Record Reviews

FUNK FACTORY ~ FUNK FACTORY WOUNDED BIRD 0116 (Barcode: 664140011625) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1975 Released: 2007 1st and only album by a one-time recording project organized by the brilliant Polish Jazz musician Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist and his wife Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist, following their move to the USA and after recording of several exquisite albums for the Columbia label. The album is to a large extent a cheek-in-tongue joke by Urbaniak in response to the "accusations" by his fellow American colleagues, that Eastern European musicians are not "funky". Here we have a proof that Urbaniak and his cohorts can play Funk as well as any American musician, and perhaps even better, as his Funk is so much more sophisticated and multilayered than anything else recorded in that style. Together with Urbaniak and Dudziak a couple of two other talented Polish musicians also take part in this project: virtuoso keyboardist Wlodek GulgowskiFind albums by this artist and singer Bernard KafkaFind albums by this artist, founder and leader of the superb Polish vocal group NOVIFind albums by this artist. In addition to the four Poles, a sensational American rhythm section was assembled, with bassists Anthony JacksonFind albums by this artist and Tony LevinFind albums by this artist, drummers Steve GaddFind albums by this artist and Gerald BrownFind albums by this artist and guitarists Barry FinnertyFind albums by this artist and John AbercrombieFind albums by this artist. Urbaniak burns his electric violin with the usual passion and virtuosity and Dudziak performs magic with her voice. The music was all written by Urbaniak, Gulgowski and Kafka, so here we have Polish Funk, which funks away all that´s funky. Although completely obscure, this is a great album, which hopefully can now be discovered by a wider audience after being reissued on CD. A must for all Polish Jazz enthusiasts!

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JOACHIM KUHN ~ SPRINGFEVER WOUNDED BIRD 1695 (Barcode: 664140169524) ~ GERMANY ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1976 Released: 2008 Virtuoso German keyboardist Joachim KuhnFind albums by this artist is one of the greatest representatives of European Jazz and his illustrious career and numerous recordings are a source of inspiration for any true music lover. Strongly influenced by his older brother Rolf KuhnFind albums by this artist, an exquisite clarinetist, Joachim started to play Jazz professionally in the 1960s and was one of the founding fathers of the great modern German Jazz scene. In his early days Kuhn played mostly modern Free Jazz. But by the 1970s he flirted extensively with Jazz-Rock Fusion recording a series of wonderful albums in that genre first for the legendary MPSFind albums on this label label and later for AtlanticFind albums on this label. This album finds Kuhn in a quartet setting with brilliant Belgian guitarist Philip CatherineFind albums by this artist, bassist John LeeFind albums by this artist and drummer Gerald BrownFind albums by this artist. Polish virtuoso violinist Zbigniew SeifertFind albums by this artist guest on several tracks. All the music was written by Kuhn and it is absolutely stunning, with strong Jazz and Classical influences, performed with passion and exquisite taste by all the musicians. Kuhn´s extended acoustic piano solos are breathtaking and the entire album is an absolute must to any serious Jazz-Rock Fusion fan, especially those open to the European branch of the genre. Essential stuff!

Updated: 18/07/2020Posted:

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MICHAL URBANIAK ~ FUSION III WOUNDED BIRD 3542 (Barcode: 664140354227) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 1975 Released: 2012 This is a reissue of the third (and last) US album by Polish Jazz violinist / composer Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist, released originally on the ColumbiaFind albums on this label label in 1975. In retrospect it is also one of the best Fusion albums ever recorded on this planet. Urbaniak, a veteran of the Polish Jazz scene, first came to prominence as the member of the legendary groups led by the Godfather of Polish Jazz, pianist / composer Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist. While with Komeda, Urbaniak played the saxophone and switched to violin only after founding his own group in the late 1960s, when he also changed his musical direction from Modern / Free Jazz to Fusion, inspired by the groundbreaking innovations created at the time by Miles DavisFind albums by this artist. In his group he included his wife, the extraordinary singer Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist and together they quickly developed a completely unique type of Fusion, which was light years ahead of anything else happening in that genre at the time anywhere in the world. Mixing Jazz, Rock, Folklore and Avant-Garde vocals, they established a completely new approach to composition and multilayered complexity, as documented on the two albums the group recorded as part of the legendary "Polish Jazz" series of albums, which was simply brilliant. Frustrated by the state of affairs in his country, which suffered under a Socialist Regime and harsh economic conditions, Urbaniak, like most of his colleagues, constantly looked for an opportunity to leave Poland and establish a career behind the Iron Curtain. He managed initially to record a couple of albums in West Germany for the SpiegeleiFind albums on this label label, but the real break came when Columbia offered him a recording deal. He and his wife left Poland and settled in the USA, as did several other Polish Jazz musicians at the time, like his ex group member pianist / composer Adam MakowiczFind albums by this artist for example. The three albums Urbaniak recorded for Columbia (and several more for other US labels, especially the dazzling "Funk FactoryFind albums with this title" album recorded shortly after this one and also reissued on Wounded BirdFind albums on this label) were outstanding and simply much better than anything the local scene could muster, but unfortunately Urbaniak´s US career never really took off, same as the careers of all other Polish Jazz musicians who tried to make it there, in spite of their immense talents. The reason was simply the narrow-mindedness of the US Jazz community (listeners and critics alike), which considered Jazz to be exclusively an American Art Form and failed to recognize anything originating outside of the US as artistically valid and meaningful, even if it hit them in the face. On this album Urbaniak is accompanied by top US Fusion players like guitarist John AbercrombieFind albums by this artist, bassist Anthony JacksonFind albums by this artist and drummer Steve GaddFind albums by this artist, as well as Polish compatriot keyboardist Wlodek GulgowskiFind albums by this artist. Guitarist Larry CoryellFind albums by this artist guests on one track, guitarist Joe CaroFind albums by this artist guests on another and Polish vocalist Bernard KafkaFind albums by this artist guests on yet another track. Drummer Gerald BrownFind albums by this artist replaces Gadd on two tracks. Dudziak´s vocals are simply out of this world and alone are worth listening to this album repeatedly. Urbaniak wrote almost all the dazzling music except for three tracks: a Dudziak improvisation, a superb composition by Polish saxophonist Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist, which fits this album´s mood like a glove and one tune by Gulgowski. As already said, this is timeless, heavenly, unparalleled music, which I´ve been listening to in the last almost 40 years without any trace of getting tired by it any time soon. This is an absolutely essential Fusion music, and anybody who has not heard this music does not know the true meaning of Fusion. God bless Wounded Bird for finally releasing this divine album on CD!

Updated: 11/09/2019Posted:

CD 1 Essential Recommend To A Friend