Record Reviews

ASAF ~ SILENT PRAYER SOLITON 669 (Barcode: 5901571096698) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the second album by the Polish Jazz quartet ASAFFind albums by this artist, following a sixteen years break in its activity. The current lineup includes saxophonist Maciej SikalaFind albums by this artist, pianist Joanna GajdaFind albums by this artist, bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist (who replaced the original bassist Michal BaranskiFind albums by this artist) and drummer Piotr JankowskiFind albums by this artist. Bassist Michal BakFind albums by this artist and vocalist Barbara PospieszalskaFind albums by this artist guest each on one track. The album presents seven original compositions, four recorded in studio and three recorded live on various occasions. Sikala and Gajda composed two of pieces each, Pospieszalski and Bak composed one piece each and the last is by Polish Jazz bassist / composer Andrzej CudzichFind albums by this artist, who sadly departed at a tragically young age in 2003. The debut album by ASAF from 2004 was dedicated to the memory of Cudzich. The music is strictly mainstream Jazz oriented, with solid melodic themes and straightforward arrangements, which offers little innovation or challenge but is excellently executed by the participating musicians, who are all highly professional. The superb saxophone parts by Sikala, who is after all one of the top Polish Jazz players, are especially impressive. Despite the fact that the album mixes studio and live recordings, the overall sound quality is very good and the album offers a coherent sound and stylistic continuity. The nature of the music is rather contemplative and as the album´s title and individual track titles (as well as the album´s liner notes) suggest, the music is an attempt to offer a spiritual message with the music serving as a medium. The atmosphere of some of the compositions is definitely soaked in deep melancholy, which of course every listener can interpret in his own way. Overall this is a good mainstream Jazz album, which should make fans of music closer to the American rather than European Jazz aesthetic very happy. Great compositions and perfect execution is exactly what the doc prescribed. Definitely worth checking out!

Updated: 26/05/2020Posted: 26/05/2020

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MARCEL BALINSKI ~ OPALENIZNA I WIATR NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Marcel BalinskiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a classic piano trio setting with bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof SzmandaFind albums by this artist. The album presents six original compositions, all by the leader. The classic piano trio format stands in complete contrast to the music it produces here, which is diametrically different from what one expects to hear from a piano trio. There is nothing in this music that resembles a classic melody / improvisations layout and piano / rhythm section role division. So what is it? Well, it is a beautifully innovative approach to create music, which is somewhat Jazz oriented, but could be easily presented as contemporary Classical chamber music. The music is a creation of three musicians, playing symbiotically and without any division into soloist / accompanist, based on short melodic sketchy themes, expended into complex structures, which might as well be improvised, but are obviously too well organized to be spontaneous. Somehow this strange brew makes not only perfect / coherent sense, but is also inspired and superbly innovative. The individual performances are all brilliant, but secondary in comparison to the ensemble effect of the trio. I had a hard time deciding if this music can be called Avant-Garde? Although it is different from almost everything happening on the Jazz scene these days, it is mostly an assemblage of familiar ingredients, put together in an unfamiliar way with out of the box approach and obvious highly aesthetic vision. Although Balinski took part in the recording of several Polish Jazz albums since 2018, this music is a quantum leap in comparison to his work on those albums. Another interesting question that comes up, is if this is the future of Polish Jazz or even Jazz in general? Balinski will have first to establish a wider recorded evidence to prove his role in the future of the genre, but this music certainly marks him as one of the young prophets. Overall, this is a stunning album, which is one of those rare eye (ear) openers that happen way to rarely and when they do, it makes you smile. Can’t wait for the next one as this one is already somewhat from the “past”. Congratulations are definitely in order!

Updated: 03/02/2022Posted: 03/02/2022

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LOVE AND BEAUTY SEEKERS ~ ZAR LOVE & BEAUTY 01 (Barcode: 5707471048733) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by young Polish trio Love And Beauty SeekersFind albums by this artist, which consists of saxophonist Jedrzej LagodzinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Szymon GasiorekFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions, five of which were composed by Lagodzinski, four by Pospieszalski and two by Gasiorek. I had the pleasure to hear the trio live a couple of times in 2015, first in a small club in Krakow and than as guests of my Singer Jazz Festival in Warsaw, and was very impressed by the music they create. This album captures this music very authentically and presents one of the most interesting new ensembles on the Polish scene, even though as of now they reside in Copenhagen, where they still attend the local Music Conservatory. The music of the trio is a unique amalgam of Free Jazz, Improvised Music, Punk and Romanticism, which results in an incredibly fascinating, vibrant and fresh sound and attitude. Although the music includes a lot of freedom and space, it also features beautiful melodic themes and coherent development of the compositions, in complete contrast to the chaos and mayhem that usually characterizes Avant-Garde music. The trio uses a plethora of effects, toys and other paraphernalia to create sounds that ornament their basic trio sound, which also broadens the overall result. The individual contributions by all the trio members are absolutely perfect within the framework of their music. They are all equal partners and the trio is not a saxophone player accompanied by a rhythm section, but three musicians who play different instruments and create music together. Lagodzinski elegantly moves between playing gentle melodic themes and blowing his horn wildly, Pospieszalski switches between clear bass lines to freely improvised multi-tempo passages and Gasiorek, as appropriate for a gifted drummer, plays anything but basic rhythmic patterns, simply moving all over the place and creating layers of percussive embellishments. Polish Jazz is a very fertile soil for Free Jazz / Improvised Music and the number of individual musicians and ensembles working within the framework of the Avant-Garde scene is stupefying. And yet this ensemble definitely stands out as a surprising contestant to the veterans of the genre with this mind blowing debut. I am already highly curious as to their next release, hoping it will be a worthy follow up to this debut effort, which won´t be easy to beat or even match easily. Respect!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 04/01/2017

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JERZY MACZYNSKI ~ JERRY & THE PELICAN SYSTEM (POLISH JAZZ VOL.83) WARNER MUSIC POLAND 190295475895 (Barcode: 190295475895) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album as a leader by young Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Jerzy MaczynskiFind albums by this artist, recorded with his quintet which also includes trumpeter Marcin ElszkowskiFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Marcel BalinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer / flautist Wiktoria JakubowskaFind albums by this artist. Hindu violinist Apoorva KrishnaFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album presents eight original compositions, two of which are in three parts and one in two parts – together thirteen tracks. The music was beautifully recorded at the Monochrom Studio, engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist. Maczynski is an archetypical representative of contemporary young European Jazz musician: musical education from early age, academic studies in Poland, then Odense in Denmark, then Berklee in Valencia, Spain, recordings, concerts and festivals, a biography that reflects the borderless Europe which allows its young musicians to get exposed to diverse education systems, meet musicians from many different places and cultures and develop their personal styles in a span of just a few years, something that usually took decades to achieve in the not so distant past. It is not surprising therefore to see these young musicians to show characteristics such as diversity, openness and multi-genre / multi-cultural approach to the music they create. The music on this album is exactly like that – an amalgam of influences which encompasses such radically different genres as Rock, Yass (a Polish variety of Jazz rebellion with a strong Punkish attitude), Jazz-Rock Fusion, Free Jazz and even Avant-Garde, spiced with beautifully melodic, almost Popish balladry - a multi culti heaven on earth. One can not avoid an immediate feeling of likeness to the music created by Kuba WiecekFind albums by this artist, who after all is of almost identical age and biographical background, and who is another proud representative of the young Polish Jazz generation. The musical approach that this album reflects has one imminent danger, however. The diversity, as blessed as it is, can, and in this case does, create a slight sensation of lack of musical focus. Perhaps it is the highly emotional debut album responsibility, perhaps the untamed youthfulness, but this music creates an impression that Maczynski tries to say a bit too much in the scope of one album. Strangely (or perhaps not really) the two albums by Wiecek suffer from the same slight predicament. But all things considered, this is by all means a splendid debut effort, full of potential, great promises, exciting musical ideas and superb playing by all the participants. As already stated earlier, many Jazz musicians of older generations had to wait for years to produce an album as rich in contents and talent as this one, which means that congratulation are in order. Since I am writing these words exactly on Jerzy´s birthday (completely accidentally BTW) I can only wish him many future achievements, which will surely outshine this one, surely after such an outstanding liftoff! Side Note The iconic "Polish Jazz" series of recordings, originally released between 1965 and 1989 by the Polish state owned record company Polskie NagraniaFind albums on this label, which used the MuzaFind albums on this label label as its moniker, consists of seventy six LP albums. It presents the history of Polish Jazz recordings during that period, which includes some of the most important Polish / European modern Jazz milestones and reflects the extraordinary development of Jazz music behind the Iron Curtain. It is one of the most important historic documents of Polish Music and of course Polish Culture in general. The series had an eminent logo designed by Roslaw Szaybo and the albums were numbered sequentially from Vol.1 to Vol.76 accordingly. The album's artwork was wonderfully stylish and modernist, featuring the brilliant photographs and characteristic design by the legendary Polish Artist Marek Karewicz. Stylistically the series presented all Jazz genres, from Traditional Jazz to Avant-Garde / Free Jazz, which was extraordinarily liberal considering the cultural censorship imposed by the Socialist Regime. It suffered from some inconsistency, as far as the musical quality and aesthetics were concerned, as well as the internal "politics" of the Polish Jazz scene at the time, but in retrospect it achieved a spectacular overall result, unparalleled as far as consistently documenting a national Jazz scene is concerned. After the Polskie Nagrania catalogue was bought by Warner Music PolandFind albums on this label, the new owner started a reissue process of the Polish Jazz series, carefully remastered, repackaged and including extensive liner notes, which keeps the artwork as close to the original design as possible. So far forty four volumes of the original series were reissued. In 2016 Warner Music Poland decided to continue the original series by releasing new contemporary Polish Jazz recordings under the same format and even to continue the sequential numbering starting with Vol.77 – a decision I personally consider almost sacrilegious. Some things are simply untouchable, and the "Polish Jazz" series is surely one of those things. If Warner Music Poland wants to produce Jazz albums, which is always more than welcome, they could have started a new series, under a new title, rather than exploiting the reputation of the historic series. As a result, some artist whose albums are released as part of the new series might be led to expect instant gratification, fame and stardom, just for being an artificial part of a prestigious past, which of course is as bogus as it is sad.

Updated: 17/03/2020Posted: 17/03/2020

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JERZY MAZZOLL ~ BYC WYTWORNIA KRAJOWA 17 (Barcode: 5902860147176) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is an album by Polish Jazz clarinetist / composer Jerzy MazzollFind albums by this artist, one of the mythical figures of the Avant-Garde / fringe Polish Jazz since the late 1980s. Although presented as a solo album, the music is co-credited to Mazzoll and producer / multi-instrumentalist Michal SzturomskiFind albums by this artist, who co-composed the seventeen pieces of instrumental music with Mazzoll. Pianist Milosz WoskoFind albums by this artist, bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist, percussionist Artur ChaberFind albums by this artist as well as a couple of other musicians perform alongside the two composers. For someone, who knows Mazzoll and his music since ages, the album comes as a complete surprise in many respects. But Mazzoll states clearly on the album’s artwork that: “This album came to be as a result of my desire for calmness and beauty, which lately I am able to experience again”. That motto reflects the character of the music perfectly, as the album presents a series of beautiful, highly melodic tunes, often meditative, sometimes close to Hasidic Nigunim, which Mazzoll states on plethora of various clarinets like the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The clarinet is accompanied on some of the tracks by the superb performances of Wosko and Pospieszalski, which ideally suit the concept and paint the entire proceedings with s subtle Jazz tinge. However, on other tracks the accompaniment is more “mechanical”, i.e. synthesizes, samples and other electronic paraphernalia, which I prefer much less, but am able to accept, in view of the charm of the music and the concept at large. Mazzoll’s clarinet parts are of course brilliant and one can simply not get enough of them, which makes one long for more when the music is over – the only solution being to put the album on repeat. He is a true sound magician, which I have always known to be true, but his convoluted recording / life history not always managed to reflect it. I am thankful that he finally found his peace of mind, which enables him to play as magnificently as herein, and live his life “under his wine and his fig tree”. Overall, this is a magnificently moving piece of music, seemingly simplistic at times, but able to reach the deepest heartstrings of the listener’s soul. This is Mazzoll the Gentle Giant, the Buddhist Monk, the Hassid thankful for the Almighty’s Grace… Thank you my Friend, for this gift of Music!

Updated: 07/06/2022Posted: 06/06/2022

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SABINA MECK ~ LOVE IS HERE FOR TUNE 0090 (Barcode: 5902768701821) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 - 2015 Released: 2016 The new generation of Polish Jazz musicians, which swept the local scene like a tsunami with the onset on the 21st Century, produced a staggering number of superb instrumentalists: trumpeters, saxophonists, pianists, bassists and drummers, but sadly almost no significant discoveries in vocal Jazz arrived on the scene, with just a very few exceptions. There are many possible explanations why this has happened: the crisis in the vocal Jazz idiom in general, the fact that vocalists born in Poland are not native English speakers, yet they tenaciously insist on singing in English even when it works against them, and most importantly the fact that the human voice is not only the most beautiful and limitless instrument, but also the most difficult one. Therefore listening to this album by the young Sabina MeckFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Sabina MyrczekFind albums by this artist) one can finally release a sigh of relief saying "it´s finally happening". Not only does she sing fabulously but she also wrote all the music and the lyrics on this album, which is almost too good to be true. The whole thing sounds like a classic vocal Jazz album, featuring a set of carefully selected standards; anything but a debut album. Meck selected the accompaniment of a classic piano trio, which is classy, elegant and minimalistic, but also incredibly bold. There is no electric trickery to hide imperfection, but there is a challenging need to combine forces with the trio members at all times. The trio´s performance is by all means as spectacular in every respect as the vocals. The upcoming and still very young Aga DerlakFind albums by this artist on piano is absolutely brilliant as an accompanist and together with the singer they are in a perfect Ying and Yang harmony. The rhythm section, bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Bartosz SzablowskiFind albums by this artist, adds its support amicably and very skillfully, with nothing short of flawlessness. The insiders of the Polish Jazz scene will of course notice immediately that Sabina Meck is the sister of the incredibly talented vocalist Wojciech MyrczekFind albums by this artist. It will be completely unfair to treat her just as "the sister of", since although she shares with her brother the gene pool of the highly gifted Myrczek clan, this album proves that she is a greatly talented Artist in her own right. Hopefully this is just the first of many wondrous albums to come. You’ve got it, my Fair Lady; you certainly have got what it takes! Side Note The above are my liner notes included on this album's artwork. I am honored when asked by the Artists to write liner notes for their albums, always hoping that my words reflect the true spirit of the music. This is also a symbol of our mutual respect and friendship developed over the years. The same is also true when Record Labels ask me to write liner notes for their releases, mostly in the case of reissues of archival albums, which is a symbol of their appreciation of my knowledge and historical perspective and my recognition of their dedication to the preservation of the history of recorded music and the effort to keep human Culture and Aesthetics alive.

Updated: 19/09/2018Posted: 06/05/2016

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JAKUB PAULSKI TRIO ~ PRELUDIUM NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 5903771865203) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Jakub PaulskiFind albums by this artist recorded in a trio format with bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and Hungarian drummer Peter SomosFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions, including a three part title track, all by Paulski. From the very onset the album offers a very distinct guitar sound, which dominates the proceedings, electric but almost completely acoustic in nature, a way of playing guitar that is almost completely absent from today´s scene and fondly reminds the way Jazz guitar sounded in the 1960s. Same applies to the rhythm section, which accompanies the leader respectfully in the background, without competing with him for supremacy. The music is mostly strictly melody based, but the melodic motifs are pretty complex and require attentive listening in order to follow the logical flow. Some more freely improvised moments and esoteric sounds appear through the album, but they are definitely not the mainline. The performances are all excellent, as expected. Paulski definitely has a great technique and feel for the music, Pospieszalski offers very supportive bass lines with a nice round sound and Somos, although playing sparingly, know exactly what he is doing. Overall this is an ambitious debut effort, promising but not entirely "cooked", especially as far as the compositions are concerned, in my opinion. Paulski needs probably some more time to crystallize his composing skills in parallel to his playing technique, using a bit more of the "less is more" approach, as the album at times definitely offers too many notes at once. Having said that and considering that Jazz guitar is pretty neglected on the Polish Jazz scene, this album definitely is worth checking out!

Updated: 23/12/2020Posted: 23/12/2020

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PIMPONO ENSEMBLE ~ HOPE LOVE PEACE FAITH LOVE & BEAUTY 02 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is a brilliant debut album by an international Jazz ensemble from Copenhagen, called Pimpono EnsembleFind albums by this artist, led by young Polish drummer / composer Szymon GasiorekFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Pimpon), who is also a member of the excellent Polish trio Love And Beauty SeekersFind albums by this artist. The other members of the ensemble, which is a nonet, includes also the two remaining members of Love And Beauty Seekers, saxophonist Jedrzej LagodzinskiFind albums by this artist and bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist, as well as another Polish bassist Tomo JacobsonFind albums by this artist and Scandinavian musicians: trumpeter Gustav BjerreFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Tobias PfeilFind albums by this artist, tuba player Rasmus Kjaergard LundFind albums by this artist, guitarist Emil PalmeFind albums by this artist, and a third bassist Lui Severin FalkentorpFind albums by this artist. Three guest musicians appear on selected tracks. The ensemble performs eight original compositions, all by Gasiorek. The music is a fascinating amalgam of modern influences, wildly diverse and ranging from Minimal Music to Free Jazz / Improvised Music, combined coherently and skillfully by the composer, who also makes a brilliant use of the large ensemble, which is sadly very rarely done these days. It is truly amazing to find such a mature piece of music conceived and executed by such young musicians. The music changes moods and atmospheres from one piece to another and also within each piece and the listener is unable to predict what might happen next, which of course turns this into a fascinating listening experience. This album demonstrates the power of expression and the sophistication of music written and executed by large ensembles, which enables a wide sonic spectrum, a stylistic diversity and of course the inclusion of many soloists playing often in parallel, improvising concurrently. There is of course place for beautiful melodic themes and harmonic arrangements, but these are not the core of the music, only a part of the palette the composer uses to build up his sonic world. Although this might sound a bit of an overstatement, this album could serve as a text book example of what modern Jazz composition for large ensembles is all about. Therefore my wholehearted recommendation for musicians involved in this area is to get a copy of the album ASAP. Connoisseurs of modern Jazz, who are open-minded and love adventurous music, should find this album a stunning listening experience. Kudos!

Updated: 13/01/2017Posted: 13/01/2017

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FRANCISZEK POSPIESZALSKI ~ 1ST LEVEL FOR TUNE 0123 (Barcode: 5906395808250) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz bassist / composer Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a sextet setting with his fellow Polish students at Copenhagen´s Rhythmic Music Conservatory, which is very popular among the young generation of Polish Jazz musicians in the last decade. The other members of the sextet are: saxophonists Kuba WiecekFind albums by this artist and Jedrzej LagodzinskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Grzegorz TarwidFind albums by this artist and drummers Szymon GasiorekFind albums by this artist (who also plays electronic vibraphone) and Albert KarchFind albums by this artist. Trumpeter Szczepan PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist plays on one tune. The album presents seven original compositions, all by Pospieszalski, and one arrangement of a Classical piece. The music, which is absolutely beyond any known systematic classification, moves constantly between modern Jazz, group improvisation, contemporary Classical and a myriad of other not yet invented labels, and is utterly stunning in its inventiveness and complete disregard of stylistic or mental limitations. It is an extension to what the Love And Beauty SeekersFind albums by this artist trio (Pospieszalski / Lagodzinski / Gasiorek) brilliantly started on their debut album a year earlier, with the additional power and possibilities intrinsic to the larger sextet lineup. In short this is perhaps a beginning of a new Jazz genre, which appears here for the first time, and which is new and separate from anything else known in the past. It is mindboggling to hear what these young people manage to achieve here, which is more revolutionary and prophetic that what most Jazz musicians achieved in their lifetimes. As hard as it is to believe, this music is a quintessential expression of the Jazz exploration and development, which is the genre´s most important quality, especially in view of the fact that most other musical forms are simply dying or exist in a state of deep lethargy. Listening to this music reveals perhaps the last threads of hope for human Culture, which is still alive and kicking. Although the album is extremely short (just over thirty six minutes in duration), it is so extremely condensed and full of intellectual charge, that its unadulterated contents means more that dozens of other albums put together. As a result it stays apart from most other albums released in Poland this year, and is by far the most interesting release so far in 2017. It will perhaps take time for the listeners to fully understand the meaning and significance of this music, but the musical prophecy conveyed herein is bound to create a major impact. My deepest thanks go to these young Lions for keeping my faith in humanity afloat.

Updated: 18/07/2017Posted: 18/07/2017

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FRANCISZEK POSPIESZALSKI ~ ACCUMULATED THOUGHTS NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2019 This is the second album by young Polish Jazz bassist / composer Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist, this time recorded in a classic piano trio Jazz setting with pianist Franciszek RaczkowskiFind albums by this artist and Hungarian drummer Peter SomosFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, seven of which are original compositions by Pospieszalski and one is by the legendary British trumpeter / composer Kenny WheelerFind albums by this artist. The music was recorded at the now legendary Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, with the expected exceptional sound quality. In complete contrast to his debut album, which was an explosion of youthful exploration and discovery flirting mostly with Free Jazz and a myriad of other influences, this album is completely focused on melodic modern Jazz, coherent compositions and superb instrumental work by the trio. Pospieszalski emerges here as a gifted composer, who is able to weave interesting and multilayered themes, as well as a superb bassist, with refined technique and remarkable feel for the music. His work as a trio member and as a soloist is absolutely spotless and inspired. Raczkowski, who is a relative newcomer on the Polish scene, made an impressive progress as a player since his own debut album recorded three years earlier, and his splendid performances on acoustic and electric piano are a true delight from start to finish. His progress is heartwarming and definitely paves his way towards the incredibly crowded Polish Jazz pianist clique. Somos is an excellent drummer, which is mostly evident from the fact that he is rather felt that heard. His elegant sense of rhythm and subtle use of his instrument are remarkable. Overall this is a wonderful piano trio Jazz album, up to date and vibrant, full of excellent music and brilliant playing, definitely one of the most exciting of the kind that came to my attention in quite a while. Congratulations are in order for the chameleonic transformation Pospieszalski went through and for putting this trio together and I can´t wait to hear the next album by these young lions. A breathe of fresh air!

Updated: 15/04/2019Posted: 15/04/2019

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FRANCISZEK POSPIESZALSKI ~ SECOND STEP NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 5903771865210) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is the third album as a leader by young Polish Jazz bassist / composer Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and his second recording with his sextet, which here includes saxophonists Marek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and Jedrzej LagodzinskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Grzegorz TarwidFind albums by this artist, multi-instrumentalist Wiktoria JakubowskaFind albums by this artist and drummer Szymon GasiorekFind albums by this artist. Barbara PospieszalskaFind albums by this artist plays piano on one track and a string quartet plays on two tracks. The album presents eight original compositions, all by the leader. The album was recorded at the Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist. As usual with Pospieszalski, his music eschews all attempts of straightforward classification and encompasses many different influences, from contemporary Classical Music, via the Jazz tradition, Folkloristic fragrances and Avant-Garde tendencies, which altogether produce a unique amalgam, which is first and foremost his own. It is fascinating to follow the development of Pospieszalski in the last five years since the recording of his debut album and the crystallization of his stylistic tendencies, influenced undoubtedly by the years he studied music in Denmark, which is a melting point of the young European Jazz scene. The bond he forged there with Lagodzinski and Gasiorek, which resulted in the formation of the Love And Beauty SeekersFind albums by this artist trio seems to hold on, as these young people obviously share common musical vibes. In the liner notes accompanying this album Pospieszalski reflects upon the blind worship of everything “American”, in music and life habits alike, which is tragically so omnipresent among young Europeans, rather than following and developing the rich and beautiful European tradition that has so much to offer. I wholeheartedly share that point of view of course and the fact that Pospieszalski is open enough to talk about it, in addition to creating music which is deeply European in its essence, is highly commendable. Overall, this is a wonderful piece of music; bold, interesting, beautifully put together and executed, which fully justifies the hopes and belief in the young generation of Polish / European Jazz, that some of us share. There are only a few albums recorded each year that have so much to offer, and this one surely deserves to be heard by as many music lovers around the world as possible. Well done!

Updated: 07/09/2021Posted: 07/09/2021

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FRANCISZEK POSPIESZALSKI QUINTET ~ JAZZ.PL VOL.3 POLSKIE RAADIO 2417 (Barcode: 5907812247140) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 This is the fourth album by Polish Jazz bassist / composer Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with trumpeter Piotr DamasiewiczFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Marek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Grzegorz TarwidFind albums by this artist and drummer Bartosz SzablowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents arrangements of four compositions by Charles MingusFind albums by this artist and one by Jack WalrathFind albums by this artist, all of which originate from the seminal Mingus albums “Changes OneFind albums with this title” and “Changes TwoFind albums with this title” released in 1975. The album was recorded live by Polish Radio during a series of concerts entitled Jazz.pl, hence the title. I have to admit that at the first glace it looked to me as a very cheeky idea to undertake a “face to face” with some of the Jazz “holy ground”: an absolute peak of Mingus career as composer and bandleader and classic American Jazz legacy. These young Polish cats will have to prove being worthy of even playing this music, let alone playing around with it. It is with great relief and satisfaction that I find this attempt to be successful and astonishingly creative. The quintet manages successfully to Europeanize the music, by adding many minor, by highly significant touches, which appear all over this music quite unexpectedly. These highly skilled musicians have a lot of fun on the way and show clearly that they are able to take these wonderful compositions to new places, which Mingus would have never even thought of, but I am pretty sure he would have approved of. I am sending this music to my Friend Jack Walrath to hear his input on it, and I can imagine his face when he listens to these interpretations. With all due respect to Franciszek Pospieszalski for the idea and initiative, the true hero of this album is obviously Tarwid, who is in charge of most of the modifications via his charmingly brilliant piano work, twisting the entire aesthetics of this music. But to be fair, all five of these young devils play superbly from start to finish. Overall, this is an absolutely marvelous album, which shows how a fifty years old music, as genius as it originally was, can be revitalized, expanded and subtly redirected, all by using European Jazz shticks and tricks, to became even more brilliant than originally conceived. I bow my head in awe and respect!

Updated: 03/03/2023Posted: 03/03/2023

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