Record Reviews

BRASS FEDERACJA ~ GO, GO, TO BE ON TIME! REQUIEM / LYDIAN 2019/5 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by Polish Brass ensemble Brass FederacjaFind albums by this artist, led by sousaphone player / composer Piotr WrobelFind albums by this artist, which also includes trumpeters Maurycy IdzikowskiFind albums by this artist and Marcin MalarzFind albums by this artist, trombonists Andrzej RekasFind albums by this artist, Bartek LupinskiFind albums by this artist and Szymon WojdakFind albums by this artist and drummer Maciek WojcieszukFind albums by this artist. Six additional brass players guest on one of the tunes. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Wrobel, and one arrangement of a standard. There is also a humorous hidden bonus track! Wrobel might be familiar to the Polish Jazz buffs as the sousaphone player of the fabulous Jazz Band Mlynarski - MaseckiFind albums by this artist, which also works without a bass player in its ranks. The music is on the Funky side of the Brass ensemble music spectrum, offering straight forward melodic themes, which serve as vehicles for all the brass mania around, spiced by wonderful soloing by the ensemble members. The entire sound of the ensemble works wonderfully with the unique sousaphone / drums "rhythm section", which adds full bodied bottom range and swings wonderfully. The music is somewhat similar to what the Brass Rock ensembles of the 1960s and 1970s were doing at the time, missing of course the guitar / keyboards / bass guitar Rocky side of things, but still being quite attractive to lovers of that idiom, which sadly disappeared from the face of the earth. The music displays an affinity to Traditional Jazz on some of the tracks, and an entire album of more Traditional Jazz oriented music might also work excellently – perhaps sometime in the future? Overall this is an absolutely delightful piece of music, very different from everything else appearing on the Polish Jazz scene and showing the limitless extent of the genre. It is full of originality and passion and is of course wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 13/08/2019Posted: 13/08/2019

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JAZZ BAND MLYNARSKI - MASECKI ~ NOC W WIELKIM MIESCIE LADO ABC C/26 (Barcode: 9788326826047) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is a phenomenal album by the Polish ensemble called Jazz Band Mlynarski - MaseckiFind albums by this artist, co-led by vocalist / banjola player Jan MlynarskiFind albums by this artist and pianist Marcin MaseckiFind albums by this artist, which also includes three saxophonists / clarinetists: Tomasz DudaFind albums by this artist, Michal FetlerFind albums by this artist and Jaroslaw BothurFind albums by this artist, sousaphone player Piotr WrobelFind albums by this artist and drummer Jerzy RogiewiczFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine Polish songs, popular in the 1930s, predominantly composed and written by Polish Jews who were the core of popular music / cabaret / vaudeville in the swinging Warsaw, which had a large Jewish population at the time. All the songs were masterly arranged for the ensemble by Masecki. The music is a loving tribute to a period and a Culture that was wiped out off the face of the earth by the Holocaust, and later on by forgetfulness and ignorance, and as such it is an extremely important undertaking as far as preservation of the Polish / Jewish Culture is concerned. But of course the album is also a masterpiece of rejuvenation of musical tradition, bringing back to life the essence of early Swing, but also transforming the spirit of the music to contemporary idioms. Masecki´s arrangements, which are all far from being simplistic or trivial, brilliantly combine the tradition with modernism, and experienced Jazz connoisseurs will find plenty of unexpected hooks of his brilliance within the music. Mlynarski brilliantly revives the tradition of the crooners of the time, and his vocal theatrics are a delight, especially in view of the sense of humor his performances display. The rest of the musicians in the band all play brilliantly, bravely overcoming the seemingly simple music made devilishly difficult by the sophisticated arrangements. The use of the sousaphone in place of the bass is another bright idea, which contributes to the "vintage" sound aura. Since this album was released, the ensemble performs it live all over Poland with great success. I had the pleasure to hear one of the concerts and it was simply breathtaking and the reaction of the public was overwhelming. Evidently Culture is not dead yet, and people are still able to recognize it when they see / hear it face to face. Overall this is a superb album in every respect, taking the listener ninety years back into the past, using a musical time machine, into times long gone, but now not longer forgotten. This is a multilayered intellectual and emotional experience of rare quality and dedication. The album comes with extensive liner notes explaining the historical background of this music and a story about each of the nine songs. One can only wish that many such well prepared and devoted releases like this album could be made more often. Radiant stuff!

Updated: 31/03/2018Posted: 31/03/2018

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MARCIN MASECKI / JERZY ROGIEWICZ ~ RAGTIME BMC 256 (Barcode: 5998309302565) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by Polish duo comprising of pianist / composer Marcin MaseckiFind albums by this artist and drummer Jerzy RogiewiczFind albums by this artist (both are members of the Jazz Band Mlynarski - MaseckiFind albums by this artist). The album presents nine pieces, five of which are original compositions by Masecki, two pieces were composed by Polish popular music composers active between the two World Wars and another two pieces were composed by American composers active at the same period, all four with strong Jewish ties. As with everything Masecki touches, the obvious becomes anything but obvious and the reference to the Ragtime music is more symbolic and imaginary than what might be expected. The original compositions and the interpretations of the four "standards" are therefore first and foremost Masecki´s creations, both on the compositional and the performance platforms. In the liner notes of the album Masecki states that hearing Ragtime when he was nine years old was what "got him into music originally". That is hardly surprising considering the fact that Ragtime, although considered the root of Jazz, was a composed music, and served as a bridge between European Classical Music and American syncopation, which reflects Masecki´s musical duality and floating between genres. If anybody is after a typical Ragtime music and expects to hear the popular classic Ragtime hits, this album is definitely not something they should consider listening to. If, however, someone is searching for unconventional and highly challenging new music, which takes hints from the stylistic characteristics of Ragtime and brings them a Century forward in time, with the extremely personal treatment that Masecki delivers, this album is a treasure chest of discovery and hidden marvels. For the many Masecki´s fans, this is of course something they will happily sunk their teeth into, without much ado. For others, less familiar with his word (if that is at all possible) this is a window of opportunity to discover a true original talent, who symbolizes individuality and complete disregard of convention with a smile on his face.

Updated: 10/01/2019Posted: 10/01/2019

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