Record Reviews

MILOBEDZKA / ZIMPEL ~ TYLE TEGO TY MALTAFUNDACJA 9788393420230 (Barcode: 9788393420230) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012 This album is a wonderful example of the Polish Jazz tradition of combining music and words in what is usually known as the Jazz & Poetry movement. That tradition continues almost uninterruptedly since the early days of the modern Polish Jazz history and reflects the intellectual approach, which sees music, poetry and other Art Forms as different facets of the phenomenon we call Culture. Over the years Polish Jazz produced many remarkable recordings of quite different manifestations of the Jazz & Poetry sub-genre and this beautiful album is an example of how it can be taken into new areas and cover new ground, keeping it alive and relevant. The album is packed in an elegant box, which also includes a book with all the lyrics. Polish poetess Krystyna MilobedzkaFind albums by this artist recites twenty one of her extraordinary poems and is accompanied by music composed by Polish Jazz clarinetist / composer Waclaw ZimpelFind albums by this artist. The music is performed by a trio comprising of Zimpel, who plays clarinets, flutes and harmonium and German musicians: bassist Christian RamondFind albums by this artist and drummer Klaus KugelFind albums by this artist. Together they manage to create a beautiful lyrical atmosphere, balancing between the somewhat hesitant, obviously weakened by her age, delicate voice of the author and the music, which is partly based on the Japanese gagaku tradition and partly reflects contemporary Improvised Music. Jazz & Poetry projects are often considered problematic due to the obvious language barriers, in this case between those listeners who understand the Polish language and those who don´t. But as in some extraordinary cases, this album transcends those barriers with ease and every sensible, Cultural human being is still able to experience an aesthetic epiphany when listening to it, regardless if he understands the words or not. The trio manages to create an entire universe of music, which surrounds the lyrics, engulfing them and symbiotically joins them, creating a new entity. Zimpel is in charge of the melodies delicately presented in slow motion. Ramond is the pulse of this virtual world, which gives it its fourth dimension. Kugel ornaments the reality with a myriad of percussive details, which in a way conduct a dialogue with the recited words. Obviously this is not something which a casual listener can comprehend or appreciate. But for those who can, this is simply a masterpiece. It is comforting to witness such extraordinary projects being realized in the stone cold reality that surrounds us. Brilliant stuff!

Updated: 01/01/2016Posted:

BOOK+CD 1 Box Set Recommend To A Friend

WACLAW ZIMPEL ~ STONE FOG FOR TUNE 0009 (Barcode: 5902768701098) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 This is the debut recording by the quartet led by Polish Jazz clarinetist / composer Waclaw ZimpelFind albums by this artist with his countryman pianist Krzysztof DysFind albums by this artist and two German musicians: bassist Christian RamondFind albums by this artist and drummer Klaus KugelFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight compositions named using lines from poems by the US poetess Laura Winter. Three of the compositions are credited to Zimpel and the remaining five are group compositions. Despite his young age (he was 29 years old when this music was recorded) Zimpel is already considered as one of the most important upcoming Free Jazz / Improvised Music figures on the European scene. In the scope of the last decade he managed to cooperate with many first-class musicians from Poland and abroad, play many concerts and record quite a few albums as a leader and as sideman, most of which were received enthusiastically by the critics. The clarinet, Zimpel´s "weapon of choice", is sadly a much neglected instrument in contemporary music, Avant-Garde and Improvised Music included, and therefore his contributions are especially important, keeping the clarinet tradition alive. Except for the older generation clarinet Giants, like American Perry RobinsonFind albums by this artist, Israeli Harold RubinFind albums by this artist, French Louis SclavisFind albums by this artist, Italian Gianluigi TrovesiFind albums by this artist and a handful of others, Zimpel´s young voice is a fresh breath of air in this particular niche. As to the music on this album, I find it slightly less exciting personally in comparison to his earlier recordings with ensembles like UndividedFind albums by this artist or HeraFind albums by this artist. Not that this album lacks anything in quality and power of expression, but perhaps it is less based on incorporating World Music motifs, which Zimpel excels at. This album firmly belongs to the "traditional" Free Jazz / Improvised Music milieu, if the word "traditional" applies at all in such cases. But regardless of my personal preferences, this is excellent music from start to finish, performed with passion and masterly ability, by all four musicians involved. The rhythm section provides exceptional backing, moving swiftly between almost swing to free form, Dys on piano spreads layers of twisted harmonic structures and Zimpel, as usual, plays the role of the of Hamelin´s Pied Piper, snake charmer and a Hassidic Klezmer, all in one. Most connoisseurs of Free Jazz will find this music very interesting and aesthetically enchanting. The album was released by a new Polish label called For TuneFind albums on this label, which seems to be specializing in "unconventional" musical projects, like this one. All the releases on the label have a distinct graphic design, which appears to be copying the early ECMFind albums on this label, Hat HutFind albums on this label and other Avant-Garde labels following this path. Polish Avant-Garde Jazz fans know that this label is of course not the first of its kind, but the more the merrier. There is always place for good music and I wish the label a lot of success.

Updated: 12/10/2024Posted:

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend