Record Reviews

NIKOLA KOLODZIEJCZYK ORCHESTRA ~ CHORD NATION FOR TUNE 0042 (Barcode: 5902768701487) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz pianist / composer / bandleader Nikola KolodziejczykFind albums by this artist, recorded by a twenty five piece orchestra, with members who originate from three different countries, which presents a five-part suite, which in turn is a hybrid of contemporary Classical music, classic mainstream Big Band and Free Jazz / Improvised music. There is no doubt that this is a very ambitious project, brought into reality against all odds and one that refuses to compromise and takes no prisoners. Although highly motivated and certainly ingenious, this project is not quite as revolutionary or innovative as one might imagine. In fact it continues the European orchestral Jazz tradition, which followed a different path from the American orchestral Jazz tradition, which flourished in the US in the early 20th Century and was than imported into Europe and mimicked for a few decades until the emancipation of the European Jazz in the 1960s. Since than a long line of superb European Jazz orchestras carried the torch towards new horizons, starting with the British orchestras led by Neil ArdleyFind albums by this artist, Michael GibbsFind albums by this artist, Mike WestbrookFind albums by this artist and many others and than gradually spread across Europe and even behind the Iron Curtain, with such notable bandleaders as Gunter HampelFind albums by this artist, Hans KollerFind albums by this artist, Martial SolalFind albums by this artist, Gustav BromFind albums by this artist and such distinguished ensembles as the NDR Big BandFind albums by this artist, the Vienna Art OrchestraFind albums by this artist and so many others. Many of these European Jazz orchestras often use similar characteristic devices to those used in the process of making the music heard on this album: switching between melodic mainstream Big Band parts and freely improvised passages, using string arrangements and wordless human vocalese, in short the typical palette of contemporary European Jazz orchestral music. Considering Kolodziejczyk´s age, limited experience, restricted resources and all the obstacles that he had to confront in order to record this album, one must admit that this is a remarkable achievement, not only from the aesthetic perspective but also from the pure organizational one. But of course most listeners are not really interested in the behind the scenes of music making and judge it by what they hear. As far as the music is concerned, Kolodziejczyk presents a collection of sonic plateaus, which intertwine and develop slowly, and are best listened to in the sequence dictated by the album´s tracks and as a whole. The separate parts of the suite do not really stand on their own, as the melodic content of the entire proceedings is relatively limited. To use a metaphor from a different media, the suite makes sense the same way a complete canvas of a painting makes sense, and wouldn´t do so if looked at when sliced into several pieces. At times one might get the impression that this music is more about "how" than about "what". Kolodziejczyk is obviously enamored with the bag of tricks that are at his disposal as a composer / orchestrator, and with the sound of the orchestra, much more than with the actual compositions, and as a result we get a complex baroque musical structure, supported by quite simple foundations. Sometimes the instinctive urge to show as much of one´s talents as possible, here and now, can prove hazardous. This often happens to young and talented artists and is quite meaningless in a long range, provided that Kolodziejczyk is treating this project as just one of many lessons he has to go through during his long and hopefully very successful career. All in all this is a very impressive, ambitious and unusual debut album by an obviously talented musician / composer, who presents enormous potential, which hopefully will be fully realized in his future projects. Since orchestral Jazz albums are extremely rare, this is even more of a valuable contribution to the Polish Jazz scene. Thanks to For Tune for finally releasing this album, over three years after it was recorded, it´s certainly better off now in the open for all music lovers to enjoy. I am anxiously waiting for the next project.

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

HAROLD RUBIN ~ BLUE BAG NOT ON LABEL ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz Recorded: 1996 Released: 1997 Harold RubinFind albums by this artist is one of the very few true Renaissance men I’ve had the pleasure to meet and befriend over the years. An architect, a poet, a painter and an outstanding musician, but also a wonderful human being, who hates bullshit of any form and shape. This, often bold, honesty is present in every creative process Harold is involved with, and what makes his music so wonderfully different and outstanding. Blue Bag is a musical suite, a complete work of art, rather than a collection of separate and unrelated pieces of music. It is probably Harold’s most “accessible” album. It involves a larger group of musicians (as opposed to his regular trio / quartet setting) and for the first time also features vocals. Stylistically it involves, in addition to the obvious jazz contents, some rock elements (for the first time since Harold played with ZaviotFind albums by this artist), some theatrical aura and a much clearer melody lines. The entire album brings fond memories of Brecht’s operas and works by musicians like Gunter HampelFind albums by this artist and his wife Jeanne LeeFind albums by this artist or Mike WestbrookFind albums by this artist and Kate WestbrookFind albums by this artist. It also prominently features for the first time Harold’s poetry, which constitutes the libretto for the entire suite. The musicians playing with Harold include Mark SmulianFind albums by this artist, his partner in Zaviot, who proves he can play the guitar as skillfully as he can handle the bass, Smulian’s wife the wonderful singer Gani TamirFind albums by this artist, Israel’s best drummer Asaf SirkisFind albums by this artist (who plays on many albums released on my JazzisFind albums on this label label), extremely talented trombonists Reut RegevFind albums by this artist and Rafi MalkielFind albums by this artist, and bassist Amit CarmeliFind albums by this artist. Harold contributes his unique brand of clarinet virtuosity and occasionally recites / narrates his fantastic poetry with the music playing in the background (reminiscent of the wonderful “Jazz & Poetry” movement of the 1960’s). If I could, I’d make every person on this planer to listen to this Magnum Opus, but obviously I can’t do that. Hopefully some of you will read this and subsequently discover some of the best music ever recorded on this planet.

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

CECIL TAYLOR ~ MUSIC FROM TWO CONTINENTS FSR 2021/16 (Barcode: 5904441617009) ~ USA ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 1984 Released: 2021 This is archival album recorded live in 1984 at the annual Jazz Jamboree festival in Warsaw. It presents an international ensemble led by American pianist / composer Cecil TaylorFind albums by this artist and ten additional players, both Americans and Europeans (hence the title), which includes Polish trumpeter Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist, Italian trumpeter Enrico RavaFind albums by this artist, German trombonist Conrad BauerFind albums by this artist, American saxophonists Jimmy LyonsFind albums by this artist and Frank Wright Jr.Find albums by this artist, Danish saxophonist John TchicaiFind albums by this artist, American bassoonist Karen LyonsFind albums by this artist, German bass clarinetist / vibraphonist Gunter HampelFind albums by this artist, American bassist William ParkerFind albums by this artist and drummer Henry MartinezFind albums by this artist. The album presents one continuous track lasting for almost sixty-two minutes. The music is spontaneously improvised by the eleven members of the ensemble, based on directions / ideas put forward by the leader. It has little variation in tempo and intensity and offers a brilliant example of group improvisation, which in this case is performed by some of the leaders of the genre, all assembled on one stage at the same time. There are many extensive solo fragments performed by individual musicians, supported in the background by the ensemble members, as well as solos played concurrently by several musicians, with Taylor and the rhythm section playing continuously. For listeners not familiar with Free Jazz / Improvised Music all this might of course sound like a complete chaos, which has no meaning whatsoever, but a trained ear is able to hear both the group dynamics and the individual contributions, which are often stellar. Improvised Music requires certain “brainwaves” activity, which only some humans are equipped with. The fact that this music was recorded in Warsaw and that Stanko was invited to take part in the concert speaks volumes about how highly Poland and Polish musicians were regarded at the time by the international scene, despite the fact that it was still deeply behind the Iron Curtain. Stanko of course proves that he is able to stand shoulder to shoulder both with the other Europeans and the Americans. Overall, this is an important document of the genre and the Polish Jazz scene at the time. The music was of course recorded by the Polish Radio, which recorded all Jazz Jamboree concerts, and the fact that it was dug out and released by the FSRFind albums on this label label, means that those radio archives are terribly neglected.

Updated: 31/01/2022Posted: 31/01/2022

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Remastered Recommend To A Friend

CECIL TAYLOR ~ THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE CAM JAZZ 1007 (Barcode: 8024709114129) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1979 - 1986 Released: 2010 This superb Box Set collects all the albums recorded by the legendary American pianist / composer Cecil TaylorFind albums by this artist on the twin Italian independent labels: Black SaintFind albums on this label and Soul NoteFind albums on this label. Taylor needs no introduction to any serious Jazz connoisseur; suffice to say that his prolific output epitomizes the idioms of Free Jazz / improvised Music far more than any of his contemporaries. The music ranges in format from orchestra to solo piano performances and includes the legendary duets with drummer Max RoachFind albums by this artist. Other musicians playing on these four albums (one double) include: trumpeters Enrico RavaFind albums by this artist and Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Jimmy LyonsFind albums by this artist, John TchicaiFind albums by this artist and Gunter HampelFind albums by this artist, bassist William ParkerFind albums by this artist, drummer Steve McCallFind albums by this artist and others. Remastered, mini-sleeved, and with a great bargain price – this Box Set an absolute must for any serious Jazz collector. Side Note The Italian independent record label Black SaintFind albums on this label was founded by the music critic / author / producer Giacomo PellicciottiFind albums by this artist in 1975. It was taken over by the producer Giovanni BonandriniFind albums by this artist in 1978 and a year later (1979) a sister label, called Soul NoteFind albums on this label, was established. The twin labels were run by Giovanni and later his son Flavio BonandriniFind albums by this artist, until they were sold in 2008 to the Italian KEPACH Music Group, which already owned the CAM JazzFind albums on this label label, and which also bought another Italian independent record label Dischi Della QuerciaFind albums on this label. The mission of the Black Saint / Soul Note labels was to record and document the Free Jazz / Improvised Music / Avant-Garde scene, mostly from the US but also from Europe, which continued between mid 1970s and late 1990s and produced a staggering collection of almost 550 albums recorded by world's most important Jazz innovators active at the time, providing an opportunity to American (mostly Afro-American) musicians, who would have never managed to make these recordings at home, ridden by racism, alienation and closed-mindedness. Without these two labels most of this fantastic human creativity would have been never documented. However, the Black Saint / Soul Note Box Sets produced under the CAM JazzFind albums on this label moniker are an archetypal example of how good intentions turn sour. Although these new editions often bring back to life some of the best music ever made on this planet, which in many cases has been lost in the tides of time and was unavailable on the market for ages, they suffer from an unforgivable disregard to the essence of cultural values and general sloppiness, contrary to human decency, which requires us to treat our cultural legacy with respect and loyalty. These Box Sets have no booklet which presents researched historical background and exact discographical information of the albums included, and most importantly an overview of the music and its meaning and contribution to the Jazz Art form. Although the original LP sleeves are reproduced, the information is in most cases too small to be readable at all. In short the fact that these Box Sets are meant to be inexpensive, does not mean that they have to be cheap!

Updated: 12/04/2020Posted:

CD 5 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Recommend To A Friend