Record Reviews

CLAMAN / STRYCHARSKI / CHOJNACKI / PRATS ~ QUARTETT NON LOCALITY MULTIKULTI MPSMT 015 (Barcode: 5903068683336) ~ SPAIN ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2018 Released: 2019 This is an album by international Improvising Music ensemble Quartett Non LocalityFind albums by this artist consisting of New Zealand (resident in Barcelona) violinist Sarah ClamanFind albums by this artist, Polish flautist Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist and accordionist Zbigniew ChojnackiFind albums by this artist and Catalan drummer Ramon PratsFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven improvised pieces not attributed to specific composers. The album is a part of the "Spontaneous Music Tribune Series" dedicated to Iberian Free Improvised Music, curated by my friend and colleague Maciej LewensteinFind albums by this artist, who lives in Barcelona since many years and who is a passionate music lover in parallel to his scientific career. The music is a typical Improvised Music experience, which sadly suffers from the characteristic recorded Improvised Music malady, which haunts most albums of the genre. This music might have been highly interesting for the musicians to play, and perhaps might have been a fascinating live experience, but is much less interesting to listen to at home from a record and is unable, at least to me, to recreate that potential excitement, closed in a recorded time capsule. Sadly since making a recording and releasing albums have become accessible and inexpensive in the last two decades, there is a deluge of Improvised Music albums on the market, which only under rare circumstances make a lasting statement and deserve repeated listening. Strycharski and Chojnacki are both formidable musicians and have already created numerous excellent recordings, but sadly on this album one can hardly find significant evidence of their individual abilities. Although I painstakingly listened to this music, enjoying some fragments, I don´t envisage myself doing it again. Overall this is perhaps of interest to the hardened Improvised Music enthusiasts, who are deeply enthralled by the intricacies of the genre, but for listeners beyond that intimate circle it is most probably impenetrable.

Updated: 12/01/2020Posted: 09/01/2020

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INTUITION ORCHESTRA ~ CASE OF SURPRISE FOR TUNE 0071 (Barcode: 5902768701753) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is the second album released on For TuneFind albums on this label Records and their fourth consecutive release by the Polish Improvised Music ensemble The Intuition OrchestraFind albums by this artist. On the previous album, entitled "To The InsideFind albums with this title", they created a bridge between the origins of their activities by including archival material of early recordings going back as far as 1993, and their (then, 2011) current material. Listeners interested in the genesis of the ensemble (and the fascinating Polish Avant-Garde in general) should check out the fabulous Legendarne ZabkiFind albums with this title album as well as the Grupa W SkladzieFind albums with this title album, which are both related to Intuition Orchestra. On this album the ensemble is down to a trio lineup with saxophonist / clarinetist Ryszard WojciulFind albums by this artist, keyboardist / cellist Boleslaw BlaszczykFind albums by this artist and drummer Jacek AlkaFind albums by this artist. They are joined by three guests: vocalists Marta GrzywaczFind albums by this artist and Basia BlaszczykFind albums by this artist and recorders player Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist. Together they perform twenty one short (averaging around two minutes) collectively improvised pieces. The titles of all the pieces are in fact lines from a poem by Grzywacz. The music on this album can be treated as a continuous flow from start to finish, since the separation into the individual pieces is pretty arbitrary. It includes a wide variety of sounds produced by the instruments, voices and electronics, all combined into an unusual, bubbling amalgam, which is unpredictable and keeps the listener at his toes at all times. There is very limited melodic content here, and when present it lasts just for a brief moment, before it is picked up by the improvisers and taken into another dimension. As such, this music is obviously much more difficult and challenging, but of course provides a much stronger emotional as well as intellectual interaction. Avant garde music is not supposed to be measured by its likeability, but rather by its ability to absorb the listener´s attention and take him unconditionally on a timeless, completely subconscious journey into sound aesthetics. To an untrained ear this music can sound chaotic and even cacophonic, and yet it does make perfect "sense" and "intelligibility" to the cognoscenti. The trick is simply to let the flow of the sound engulf you and carry you on. This music seems to be able to serve as a vehicle to reach "higher planes", a rare and precious quality, which should be cherished. Overall this is superb contemporary music, which still tries to expand the realm of what we consider as being sonic Art. Regardless of the current trend of music imploding into itself, people who are pushing outward at least try to slow the process. This album is warmly recommended to open minded listeners, who have no Avant-Garde phobias!

Updated: 17/12/2021Posted:

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OLES BROTHERS & DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI ~ KOPTYCUS AUDIO CAVE 2022/001 (Barcode: 5908298549384) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz trio comprising of twin brothers: bassist Marcin OlesFind albums by this artist and drummer Bartlomiej OlesFind albums by this artist (collectively known as Oles BrothersFind albums by this artist) and recorder player Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist, who also uses electronics. The album presents seven original compositions inspired by Coptic music. As usual with the projects by Oles Brothers, the music goes way beyond what is considered as Jazz mainstream, and always combines elements of improvised music with a thematic inspiration, which in this case is the music of the early Coptic Christian tradition. Originating in Alexandria, Egypt, the Coptic Christianity spread into the entire North Africa and later also to the Holly Land, with beautiful Coptic churches built in Jerusalem and Nazareth, which of course I know very well. It is only natural that Coptic music is based mostly on early Middle Eastern musical tradition and is very different from the European Christian musical tradition. The recorder is obviously an ideal instrument to be used to re-visit the two millennia old musical tradition, for many reasons. First it is one of the oldest instruments known to man, second it is closely associated with the Middle Eastern musical tradition, thirdly it is one of the most spiritual instruments out there and lastly it is naturally and historically way more suitable for improvisation than for playing a precisely defined melody. The music on this album exemplifies the above points all too well. Strycharski sounds like a time-traveler sitting on the banks of ancient Alexandria port, sending his lament over the waters and desert sands. The Oles Brothers support him with a mixture of Middle Eastern rhythmic patterns and free time improvisation, together creating a magic chant, which is simply fascinating. It is truly astounding to see / hear the Oles Brothers reinventing themselves time after time with each new project. As someone who had the opportunity to hear them perform live many times, they still manage to take me by surprise every time, this being no different. Originally this project was commissioned by the Music Of Faith – Music Of Peace Festival and its artistic director Miron ZajfertFind albums by this artist, and thankfully it was now released on record, to be enjoyed for posterity. Overall, this is a highly unusual and deeply spiritual piece of human ingenuity, which offers a superb listening experience, unlike most other things one can hear on record. Far beyond classification, this is simply Music in the most universal meaning of that Artform, which deserves to be heard, and which perhaps can heal some of the misery we are all exposed to lately. Respect, my Friends, as always!

Updated: 28/02/2022Posted: 28/02/2022

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RGG ~ OCTOBER SUITE FSR 2022/09 (Barcode: 5904441617108) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is a live album by Polish Jazz trio RGGFind albums by this artist, which comprises of pianist Lukasz OjdanaFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof GradziukFind albums by this artist, which was expanded to a sexted for the appearance at the 15th Ad Libitum Festival in Warsaw, recorded on October 17, 2020. The additional musicians are vocalist Marta GrzywaczFind albums by this artist, cornet player Artur MajewskiFind albums by this artist and flautist Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist (the last two also use some electronic effects). The album presents a seven-part suite (on seven tracks), which remains uncredited and is assumed to be co-created by all the participants. The music appears to be completely freely improvised, with no melodic threads as such, but is beautifully coordinated between the participating musicians, who perform a group improvisation with great respect towards each other, exactly what such format demands. The music is sparse and most of the time minimalist, but occasionally intensifies into bursts of energetic exchange of common improvisations. The RGG trio leads the proceedings steadily and dominantly, with the excellent rhythm section firmly dictating the tempi and the piano spreading harmonic splashes, which build the fabric for the rest of the team to place their colorful ornaments on. For me, personally, the music creates strong visual associations, in addition to the obvious aural content. The individual contributions by all the participants are superb, and the excellent recording sound quality adds to the total result. Although Free Jazz / Improvised Music is rarely able to create music, which offers a lasting value, beyond the actual moment of being created, this album certainly offers a piece of music, which can be returned to periodically and enjoyed repeatedly. Overall, this is a wonderful example of Free Jazz / Improvised Music, which has a lasting value. Definitely not for casual listeners, but those who enjoy the convoluted minds of musicians, who eschew triviality and conformism, this is definitely a splendid occasion to enjoy themselves.

Updated: 12/01/2025Posted: 12/01/2025

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STRYCHARSKI / TARWID ~ APOGEUM AUDIO CAVE 2024/005 (Barcode: 5908298549858) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2022 Released: 2024 This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz / Improvising Music duo comprising of flautist / electronics manipulator / composer Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist and keyboardist / composer Grzegorz TarwidFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven tracks, all (assumably) co-credited to both musicians. The music is completely improvised, almost entirely devoid of any melodic continuity, which to an inexperienced listener might sound as a collection of randomly produced sounds. Even listeners from the inside circles of the Polish Improvised Music might find this music trying. Although both of the duo members tackled improvising music earlier on, on this album they both take things to the extreme scale of the Avant-Garde mayhem, which of course is perfectly fine with me, albeit I much prefer their more conventional outings. Although I have been listening to Improvised Music for more than six decades, I always face the same dilemma: even if the music manages to create some interest at the first time I listen to it, I find myself never ever returning to listen to it again. As a result, I prefer to listen to IM live than on record, knowing that this is an unrepeatable experience. Of course I respect musicians, who do what they do with conviction and dedication, and both these Artists are extremely talented individuals, with an impressive recorded legacy already, despite their relative young age. I simply favor their past recordings, some of which are truly exceptional, to this particular cooperation. Overall, this is a highly demanding, Avant-Garde Improvised Music experiment, which probably will find some enthusiastic followers, but which I found somewhat estranged to on one hand, and experiencing the famous déjà vu feeling on the other hand. In my experience being innovative in Avant-Garde is way more difficult than on conventional ground, as absurd as this may sound. Kudos for trying and not looking back!

Updated: 12/07/2024Posted: 12/07/2024

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DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI ~ FLAUTO DOLPHY FSR 2017/03 (Barcode: 5905279364189) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2017 This is a solo album by Polish Avant-Garde / Jazz recorder player and composer Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist. Recorded live in the legendary and now sadly demolished Pardon To Tu club in Warsaw, Strycharski performs eight pieces, five of which are compositions by Eric DolphyFind albums by this artist, two are original compositions by Strycharski and one is a Mal WaldronFind albums by this artist composition. The recording has a crisp and clear sound quality, which adds significantly to the overall ambience. Performing music composed by Dolphy is always a supreme challenge and doing so on a most unconventional instrument, like the recorder, and playing solo on top of everything is a staggering undertaking. Against all odds Strycharski manages to come out victorious from this adventure, although not entirely unscathed. Strycharski uses a very unconventional method while playing the recorders, quite different from what listeners familiar with the instrument might expect. His playing involves not only the sound produced from the instrument, but also a sound produced by his mouth and throat, which, when combined, with the sound of the recorder produce very striking and surprising results. Of course it´s impossible to describe this phenomenon verbally and only listening to this music will disclose the nature of the beast. This combined human / recorder sound dominates this recording and therefore the listener´s reaction depends first and foremost on his ability to accept this sonic aura, which is by far not obvious. Having crossed the sound barrier so to speak, the listener is exposed to Strycharski´s virtuosity and complete command of the music he creates. By using several different recorders and changing his breathing and phrasing, he manages to produce a plethora of different sounds, which keep surprising the listener time after time. Considering that the music is only occasionally completely free form and most of the time is based on some melodic content, it is relatively accessible beyond the strict Avant-Garde circle of listeners. The most important question is of course what happens once one removes the novelty, sensationalism, pioneering spirit and element of surprise and examines the pure musical content of this recording. Personally I don´t have a clear answer to this wringer. I suppose Dolphy would be the ideal judge of that. Overall this is an unusual, daring and challenging album, which should be of interest to open-minded listeners, who are not afraid to be confronted by a highly individual musical personality, which Strycharski certainly embodies. Definitely worth investigating!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 26/07/2017

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DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI CORE ~ ALERT AUDIO CAVE 2025/002 (Barcode: 5908298549940) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2022 Released: 2025 This is an album by Polish Jazz flautist / composer / bandleader Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist and his CoreFind albums by this artist quintet, which also includes pianist Barbara DrazkovFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Barbara DrazkowskaFind albums by this artist), trumpeter Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist, bassist Zbigniew KozeraFind albums by this artist and drummer Pawel SzpuraFind albums by this artist. Strycharski and Jachna employ electronics and Drazkowska plays a prepared piano. The album presents five tracks, all original compositions by the leader. The music is a brilliant amalgam of composed, but highly unusual, modernist music and controlled Improvised interludes, which combine acoustic and electronic sounds, odd pulsations, Avant-Garde contemporary approach and a plethora of other wonderful weirdness, which immediately bring fond memories of Zappaesque complete disregard of conventions, in short everything one might desire in order to hear some exciting, unusual, challenging music, brilliantly performed by these highly talented musicians. As expected, Jachna is the direct link to Jazz within this marvelous madness, and his trumpet soli are like bright stars on a night sky, showing the way to lost mariners. The rhythm section plays some inhumanly difficult rhythmic patterns, the piano is in charge of the almost melodic layers and Strycharski uses his flute / recorder skills sparingly, concentrating on electronic effects, but the little bits here and there are like cherries on top of the cake. The music as a whole completely eschews categorization, and as a result a proper description, so it should be of course heard and not read about, so my humble efforts are a mere attempt to encourage as many people as possible not to miss this album. Mind you, it might take some patience, open-mindedness and a true love of unconventional music to enjoy it in full, but I have faith in my readers to possess these qualities, ergo fully equipped for the voyage. I admit of being sometimes quite critical about Strycharski’s recordings, which simply means I don’t judge the books by their covers but listen carefully. This time I can’t utter anything but deep appreciation and admiration for his efforts as composer and leader, which are amicably and splendidly supported by his cohorts, producing a true work of musical Art. Overall, this is a brilliant piece of modern music, completely cross-genre in nature and masterly designed and executed by the entire quintet. This is Avant-Garde, which breaks barriers and rules, without being rude and careless, which is demanding, but pleasing, and which expands our musical horizons! My deepest thanks to all of you!

Updated: 14/03/2025Posted: 11/03/2025

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DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI CORE / ORKIESTRA DETA URSUS ~ SYMFONIA FABRYKI URSUS (SOUNDTRACK) AUDIO CAVE 2021/005 (Barcode: 5908298549247) ~ POLAND ~ Soundtracks Recorded: 2017 - 2021 Released: 2021 This is an album by Polish Jazz flautist / composer Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist and his ensemble CoreFind albums by this artist, which includes pianist Barbara DrazkowskaFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist, bassist Zbigniew KozeraFind albums by this artist and drummer Pawel SzpuraFind albums by this artist. The Ursus Brass OrchestraFind albums by this artist also takes part in this recording. The album presents five original compositions, all by Strycharski. The music was used as a soundtrack to the award winning documentary film about the Ursus factory, which ceased to exists in 2011, and which was famous for producing Polish tractors for more than 100 years. The music, although performed by a Jazz quintet and a Brass Orchestra, includes hardly any Jazz elements per se and offers a dark, ambient, Cinematic Music, which is slow moving and minimal in its scope. It might be very appropriate as a soundtrack (I have not seen the documentary), but as a stand-alone piece of music it is much more difficult to swallow. The industrial character of the music, as well as its lack of development, may emphasize / illustrate the labor done by the ex-workers of Ursus, who are the focus of this documentary, but out of that context it is rather daunting. One of the tracks, which is performed just by the quintet, is the closest that this music gets to Jazz / Improvised Music, and features some great playing by Jachna, but again the twelve minutes long piece is completely static and monotonic, and even Jachna’s trumpet parts are unable to redeem it. Overall, this album proves that Cinematic Music is not always able to stand by itself, unrelated to the visual layer. Despite the fact that it is performed by highly esteemed Polish Jazz musicians, it simply does not work for me. My fault of course.

Updated: 01/07/2021Posted: 01/07/2021

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DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI CORE 6 ~ CZOCZKO FOR TUNE 0072 (Barcode: 5902768701708) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 In the last couple of years the burgeoning Polish Jazz / Improvised Music scene re-discovered Polish Folklore and a long series of albums, which amalgamates these two genres into contemporary Jazz-World Fusion, have been recorded. As usual in such circumstances some of these albums are truly phenomenal and others are distinctly less so. On this album Polish flautist / recorder player Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist presents a series of nine compositions inspired by Kashubian folk songs, arranged and transformed into the Jazz / Improvised Music environment. Three of these pieces are performed by a duo comprising of Strycharski and clarinetist Waclaw ZimpelFind albums by this artist and the remaining six pieces are performed by a sextet which features a double rhythm section: bassists Zbigniew KozeraFind albums by this artist and Ksawery WojcinskiFind albums by this artist and drummers Hubert ZemlerFind albums by this artist and Krzysztof SzmandaFind albums by this artist; all of them are top representatives of the Polish Improvised Music milieu. As much as I respect all these musicians, it is completely beyond me why they would invest time and energy into this project, which honestly is simply completely banal and meaningless in my opinion. None of the aims expected form the amalgamation of World Music and Jazz are achieved here; the folkloristic themes remain bare and simple and the Jazz additions plainly don´t stick to them. The double rhythm section is bombastic and overbearing, being mostly contra productive and the overall proceedings are simply pointless and boring. Polish Folklore and Jazz have a proven record of working together wonderfully, both in the early Polish Jazz history in the 1960s and 1970s and currently with brilliant projects, many of which were released by For TuneFind albums on this label Records. This one is sadly a miss. Of course this is only my personal view and others might disagree with me, as usual. The musicians will probably not like these words either, but hey this is what I hear…

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DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI & RAFAL MAZUR ~ MYRIAD DUO FSR 2015/02 (Barcode: 5905279364011) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2015 This is a live recording of spontaneously composed Improvised Music performed by two prominent Polish representatives of the genre: flautist Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist and bass guitarist Rafal MazurFind albums by this artist. The performance is edited into five separate tracks, but of course such division exists only for convenience sake and does not disrupt the natural flow of the music. I have often stated that Improvised Music finds itself at the disadvantage of being mostly a live / real time experience and very rarely transforms itself into a lasting experience, when recorded and later released on record, with rare exceptions of course. This, fortunately, is one of those rare exceptions, where the music, or whatever one might want to call this encounter between two artists, remains completely relevant on record and deserves repeated listening. For people familiar with the Polish Improvised Music scene with both these innovative musicians since years. Born four years apart in the 1970s, they are both active since the 1990s with increasing frenzy, producing over time dozens of recordings and leading numerous projects, both in Poland and abroad. This is their first encounter as a duo, and luckily that live concert was also captured for posterity and released on this album. The flute / recorder, one of the ancient human instruments, is sadly neglected in Jazz and Improvised Music and therefore Strycharski´s virtuosity as a flautist is especially appreciated, especially in these circumstances. His beautiful tone poems and quirky improvisations are a delightful trip in space / time and a rare example of concentrated minimalism as an Art form. The melodic stream and the myriad of tiny notes merge into a wonderful soundscape. Mazur, who is a virtuoso bassist, is also a musician with a truly chameleonic ability to adjust his playing to any environment, as already documented on his various recordings. His playing here is therefore accordingly more delicate and low key without of course cutting down anything from its subtlety, sophistication or creativity. As a duo these two musicians function as if their minds amalgamated for the duration of the concert, way beyond just attentive listening and much closer to telepathic communication. In short if anything deserves the title "Art of the Duo", this is it, here and now!

Updated: 27/10/2016Posted:

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WACLAW ZIMPEL TO TU ORCHESTRA ~ NATURE MOVES FOR TUNE 0036 (Barcode: 5902768701340) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz clarinetist / composer / bandleader Waclaw ZimpelFind albums by this artist and his nonet called To Tu OrchestraFind albums by this artist (the name is probably a wink in the direction of the legendary Warsaw club Pardon, To Tu), which includes saxophonist Pawel PostaremczakFind albums by this artist, flautist Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist, hurdy-gurdy player Maciej CierlinskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Jacek KitaFind albums by this artist, bassists Wojciech TraczykFind albums by this artist and Mike MajkowskiFind albums by this artist and drummers Pawel SzpuraFind albums by this artist and Hubert ZemlerFind albums by this artist. The album includes six original compositions, arranged into three mini suites, of one, three and two parts respectively. The music is in many respects a continuation of Zimpel´s earlier work with the group Hera, which combines elements of Avant-Garde, Jazz and contemporary Classical music with World Music from all over the world. The strongest influence on this album is minimal music pioneered decades earlier by Philip GlassFind albums by this artist, Steve ReichFind albums by this artist, Terry RileyFind albums by this artist and others, which Zimpel embraces, most evidently in the first of the three mini suites but in fact throughout the entire album. The repeated structures returning cyclically, typical in minimal music, which are normally produced by electronic or acoustic orchestral patterns, are created here by World Music patterns, like Balinese gamelan music, slowly changing and intensifying until they reach a massive sound, but do not reach an expected crescendo. Minimalism continues to be present in the rest of the compositions, simply changing the geographic colorization, using Japanese, Middle Eastern and other folkloristic influences. Zimpel is undoubtedly a master of atmosphere and building tension, which accompany his earlier work as well, but come to a fruition and perfection on this album. The large ensemble allows him to "paint" much denser multilayered vistas, which move freely in the World Music universe. The music does not actually get into Jazzy improvisation until the very last piece on the album, so listeners anticipating that facet of Zimpel´s music are in for a disappointment. What emerges here is a new type of minimal music which amalgamates the earlier forms of minimalism with World Music, creating a World Minimal Music. Zimpel evidently had a great fun creating this music and it is also very listenable, but the fundamental question as to what Zimpel wanted to achieve remains open, at least in my case. I have not been overwhelmed neither by the aesthetics nor by the musical result, which after all simply states nihil novi sub sole. But it is very well done for sure!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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