Record Reviews

HANIA DEREJ ~ EVACUATION ZENNEZ 2024/030 (Barcode: 5051083203128) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2024 Released: 2024 This is an album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Hania DerejFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with saxophonist Cyryl LewczukFind albums by this artist, trombonist Tymon OkolusFind albums by this artist, bassist Filip HornikFind albums by this artist and drummer Jakub DlugoborskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, all of which are original compositions by Derej, arranged by her. Aged nineteen, Derej has an impressive CV under her belt, with several CDs and many successful concert performances and prizes received since she was ten years old, which earns her a child prodigy title. I have never heard about her so far, which of course means nothing. The music is all straightforward mainstream Jazz, with solid, but unimpressive compositions, which after a while start to sound rather alike. The arrangements for a standard Jazz quintet are rather banal and schoolbook level. The players are also rather uninspiring, although everything is played right on time. The drummer is way too aggressive and also too high in the mix IMHO, and the brass players use too many repetitive phrases. Only the bass manages to keep everything in check. In short it all sounds rather unpolished, perhaps recorded a tad too early? Overall, considering the very young age of the leader and the band members, this is a passable exercise, but considering the incredibly high level and tough competition on the local Jazz scene, they will all need to do much better to stay in the game.

Updated: 01/07/2024Posted: 01/07/2024

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PAWEL KRAWIEC QUARTET ~ OFENSYWA SJ 076 (Barcode: 5905489720478) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Pawel KrawiecFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with trumpeter Mateusz ZydekFind albums by this artist, bassist Filip HornikFind albums by this artist and drummer Mateusz LorenowiczFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven tracks, all composed by the leader (although not credited on the album’s artwork). The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio, engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, and offers a wonderful sound quality. The music is basically modern mainstream Jazz oriented, but the unusual guitar / trumpet front line is very unique and offers a splendid “twist”, which makes the album stand out amongst the multitude mainstream Jazz releases. The guitar floats between Jazz, Rock / Fusion and Blues, but again in a most original way, the trumpet steals the show with its brilliant sharp and clear sound and virtuosity and a superb rhythm section, which also shows an inventive approach to keeping time. All together, the quartet offers a highly exciting sound and novel sound and attitude, which makes this album to attract attention immediately. The compositions are all also very creative and definitely non-trivial, with less attention to the lyrical side and much more open, even slightly touching on Free here and there, which makes things way more exciting and intellectually challenging. This adds to the general feeling of this album being “something else”, with a wink of humor and a “take it easy” attitude, which sadly are way too rare on most Jazz recordings these days. I absolutely must emphasize the enormous value of the contributions by Zydek, whose trumpet playing is nothing short of phenomenal, as already stated in my review of the ZiemiaFind albums by this artist debut album “Ziemia DniemFind albums with this title”, which accidently shows some similarities to this album, especially as far as originality and attitude are concerned. Overall, this is a wonderful debut album. Creative, vibrant and a true pleasure to listen to, as well as being a vivid proof that the young Polish Jazz scene is alive and kicking, as always. As usual in such case, I am already eager to hear the next album by these talented young people and wish them all the best on their path to artistic development. Well done!

Updated: 22/04/2024Posted: 22/04/2024

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KRZYSZTOF PUMA PIASECKI ~ CIEPLY KRAJ NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is an album by veteran Polish guitarist / composer Krzysztof Puma PiaseckiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a tight quartet setting with keyboardist Zdzislaw KalinowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Filip HornikFind albums by this artist and drummer Olek GasiorFind albums by this artist. Several guest musicians appear on selected tracks as well as five guest vocalists, each appearing on a different track, including the Jazz singer Grazyna AuguscikFind albums by this artist and Krzysztof’s daughter Katarzyna Puma PiaseckaFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, all by Piasecki. The music is very diverse and covers a wide stylistic spectrum, from Rock via Fusion, Blues and Jazz and even Rap in one case, but this diversity offers a completely coherent portrait of an experienced musician / composer, who feels confident in any genre. The fact that half of the album features vocals is an attempt to reach a new audience, beyond the pigeonholed Blues / Fusion guitar dominated music, that most listeners associate Piasecki with, which hopefully will eventually reach some of the music lovers of the younger generation. But despite the fresh approach, the magnificent guitar playing is still very much present here, and Piasecki’s wonderful tone and phrasing are absolutely intact and his soloing is completely brilliant as always. He remains one of my favorite Polish guitarist in the long run. The performances of all the musicians involved is also excellent and all this combined with the clear and well balanced sound quality offers a refreshing and highly entertaining listening experience. Overall, this is a superbly woven collection of songs and instrumentals, all excellently executed by highly skilled musicians, with some exemplary guitar playing, which knows very few competitors and serves as the proverbial cherry on top. Definitely oriented towards a wider audience, which of course does not mean any quality compromise whatsoever. Just grab a drink and enjoy, which of course is much easier in the warm climate countries ;)

Updated: 30/01/2023Posted: 30/01/2023

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