Record Reviews

JAZZBLASTER ~ NIGHT OUT V 017 (Barcode: 5903111377168) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Pop Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the second album by Polish ensemble JazzBlasterFind albums by this artist, which comprises of trumpeter / vocalist Tadeusz KulasFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Piotr RachonFind albums by this artist, violinist Dominik BienczyckiFind albums by this artist, bassist Roland AbreuFind albums by this artist and drummer Marcin RakFind albums by this artist. Bassist Wojciech BerganderFind albums by this artist plays on one track and additional synthesizers are played by Pawel KonikiewiczFind albums by this artist, who was also involved in the recording process. The album presents eight original tracks all composed by Rachon (except one co-composed with Kulas) and all texts (in English) are by Kulas. The music moves away from Jazz even more significantly than on the debut album and the overall sound and musical direction of the ensemble are entirely Pop / Rock oriented with the Jazz accents present only within the instrumental passages, which are sadly less prominent on this album. Kulas almost completely resigned from his role as a trumpeter and is manly featured as vocalist. As it usually happens with Polish vocalists singing in English, his accent and pronunciation are really unacceptable, but perhaps on the local Polish scene this is less noticeable. I wander if JazzBlaster and EABSFind albums by this artist are about to create the Wroclaw sound, as there are strong similarities between these two young bands´ sound? Having said all that, the album does have its moments and the overall Punkish attitude probably does it for the younger generation of the Polish listeners. The heavy bass sound and presence of the bass up front in the mix creates a trance like somewhat Funky mood, which is quite effective. The piano parts are all very well played and the addition of the violin also enriches the sonic ambience. The trumpet, when finally played, is also pretty helpful. To sum it up, take away the vocals (or perhaps make them wordless vocalese) and what is left becomes quite a tasty piece of youthful Funky / Punk Jazz, which is danceable and overall quite entertaining. Sorry guys that I can´t be more enthusiastic, but as usual to each his own. The music shows tons of potential for sure, and just a little push in the right direction and everything will click!

Updated: 17/03/2020Posted: 22/09/2019

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JAZZBLASTER ~ PLAYS DEPECHE MODE V 012 (Barcode: 590311137712) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Pop Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by a young Polish Jazz quartet JazzBlasterFind albums by this artist, which comprises of trumpeter / vocalist Tadeusz KulasFind albums by this artist, pianist Piotr RachonFind albums by this artist, bassist Eugeniusz BetlinskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Marcin RakFind albums by this artist. Vocalist Adriana StyrczFind albums by this artist guests on a couple of tracks. The album was recorded live at the Vertigo Jazz Club in Wroclaw. As the title suggests, the album presents eight songs written by Martin GoreFind albums by this artist, the leader of British electronic Pop / New Wave group Depeche ModeFind albums by this artist, arranged for the Jazz idiom by Rachon. Personally I have never been a great fan of the New Wave many groups, Depeche Mode included, founding their music rather limited and honestly boring, suffering from the post-Punk trauma. As such my approach to this album was a priori extremely cautious. I am glad to say that overall the album has many wonderful moments and surprises, which is more that I expected. The positive thing about this music is its originality and the attempt to bridge between genres, which is its essence. On the other hand there are many problems, the main of which is the clarity of its statement, i.e. at times the music sounds like electronic Pop which has nothing to do with Jazz and at others it sounds like a modern Jazz quartet which has nothing to do with Depeche Mode except for the rhythmic parts. In short the proposed amalgam has not been fully achieved. But these young musicians can play, that is for sure. All four of them display excellent technique and fire and the Jazz oriented parts swing beautifully. Kulas plays some truly wonderful trumpet parts, Rachon is a superb pianist, which I hope to hear more of in a different environment, Betlinski singlehandedly holds this music together by his superb bass parts and Rak adds the kick this music needs. Overall take away the vocals (which are not up to par with the instrumental parts) and you get an entertaining Jazz-Pop Fusion album, which is fun to listen to, but nothing that breaks significant new ground; well done and passionate, but still very ambivalent. But there is a lot of great potential for sure, which hopefully will come to fruition in the future. A little more modesty on the album´s liner notes is also advised ;)

Updated: 09/02/2018Posted: 09/02/2018

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