Record Reviews

KASIA OSTERCZY ~ TRAVEL ELEGY AUDIO CAVE 2020/009 (Barcode: 5908298549070) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz vocalist / composer Kasia OsterczyFind albums by this artist recorded in a trio setting with saxophonist / clarinetist Kuba MarciniakFind albums by this artist and guitarist Piotr ScholzFind albums by this artist. It is a Jazz & Poetry project, which presents eight original compositions, all by Osterczy, two instrumentals and six songs with lyrics by Polish poetess Wislawa SzymborskaFind albums by this artist translated into English by Stanislaw BaranczakFind albums by this artist and Clare CavanaghFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist. Form the first moment I took the album in my hands I was taken aback by the concept; why would a Polish singer perform Polish poetry in the English language? Tragically my worst fears turned out to be justified. For the entire duration of the album I was not able to understand a single word pronounced by the singer, that for several reasons: Firstly the usual problem of pronunciation, accent and delivery that all Polish singers have while singing in English, which is a true plague of the Polish vocal Jazz scene in particular and music scene in general. This madness has been going on for decades and sadly is only spreading. Secondly the arrangements, which call for the vocals to be accompanied unisono by the guitar or clarinet, hide the vocal parts making them in many instances hardly even audible. The shrill guitar sound and the high pitch of the vocals have a devastating result when heard together. Thirdly the very idea of singing Polish poetry in English, other than possibly popularizing Polish Culture for non-Polish speaking audiences, is truly absurd. At least a text with the translated poems should have been included in the packaging? It is, after all, not a case where this album will be heard by millions of listeners outside Poland, is it? There are of course some positive aspects to this album: the music is ambitious and interesting, the musicians are certainly able, and even the vocals are fine as long as they are vocalese only. It makes me truly sad to think that this project might have achieved a completely different result if Osterczy had stuck to the beautiful original texts in Polish and the balance / separation between her voice and the accompanying instruments was different… oh well, a great pity.

Updated: 04/09/2020Posted: 04/09/2020

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