Record Reviews

KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA ~ KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA W POLSKIM RADIU VOL.01 – NAGRANIA PIERWSZE 1952-1960 POLSKIE RADIO 1861 (Barcode: 5907812248611) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1952 - 1960 Released: 2014 This is the first installment in a new series of albums launched by the Polish Radio, which presents radio recordings by the Godfather of Polish Jazz, pianist / composer / bandleader Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist. Komeda is of course the most familiar name associated with Polish Jazz and his legacy is of crucial importance to Polish and European Jazz. Considering the fact that Komeda´s studio recordings are relatively scarce, the radio recordings are in fact the main source of his recorded legacy, as they include among others the Jazz Jamboree festival appearances by Komeda and his various ensembles over the years. As the title of this volume suggests, it collects sixteen tracks of the early recordings by Komeda, fourteen of which present him as a bandleader of his groups that vary from a trio to a sextet format. Two additional tracks showcase him as a member of the legendary MelomaniFind albums by this artist group. All these tracks are Jazz standards except for only one original composition co-credited to Komeda and Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist, another Polish Jazz legendary figure. As a result the music on this album is all about Komeda the pianist, rather than his traditional role of a composer first and performer later and shows his development as a piano player. The musicians that were the band members of these ensembles led by Komeda are the first, pioneering generation of post-WWII Polish Jazz players, most of which disappeared from the scene to be replaced by the second, then very young generation, that was about to revolutionize Polish Jazz completely by the mid 1960s. These pioneers include the Melomani members: saxophonist Jerzy MatuszkiewiczFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Andrzej WojciechowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Witold KujawskiFind albums by this artist (died 2011) and drummer Witold SobocinskiFind albums by this artist. Also worth mentioning are bassist Jozef StolarzFind albums by this artist (died 2011) and drummer Jan ZylberFind albums by this artist (died 1997). The only know names on the Polish Jazz scene appearing on this album and still active today are the a.m. Wroblewski and vibraphonist / composer Jerzy MilianFind albums by this artist. Overall this album, although important from obvious historic reasons, does not reflect the "true" Komeda genius, which was about to blossom slightly later, when Komeda started to write his own fabulous music and formed his new ensembles with the top new players of the day. The recordings are splendidly restored and remastered and nicely packaged in an elegant digipak / slipcase. Dates, places and lineups are faithfully included and even personal liner notes by young Polish Jazz critics are present, but there is no in-depth background material about Komeda and his music, however considering the plentitude of published material and several excellent books on the subject, an intelligent listener can easily bridge the knowledge gap. The only small reservation one might have is the fact that these recordings have been already released many times, more or less legally on the somewhat untamed Polish music market, which means they is already owned by the serious Polish Jazz collectors, probably more than once.

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KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA ~ KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA W POLSKIM RADIU VOL.03 – KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA & JERZY MILIAN POLSKIE RADIO 1863 (Barcode: 5907812248635) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1957 - 1963 Released: 2014 This is the third installment in a new series of albums launched by the Polish Radio, which presents radio recordings by the Godfather of Polish Jazz, pianist / composer / bandleader Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist. Komeda is of course the most familiar name associated with Polish Jazz and his legacy is of crucial importance to Polish and European Jazz. Considering the fact that Komeda´s studio recordings are relatively scarce, the radio recordings are in fact the main source of his recorded legacy, as they include among others the Jazz Jamboree festival appearances by Komeda and his various ensembles over the years. Recorded between 1957 and 1963 this volume collects recordings which involve the cooperation between Komeda and vibraphonist / composer Jerzy MilianFind albums by this artist, a key member of Komeda´s ensembles and a bandleader of his own right, who also achieved the legendary status of one of the Godfathers of modern Polish Jazz. The album presents three tracks recorded during the 1963 Jazz Jamboree Festival by Milian with Komeda´s trio (bassist Maciej SuzinFind albums by this artist and drummer Leszek DudziakFind albums by this artist), another three tracks recorded a year earlier at the 1962 Jazz Jamboree Festival by Milian´s quintet (guitarist Wojciech LechowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Tadeusz WojcickiFind albums by this artist and drummer Leszek Dudziak) and finally one earlier radio recording from 1957 by Komeda´s sextet (saxophonist Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist, trombonist Zdzislaw BrzeszczynskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Jozef StolarzFind albums by this artist and drummer Jan ZylberFind albums by this artist). Of course Komeda plays piano and Milian plays vibraphone on all tracks. Six of the tracks are standards and only one is an original composition by Komeda. Obviously the emphasis here is on the performing abilities and the interplay between Komeda and Milian, rather than on the abilities of the two as composers, which are in retrospect more important. Milian´s virtuosity is pretty obvious, as is his incredible feel for Swing and Bebop at the time. Milian was definitely the closest musical partner Komeda had during the first period of his activity, before forming his groundbreaking ensembles by mid 1960s, which where influenced by Avant-Garde experimentation. Milian´s extensive achievements as composer / arranger during the years following his involvement with Komeda constitute another fascinating chapter of the Polish Jazz history. Overall this is a collection of excellent Jazz music, superbly performed, which is an absolute delight to anybody who loves Jazz. It is a fundamental piece of every decent Polish Jazz record collection, especially in the case of the younger generation of listeners, which is just getting acquainted with the enormous legacy of Polish Jazz. The recordings are splendidly restored and remastered and nicely packaged in an elegant digipak / slipcase. Dates, places and lineups are faithfully included and even personal liner notes by young Polish Jazz critic (Roch SicinskiFind albums by this artist) are present, but there is no in-depth background material about Komeda and his music, however considering the plentitude of published material and several excellent books on the subject, an intelligent listener can easily bridge the knowledge gap. The only small reservation one might have is the fact that these recordings have been already released many times, more or less legally on the somewhat untamed Polish music market, which means they is already owned by the serious Polish Jazz collectors, probably more than once.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA ~ KRZYSZTOF KOMEDA W POLSKIM RADIU VOL.08 - SUPLEMENT POLSKIE RADIO 2256 (Barcode: 5907812240387) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1957 - 1989 Released: 2019 This is the eighth and final installment in a new series of albums launched by the Polish Radio, which presents radio recordings by the Godfather of Polish Jazz, pianist / composer / bandleader Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist. Komeda is of course the most familiar name associated with Polish Jazz and his legacy is of crucial importance to Polish and European Jazz. Considering the fact that Komeda´s studio recordings are relatively scarce, the radio recordings are in fact the main source of his recorded legacy, as they include among others the Jazz Jamboree festival appearances by Komeda and his various ensembles over the years. The music presented here portrays the early recordings made by Komeda and some bonus material. It includes six tracks recorded by the Komeda sextet at the Polish Radio in Poznan (probably in 1957); similarly to some of the tracks present on the first volume of this series, and feature saxophonists Stanislaw PludraFind albums by this artist and Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist, vibraphonist Jerzy MilianFind albums by this artist, bassist Jozef StolarzFind albums by this artist and drummer Jan ZylberFind albums by this artist. Four of these tracks are standards, one is by Milian and one by Komeda. One track recorded by the USSR Radio in Moscow in 1957 features also his sextet (exact lineup unknown). Another track was recorded by his trio (exact lineup unknown) in Warsaw in 1963. The last track is a song written by Komeda and sung by Kalina JedrusikFind albums by this artist accompanied by a group led by him, recorded in Warsaw in 1967. There are also three bonus tracks: a recording of a film theme by Komeda by the orchestra of Polish Radio in Lodz from 1989, a recording of a song from the soundtrack of "Rosemary´s Baby" by pianist Mieczyslaw KoszFind albums by this artist during the Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw in 1971 and finally a fascinating interview with Komeda (twenty-six minutes long) from 1967 (about a year before his tragic death), in which he talks about his development as a musician and the unique character of Polish and European Jazz. Of course the interview is in Polish, which sadly makes it impossible for non-Polish speakers to enjoy it. Although somewhat uneven and historically hectic, this album offers previously unavailable material and is a must have for all Komeda completists.

Updated: 20/06/2020Posted: 17/06/2020

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