Record Reviews

CHOJNACKI / MIGULA ~ CONTEMPLATIONS SOLITON 675 (Barcode: 5901571096759) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz quartet co-led by trumpeter Jan ChojnackiFind albums by this artist and pianist Filip MigulaFind albums by this artist, which also includes bassist Bartlomiej ChojnackiFind albums by this artist and drummer Dawid OpalinskiFind albums by this artist. Saxophonists Jan KantnerFind albums by this artist and Adam BlawickiFind albums by this artist guest on two tracks and percussionist Bartlomiej PajakFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album presents eight original compositions, one by Chojnacki and the rest by Migula. The music is melodic mainstream Jazz with some World Music influences on part of the tracks. All the compositions are well structured and offer solid melodies and coherent harmonic development and the arrangements, albeit a bit predictable, do justice to the music. The quartet sounds best when performing the beautiful ballads, which are about half of the material, offering typical Polish Jazz melancholy and lyricism, but the up tempo numbers are somewhat less spectacular. The performances are also perfectly executed, as everything done by the well schooled and trained young Polish Jazz generation. Jan Chojnacki offers a wonderful and perfectly clear tone, usually associated with Classical players. Migula plays with confidence and obvious skill. Bartlomiej Chojnacki adds solid bottom and is always precise and well rounded. Opalinski is creative and delicate, adding exactly what the music needs at all times. Overall this is a very impressive debut, which offers good music and elegant playing, altogether showing a promising potential. The album is a bit too conventional for my taste, but that´s just my personal taste. Mainstream Jazz fans should have great fun with this outing and hopefully future recording will be a tad more adventurous. Well done!

Updated: 23/05/2020Posted: 23/05/2020

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INGA LEWANDOWSKA ~ CHOPIN SONGS OP. 74 SOLITON 1313 (Barcode: 5903684233137) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is an album by Polish Jazz vocalist Inga LewandowskaFind albums by this artist, recorded with local Jazz musicians: trumpeter Jan ChojnackiFind albums by this artist, pianist Przemyslaw RaminiakFind albums by this artist, bassist Grzegorz PiaseckiFind albums by this artist and drummer Adam WajdzikFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine of the seventeen songs composed by the Polish National composer Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist, collected together as Op. 74, with lyrics by various Polish poets. The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, as offers a splendid sound quality. This album is in fact a “remake” of an album Lewandowska recorded some twenty years earlier with pianist Kuba Stankiewicz, entitled “Chopin Songbook Op. 74”, which offers a 2CD bi-lingual version of this material, but this recording offers a completely new arrangements and instrumentation, in addition to twenty years of experience, and as such is a valid attempt. Of course my opinion about serious molestation of Chopin’s music by Polish Jazz musicians are still sound and valid, but again, since this is something that was done already, at least it can’t add any harm. As perilous as this material might become, all in all I quite like this album. Lewandowska has an idiosynchratic voice, which takes a while to get used to, but her vocalese and the vocal gymnastics she performs here are quite impressive, which keeps the listen in suspense. Her articulation and theatrical pronunciations are great fun and she obviously knows what she wants. For example, on the last track of this album she sings accompanied only by the bass, and still manages to hold the melody and improvise, like a pro. The instrumental work is as perfect as one might wish for, with Chojnacki ornamenting the proceedings with his trumpet solos and Raminiak’s accompaniment being right on at all times, with several great solos added as well. The rhythm section adds a supportive pulse and as already mentioned the bass also plays splendidly along with the vocals. Overall, this is a very pleasant and splendidly executed album, which should keep all Vocal Jazz fans happy, not to mention the many Chopin a la Jazz fans out there, who never seem to get enough. Although the lyrics are in Polish, this is of secondary importance here. Have fun and enjoy!

Updated: 03/02/2023Posted: 03/02/2023

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