Record Reviews

KARI SAL ~ BUTTERFLY IMAGINARY MUSIC 002 (Barcode: 5905817210008) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2023 This is the second album by Polish vocalist / songwriter Kari SalFind albums by this artist, recorded with an excellent team of musicians, which includes her husband, violinist Adam BaldychFind albums by this artist, Swedish pianist Jacob KarlzonFind albums by this artist, guitarist Kacper BudziszewskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Roman ChraniukFind albums by this artist and drummer Dawid FortunaFind albums by this artist. The album presents twelve songs, all composed by her (three co-composed with her husband) and all (except one) with her lyrics, sung in English. Recorded at the fabulous Tokarnia 2.0 studio and engineered by Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist, the result offers the expected wonderful sound quality. It was released on the new Imaginary MusicFind albums on this label label, founded by Baldych. Sal kept us all in suspense since the release of her debut album in 2017, which I personally loved immediately. It seems the long break did not damage her creative flow and this album certainly delivers a refined and mature set of songs, beautifully performed by all the participants. Baldych’s superb violin (also Renaissance violin) parts provide the sophisticated ornamentation and settle the mood, while Karlzon’s piano add a Romantic as well as Jazzy accents. The music is a delicate amalgam of many diverse influences, from clear Polish folkloristic themes, improvised Jazzy parts, Folky melody lines and poetic atmosphere, all combined together to create a coherent flow of musical continuity and lyrical contents. Sal’s idiosyncratic vocal approach suits the aesthetics perfectly and her vocal abilities are impeccable. She stays completely focused when using a wide vocal range, always staying perfectly in tune, both musically and emotionally. It is commonly known that I am usually not supportive of Polish vocalist singing in English, for the obvious reasons. However, this album is a rare case when the language, accent and pronunciation barriers are minimized to such degree, that they are completely acceptable and hardly noticeable at all. Having said that, I’d love to hear her singing in Polish again. Also I miss a bit of her vocalese parts. But hey, this album was not made specifically for me of course. Overall, this is a remarkable sophomore effort, full of great songs, stylistic diversity, brilliant vocals and stunning instrumental parts, all exquisitely arranged, performed, recorded and finally packaged, to create a true bomboniere of an album, which sweetens the long waiting period we had to bear. Thank you again, my Dear, for this gift of music!

Updated: 05/03/2024Posted: 05/03/2024

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