Record Reviews

MICHAL BAK QUARTETTO ~ FORTRESS ALPAKA 017 (Barcode: 308175527897) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is the second album by Polish Jazz ensemble Michal Bak QuartettoFind albums by this artist, led by bassist / composer Michal BakFind albums by this artist and also including trumpeter Emil MiszkFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Jakub KlemensiewiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Slawomir KoryznoFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, five of which are original compositions by Bak, two are his arrangements of Classical pieces and two are original compositions by Miszk. The music is very minimalist, and except for the unisono statements by the trumpet and the saxophone, offers mostly one of the instruments supported by the rhythm section with limited ensemble performances. Lengthy rhythm section passages and bass soli dominate the atmosphere of the album. The bass is high in the mix and obviously sets the framework of the entire affair. The two arrangements of the Classical pieces are a bit of a foreign body within the concept of the album, as far as I am concerned, but perhaps the intention was to create a Jazz-Classical Fusion of sorts, which I am simply just not able to hear. The album offers a dark and daunting ambience, which might challenge some listeners, and although the musicians are obviously highly capable, the minimalist concept restrains them from displaying full-blown statements. The extremely slow paste of the music and the limited developments within are honestly trying the listener’s patience. Overall, although more adventurous that most Polish Jazz albums released this year (2021), this album fails to excite and swap the listener off his feet, despite the obvious talent of the musicians involved. Bak is still probably trying to define his composing aims and a coherent unique style for his ensemble, and will hopefully reach his goal in the future. Whatever worked fine on the debut album is simply not enough anymore for the sophomore outing.

Updated: 08/12/2021Posted: 08/12/2021

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ZOFIA BIELAK ~ THERAPY NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 739988493831) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2024 Released: 2024 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Zofia BielakFind albums by this artist, recorded with clarinetist Jakub KlemensiewiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Julia PrzybyszFind albums by this artist, drummer Maciej ChrzeszczykFind albums by this artist, cellist Michalina SokolowskaFind albums by this artist and vocalist Magdalena KurasFind albums by this artist. Ksenia WitekFind albums by this artist recites texts she wrote, on two tracks. The album presents nine tracks, all original compositions by Bielak. The music is very startling, highly emotional and often somewhat Avant-Garde oriented, combining melodic elements with Free Improvisations and contemporary Classical echoes, creating a challenging Chamber Jazz atmosphere, which one normally does not expect from such young musicians. The album’s title suggests a process of emotional therapy / healing via music, which the author went through, sharing her experiences with the listeners, which is a demanding and thought-provoking process, and as such not an easy musical experience, but definitely one worth exploring and experiencing, full of excellent instrumental and vocal parts, often quite unconventional and moving. The vocal parts are especially striking, and unique, but the entire album offers constantly inspiring musical environment. Overall, this is a highly interesting, unusual and potent debut album, full of emotionally charged music, which combines conventional and Avant-Garde elements with elegance and aesthetic approach. Bielak is definitely someone to keep a keen eye on in the future. Well done, young Lady!

Updated: 05/07/2024Posted: 05/07/2024

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ANNA JOPEK ~ INSIGHT ALPAKA 021 (Barcode: 3663734142872) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz pianist / composer Anna JopekFind albums by this artist (not to be confused with the vocalist Anna Maria JopekFind albums by this artist), recorded with saxophonist / clarinetist Jakub KlemensiewiczFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Adam SkorczewskiFind albums by this artist and cellist Michalina SokolowskaFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, all by Jopek except for the title track, which was co-composed by her and Klemensiewicz. The music is beautifully recorded and offers a sensational sound experience, and is elegantly packaged, including a set of monochromatic photographs, which ideally suit the music. The music is strikingly minimalist, offering mostly duos between the piano and saxophone / clarinet and is spiritually close to 20th Century Classical music with just an undercurrent of Jazz inclinations. There are strong Polish Folklore ties, not surprisingly, and the album is soaked in typical in Polish lyricism and deep melancholy. Klemensiewicz is the focal soloist here and his moving performances perfectly comply with his earlier recordings with Dominik KisielFind albums by this artist, which are amongst the finest examples of the work by the new Polish Jazz generation. This album firmly fortifies that position. Jopek’s piano performances are elegant, but subdued and her role often focuses on introducing the themes and then accompanying the saxophone / clarinet parts. Of course, as the composer, she deserves all the praise for creating this beautiful, moving and highly intelligent music, which despite its seeming simplicity is hugely effective. Even though there is no explicit innovation or revolutionary character in this music per se, it sounds remarkably fresh and intriguing, which is sadly extremely rare in today’s music. As already stated in several of my recent reviews, there is now an obvious tendency in the young Polish Jazz scene toward minimalism and deep exploration of Polish Folklore roots, probably as an antidote to the music pollution surrounding us all incessantly. This music definitely offers a balsam for the listener’s ears. Overall, this is a deeply moving, highly original album, and a sensational debut by a new talent on the Polish Jazz scene, which is definitely worthy of attention and following. Calm, soothing, soul-drenching and above all wonderfully musical, this is a true discovery. Well done young Lady!

Updated: 23/05/2022Posted: 23/05/2022

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KLEMENSIEWICZ - KISIEL ~ CASSUBIA MJUSE 001 (Barcode: 5903919630106) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2021 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz duo comprising of saxophonist Jakub KlemensiewiczFind albums by this artist and pianist Dominik KisielFind albums by this artist. The album presents just three extensive pieces (all well over ten minutes in duration), which are influenced by the Folklore from the Kashubian region and based on music composed by Marian SelinFind albums by this artist, a local poet / composer, arranged by the duo members. Baritone saxophonist Dariusz HerbaszFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The music was recorded live at the Sfinks 700 club in Sopot and offers a wonderful sound ambience, with the music reverberating in the club’s space. This album is one of several Polish Jazz albums dealing with the Kashubian Folklore, recorded in the last decade. The music is very melodic, floating on waves of thematic repetitions, which change very gradually, somewhat like serial or minimalist music, but less constrained sonically. Kisiel provides a rich, carpet like platform, upon which Klemensiewicz scatters his melodic splashes, together creating a floating, spacey, almost ambient vistas. Although such approach would have perfectly suited electronic music, the fact that it is performed on acoustic instruments, adds a magic touch, creating a unique sonic structure. The borderline between Jazz and other music genres are constantly crossed in this music, obviously touching upon Classical Romanticism (well, these guys are Polish so Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist is under their skin), but also other domains. The Folkloristic influence is rather less obvious, being hidden deeply beneath the surface, but this perhaps adds to the universal appeal of this music, which should be fascinating to every open-minded listener. The performances by these young musicians are truly inspiring, and their ability to function as a team is phenomenal. There is an obvious empathy and respect between them, which allows the musical synergy they are able to create on the fly. Despite the fact that this music is mostly melody based, it is by far not trying to be “nice and easy” by any means and demands attentive listening, which of course is quite expected in case of a serious attempt to inspire the audience. Overall, this is a unique and beautiful piece of music, which should make many listeners from a wide range of musical idioms very happy. Well done indeed!

Updated: 19/06/2021Posted: 19/06/2021

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EMIL MISZK / THE SONIC SYNDICATE ~ SCRATCHES FOR 8 MUSICIANS ALPAKA 023 (Barcode: 3663734142964) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 This is the third album by Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer / bandleader Emil MiszkFind albums by this artist, recorded live with his octet called The Sonic SyndicateFind albums by this artist, which comprises of top young Polish Jazz musicians: saxophonists Piotr CheckiFind albums by this artist (tenor) and Jakub KlemensiewiczFind albums by this artist (baritone), trombonist Pawel NiewiadomskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Michal ZienkowskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Mikolaj BasiukiewiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Konrad ZolnierekFind albums by this artist and drummer Slawomir KoryznoFind albums by this artist. The album presents four extended pieces, which are uncredited on the album’s artwork (open for speculation). The music is essentially improvised, with just very few sketchy melodic themes and coherent continuity, at some occasions being more about a sonic atmosphere than music, as most people conceive it. It is fascinating to compare this album with Miszk’s earlier recordings since he first appeared on recording scene in 2014, including the two previous albums with the Sonic Syndicate, which shows a radical estrangement from melodic modern Jazz, gradually moving towards Improvised Music and Avant-Garde. Of course Miszk has every right to experiment and develop his music any way he sees fit, and his qualities are clearly obvious here, as they were in his earlier work. The album, although being more about the ensemble sound that individual soloing, which is typical of European larger ensembles, allows all the members of the octet to show their chops, even in the highly unconventional environment of this music. At best, the ensemble sounds like a Big Band, but during the intimate improvisation moments the ensemble sound gets lost obviously, which is a pity. As a result, the music is very uneven and depends largely on the listener’s attention span and patience. Overall, this is a courageous experiment, exposing the more experimental / searching facets of the young Polish Jazz scene, which refuses to stand still. The music might prove to be trying to an average Jazz listener, but the more open-minded and searching Jazz fans should find this album worth of their attention.

Updated: 16/07/2022Posted: 16/07/2022

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ADAM SKORCZEWSKI ~ STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS MJUSE 002 (Barcode: 5903919630113) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2021 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Adam SkorczewskiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a classic quintet setting with saxophonist Jakub KlemensiewiczFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Dominik KisielFind albums by this artist, bassist Bartosz BorzeszkowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Hussam Abdul-SamadFind albums by this artist. The album, which was recorded live, presents just three extended tracks, two over fourteen and one over eighteen minutes in duration, which remain sadly uncredited on the album’s artwork (assumably composed by the leader). The music, which is based on solid composed themes, is largely freely improvised, like many contemporary modern Jazz recordings. There are several obvious similarities / quotes from famous / legendary Polish Jazz recordings, conscious or not, especially those related to Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist’s music in general and his album “AstigmaticFind albums with this title” in particular. This is very commendable of course, but to a large extent strengthens my personal feeling that Jazz is largely stuck in its past despite the five decades of intensive effort to move forward. But inspirations aside, the music is certainly very interesting and absorbing, despite its slow and seemingly hesitant, but generally well balanced development. There is plenty of opportunity for the musicians to display their individual talents, but all in good measure. The typical Polish melancholy is the prevailing sentiment, which of course is hardly surprising, but the music offers enough of originality and invention to make it into a fascinating listening experience. The presence of Klemensiewicz and Kisiel is of course immediately noticeable, and they both contribute from their somewhat more mature experience to the flow of the music and its melodic / harmonic structure. Skorczewski has a clear, open trumpet sound, which is truly beautiful and I’d love to hear more of it, as his solos are rather on the short side, but if he composed the music, he surely deserves a lot of credit on that front. Borzeszkowski, of whom I know nothing, holds the fort splendidly, which for this kind of music is crucial of course. Abdul-Samad stays mostly behind the scenes, with his contributions being largely inaudible, perhaps due to the rather iffy sound quality of the recording. Overall, this is a splendid debut effort, full of creative power, respect of Polish Jazz tradition and excellent performances by the participants. As usual, it proves the incredibly high potential of the young local Jazz scene, which keeps developing rapidly. Congratulations and thanks for the music!

Updated: 26/12/2021Posted: 26/12/2021

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