Record Reviews

KAROL DOBROWOLSKI ~ BLEUE MELANCOLIE FOR TUNE 0158 (Barcode: 5906395808731) ~ POLAND ~ Gypsy Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by Polish (resident in Paris) violinist / composer Karol DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist, recorded with an ensemble which includes no less than twelve musicians, who perform in various lineups, from a violin quartet supported by piano / bass / drums rhythm section, and adding additional violin players and other instrumentalist on selected tracks. Some of the more known names are: Hungarian violinist Roby LakatosFind albums by this artist or Polish saxophonist Borys JanczarskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions by Dobrowolski and one composition by French composer Valerie SabbahFind albums by this artist. The music is a very esoteric mixture of styles and genres, and for a lack of a better definition could be described as Gypsy Jazz (Jazz Manouche), although it definitely lacks the characteristic swing embedded in Gypsy Jazz, but instead offers some of its melancholy and melodic inclinations. There are many other recognizable musical elements, like strong Classical approach by most of the players, some Polish Folkloristic themes, a pinch of nostalgia and typical Parisian nonchalance, all with little connection to Jazz per se. The album offers a very specific sound, being recorded “live in studio” and without using any amplification, which might be highly challenging to listeners used to more rounded / balanced contemporary sound – a matter of taste of course. Overall, this is a very unusual album in many respects, which might find its enthusiasts, most probably outside of the strict Jazz circles. The idiosyncratic sound, performances and music all combined are certainly an experiment, which stretches the taste buds.

Updated: 20/10/2022Posted: 20/10/2022

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JANCZARSKI & MCCRAVEN QUINTET ~ LIBERATOR FOR TUNE 0132 (Barcode: 5906395808427) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2018 This is the second album by the Polish / American quintet co-led by Polish saxophonist Borys JanczarskiFind albums by this artist and American drummer Stephen McCravenFind albums by this artist, with Polish pianist Joanna GajdaFind albums by this artist and bassist Adam KowalewskiFind albums by this artist and American trumpeter Rasul SiddikFind albums by this artist. Together they perform seven tunes, five of which are originals (three by Gajda and one each by Janczarski and McCraven) and two standards, one each by Woody ShawFind albums by this artist and Billy EckstineFind albums by this artist. The music was recorded live at Warsaw´s 12 on 14 Jazz Club and another venue and has a superb sound quality. The music is a continuation of the direction established on the quintet´s debut album, i.e. straightforward mainstream American Jazz, very well played and presenting solid composition, but hardly innovative or challenging. It seems that although the majority of the quintet members are Polish musicians, the spirit of the music is completely enthralled within the American traditionalism, which changed very little since the heyday of Bebop half a Century ago. But innovation aside, this is still a perfectly enjoyable Jazz album, with highly professional playing, which is much more relaxed and less constrained that on the debut album, and full of joy and energy. Considering the fact that mainstream Jazz has a large following the world over, this album should be appealing to many Jazz lovers. It also proves that European musicians are able to play Jazz as well as any American musician, even within the mainstream idiom, and the "White Man Can´t Jump" is a lot of bull. It is good to see that the quintet gives more exposure to the compositions by Gajda, who is undoubtedly a very skillful and talented composer. Her piano solos are also amongst the most interesting moments on the album. Overall this is a nice mainstream effort, which should be very enjoyable to a wide range of mainstream Jazz audiences, which presents well woven tunes and heartfelt performance as well as superb sound quality.

Updated: 08/05/2018Posted: 08/05/2018

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JANCZARSKI & MCCRAVEN QUINTET ~ TRAVELLING EAST WEST FOR TUNE 0081 (Barcode: 5902768701876) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is an album by the Polish / American quintet co-led by Polish saxophonist Borys JanczarskiFind albums by this artist and American drummer Stephen McCravenFind albums by this artist, with Polish pianist Joanna GajdaFind albums by this artist and bassist Adam KowalewskiFind albums by this artist and American trumpeter Rasul SiddikFind albums by this artist. Together they perform eight tunes, seven of which are originals (three by Janczarski, two by Gajda and one each by McCraven and Siddik) and one is a standard by Woody ShawFind albums by this artist. The music is standard mainstream Jazz, with nice compositions and eloquent execution, but sadly not remarkable in any way. Except for the singular Siddik´s tune, which has an interesting World Music motif, the rest of the material is well within the Bebop or even Swing tradition, which has been already exploited to death decades ago. The musicians are all professionals, but one can find hardly anything out of ordinary by any of them on this album. Siddik´s presence in these proceedings seems completely accidental, considering his past musical path. Of course many Jazz enthusiasts still like this kind of music, especially in America, where it still rules, but honestly it contributes nothing to the development of Jazz nowadays and recording such music, especially in Poland, as good as it might be, does not make much sense. Overall it is a pleasant, well played mainstream album, which surely will please many mainstream listeners, but is definitely not something I´d play again after enjoying it once.

Updated: 22/02/2016Posted: 22/02/2016

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JANCZARSKI & SIDDIK 4TET ~ CONTEMPLATIONS FOR TUNE 0147 (Barcode: 5906395808625) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is a live recording at the Warsaw 12 on 14 Jazz Club by the quartet co-led by Polish Jazz saxophonist Borys JanczarskiFind albums by this artist and veteran American trumpeter Rasul SiddikFind albums by this artist, with Polish bassist Michal JarosFind albums by this artist and veteran drummer Kazimierz JonkiszFind albums by this artist. Together they perform seven pieces, six of which are Jazz standards and one is an original composition by Siddik. The album offers a warm and authentic club atmosphere but the music is all strictly within American mainstream boundaries and is completely predictable. This is a third recorded collaboration between Janczarski and Siddik released on the For Tune label, all of which follow the same well established pattern of Bebop oriented music making, which has hardly changed in the last 70 years or so. As for the performances, despite the fact that Siddik has a well earned reputation of playing with some very important American Jazz names in the past, his playing here (and on the two other a.m. albums) is very shaky and unimpressive, Janczarski is much more vigorous but not really notable and only the excellent rhythm section is up for the job, especially Jaros whose bass parts are the absolute highlights of this album. Overall this music might have been nice to listen to at the club while enjoying a drink, but has no lasting value beyond that. At least the music is well recorded by Tomasz PierchalaFind albums by this artist, the club owner and persistent Warsaw Jazz scene activist.

Updated: 18/11/2020Posted: 18/11/2020

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KAZIMIERZ JONKISZ ENERGY ~ 6 HOURS WITH RONNIE FOR TUNE 0070 (Barcode: 5902768701739) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This album documents the meeting between veteran Polish Jazz drummer Kazimierz JonkiszFind albums by this artist and his ensemble EnergyFind albums by this artist with legendary American baritone saxophonist Ronnie CuberFind albums by this artist. The following musicians also take part in the recording: saxophonists Borys JanczarskiFind albums by this artist and Tomasz GrzegorskiFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Robert MurakowskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist and bassist Wojciech PulcynFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded at the fabulous Studio Tokarnia, owned by Smoczynski, who also engineered and mastered the album, with the usual spectacular sonic result. The music includes six compositions, two of which are originals by Pulcyn, one is by Cuber and the remaining three are standards. The music is, as expected, straightforward mainstream Jazz, with the two Pulcyn tunes being by far the most refreshing pieces on this album. It is executed without a flaw by all the participants, although the session seems to be lacking any high energy or particular joy of life, which is typically present on the best Jazz recordings. Overall this is a nice, well played and well recorded mainstream Jazz album, which is no different from thousands of similar albums recorded before. As such it contributes nothing to the Jazz milieu and with all due respect is simply banal. Smoczynski plays some great introvert piano parts and Pulcyn, as always, keeps time beautifully, but other than that it´s all déjà vu. Of course since baritone saxophone is not heard very often, this is a good opportunity to enjoy this beautiful instrument being played well.

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KAZIMIERZ JONKISZ QUARTET ~ MONTY & SOUL SJ 078 (Barcode: 5905489720676) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Blues Fusion Recorded: 2023 Released: 2024 This is an album by veteran Polish Jazz drummer / bandleader Kazimierz JonkiszFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with saxophonist Borys JanczarskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Mark WaggonerFind albums by this artist and bassist Michal JarosFind albums by this artist. The album is dedicated to the memory of American saxophonist / vocalist / bandleader Monty WatersFind albums by this artist, who died in 2008, with whom Jonkisz often performed. The album presents ten tracks, all composed by Waters. Some archival spoken word and vocal fragments are included on the album as well. The music is all Blues soaked mainstream Jazz, excellently performed by the quartet members, all of which are experienced and talented musicians. As expected, Jonkisz gets to play several drum solos, as appropriate for the occasion. Overall, this is a nice tribute album, well played and highly entertaining to mainstream Jazz fans, who should appreciate the performances by these talented musicians. The pianoless lineup makes the music a tad less expected and guitar fans can enjoy the guitar parts as well.

Updated: 12/08/2024Posted: 12/08/2024

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LUKASZ KORYBALSKI ~ CMM ALLEGRO 034 (Barcode: 5901157049346) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2017 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Lukasz KorybalskiFind albums by this artist, known primarily for his work as composer of cinematic music. This album presents the music Korybalski wrote for the film "Cale Mnostwo Milosci" (hence CMM), performed by a quintet which features the leader on trumpet and also includes saxophonist Borys JanczarskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Michal TokajFind albums by this artist, bassist Andrzej SwiesFind albums by this artist and drummer Lukasz ZytaFind albums by this artist; a most formidable team. Saxophone icon Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist and percussionist Bogusz WekkaFind albums by this artist guest on one tune each. The album presents six original compositions, all by Korybalski. The music is absolutely stunning from start to finish, typical melancholic Polish Jazz very closely reminiscent of early cinematic music by Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist, with the same melodic hooks one just can´t stop humming after the music is over. The similarity is so close, that if I didn´t know what album is playing, I´d suspect that a newly discovered Komeda album is on. This is not only reflected by the music, the melodic approach and the harmonic progressions, but also by the way the quintet performs the music, which has a tinge of wonderful "out fashioned" nostalgia to it. Even the one relatively "free" composition on the album is spiritually almost identical to Komeda´s famous composition "Astigmatic". The instrumental performances are all top notch. Korybalski displays some Miles Davis modal influences, all being in the most elegant form, Janczarski has a warm and smooth tone and Tokaj, one of Poland´s best pianists, sadly relatively rarely heard on albums, is a dream. The superb rhythm section cements the lineup with amicable support for the soloists and wonderful drive. Albums like this one are a persuasive proof that contemporary melodic mainstream can be intelligent, creative, fascinating and aesthetically fulfilling. It simply has something that sets it apart from thousands of other mainstream albums, firmly standing in a class of its own. It also shows why European Jazz left the American Jazz in a fifty years slumber. Overall this is one of the best Polish Jazz albums that I have had the pleasure to listen to in many years. It is perfect in every way, it bridges the tradition with contemporary ideas, it pays tribute to its cultural background and sources; in short it is it! Absolutely not to be missed!

Updated: 09/04/2017Posted: 09/04/2017

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