosity is concerned, and creating music is his only concern. Despite the fact that the music offers seemingly unrelated pieces, the album sounds remarkably as one aesthetically logical continuum. Although Baldych is surrounded here by first class instrumentalists, the album offers very limited soloing, except for the violin parts of course and occasionally subdued trumpet or saxophone soli. The fact that Fresu agreed to take part in this project, with his personal profile barely audible, speaks highly of his respect towards the essence of the music. Nevertheless, the contributions of all the participants are absolutely brilliant, as expected. Sonically the most surprising accent is a very unusual sound produced by the drums, which sound completely different to what one expects in the Jazz environment. Overall, as someone who had the honor to write the liner notes for Baldych’s debut album more than ten years ago, I feel a great satisfaction as a result of following his career closely and witnessing its splendid progress. The music offers a deeply spiritual sonic experience of rare quality and the album is wholeheartedly recommended as one of the most significant Polish Jazz outings of 2021.

Updated: 11/11/2021Posted: 11/11/2021

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JIN JIM ~ NEW CHOICES MAARWEG 4170000091127 (Barcode: 4170000091127) ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2023 This is the third album by German Jazz-Rock Fusion quartet Jin JimFind albums by this artist, which comprises of flautist Daniel Manrique-SmithFind albums by this artist, guitarist Ben Tai TrawinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Johann MayFind albums by this artist and drummer Nico StallmannFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, four each composed by Trawinski and May and one is an arrangement of a song by BjorkFind albums by this artist. The music is a unique amalgam of many elements, between Jazz, Fusion, Metal, World Music and others, and offers a rare occasion to hear the flute as a leading instrument, which is almost completely neglected these days. The connection to Jazz is rather vague and the production and sound push the music towards contemporary Rock and Ambient at times. Progressive Rock fans might find similarities to legendary groups like FocusFind albums by this artist and Jethro TullFind albums by this artist, but again any direct comparisons would be farfetched. Although it’s always nice to hear the flute, which I love, featured prominently here, I find the music rather uninviting, since the compositions are sort of repetitive and shallow, and after a few tracks the music does not evolve any more. This, combined with the production and sound, which make the music almost difficult to hear for me, sadly don’t work as far as my ears are concerned. Nevertheless, many listeners might find this album interesting, primarily due to the flute dominance. Overall, this is a potentially interesting album, which features the sadly forgotten flute as the primarily instrument, but suffers from production decisions, which make the sound uninviting, as well as a rather limited compositional dexterity. I can imagine this album being way more listenable with a different mix and balance, but that’s only my very personal opinion.

Updated: 07/07/2023Posted: 07/07/2023

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