Record Reviews

WOJCIECH KAMINSKI ~ OPEN PIANO (POLISH JAZZ VOL.66) MUZA 1066 (Barcode: 5907783420665) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1981 Released: 2006 This album by veteran pianist / composer Wojciech KaminskiFind albums by this artist presents the versatility of the Polish Jazz scene, which at all times presented the entire scope of Jazz music, from Ragtime to Avant-Grade, all of them on a very high artistic level. Kaminski was active on the local scene mainly in the traditional Jazz circles, co-founding such splendid ensembles as Ragtime Jazz BandFind albums by this artist and Old TimersFind albums by this artist. He felt most comfortable playing Jazz, which ranges from Ragtime, through Dixieland and into Swing and selected some of the absolutely best local players at the time to accompany him on this album: trumpeter Henryk MajewskiFind albums by this artist, trombonist Zbigniew KonopczynskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Zbigniew JaremkoFind albums by this artist, Janusz ZabieglinskiFind albums by this artist and Wladyslaw HalikFind albums by this artist, guitarist Marek BlizinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Janusz KozlowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Jerzy BartzFind albums by this artist. Kaminski composed five of the ten compositions on this album (the remaining five include four standards and one composition by Zabieglinski). The level of performance is absolutely excellent all the way through and every Jazz fan should be able to enjoy this music for what it stands for: quality and fun! Recommended!

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STODOLA BIG BAND ~ LET`S SWING AGAIN (POLISH JAZZ VOL.28) MUZA 1028 (Barcode: 5907783420283) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1971 Released: 2006 This is the only album by the Polish Stodola Big BandFind albums by this artist, one of the relatively few Big Bands active in that country over the years. The logistic and economic complexity of sustaining a working Big Band without continuous and frequent performing opportunities is simply to much in most cases anywhere in the world, and even more so in a country under a Socialist regime, where Jazz opportunities were limited. The fact that this Big Band managed to exist for several years and make this album is a rare treat indeed. The band was conceived and founded by the veteran Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Henryk MajewskiFind albums by this artist, who managed to enlist some of the best Jazz players on the local scene, such as saxophonists / composers Janusz ZabieglinskiFind albums by this artist and Zbigniew JaremkoFind albums by this artist. The band was named after the Warsaw´s Jazz club Stodola, which was the bastion of traditional Jazz in Poland for many years. They played a very original brand of Swing, based on the American tradition, but much more adventurous as far as the compositions and improvisations are concerned. Of the eleven tracks on this album only two are standards and the rest are originals, mostly composed by Zabieglinski, Jaremko and Majewski. In retrospect the music lost nothing of its swing and freshness and is a great document of the era. Big Band fans will love this stuff!

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VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.09 POLSKIE RADIO 1628 (Barcode: 5907812246280) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1957 - 1962 Released: 2013 This is the ninth installment in the new series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The material collected here presents recordings made between 1957 and 1962, all of which represent Traditional Jazz (Ragtime, Dixieland, New Orleans and Swing genres called collectively Trad Jazz for short). The artists include visiting musicians like the American clarinetist Albert NicholasFind albums by this artist and the German clarinetist Emil MangelsdorffFind albums by this artist, both of which were guests of the second Jazz Jamboree Festival in 1957. Other performers are Polish and include pianist Zygmunt WicharyFind albums by this artist and his orchestra, clarinetist Janusz ZabieglinskiFind albums by this artist and his quintet, saxophonist Jerzy MatuskiewiczFind albums by this artist and his octet, trombonist Jan TomaszewskiFind albums by this artist and his Big Band and the New Orleans StompersFind albums by this artist. The various ensembles perform mostly Trad standards, with just a couple of tunes being originals among the total nineteen tracks present. The performances are all very good and show that the Polish scene also enjoyed the Trad revival, which was very popular in Western Europe at the time. The legendary division between the traditionalists and the modernists on the Polish scene was not as radical as beyond the Iron Curtain, with musicians often playing both Jazz camps simultaneously (in different ensembles of course). Overall this music is very good and the invaluable historical significance of these recordings is beyond reproach. Beautifully restored sound quality is not perfect, but considering the problematic and often faulty source material, it is a remarkable job and a warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Polish Jazz. Nevertheless this is an essential piece of history which every European Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

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