Record Reviews

KAMIL ABT ~ WARIATKA BMS 198500029666 (Barcode: 198500029666) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2023 Released: 2024 This is an album by Polish / Australian Jazz guitarist Kamil AbtFind albums by this artist, recorded with vocalist Katarzyna MirowskaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Piotr SzwecFind albums by this artist, bass guitarist Andrzej MichalakFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemek MichalakFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, all of which are songs with lyrics by Teresa Podemska-AbtFind albums by this artist (Kamil’s Mother) and composed by Ewa ParadowskaFind albums by this artist (four), Jerzy SyrekFind albums by this artist and Krzysztof GalasFind albums by this artist (two each) and finally one by Kamil Abt. The Abt family left Poland in 1981 and settled in Australia, where Kamil grew up and studied music, while his Mother pursued literary academic career and wrote poetry. Kamil returned to live in Poland in 2014, and is involved in the local Jazz scene. The album is an obvious Jazz & Poetry outing, with the songs based on Teresa’s poems and composed mostly by fellow Polish emigrants in Australia, which were performed live before getting finally a recorded version. The music is pretty standard mainstream Jazz, arranged by Kamil, who is also the primary soloist alongside Szwec. The rhythm section keeps the music swinging amicably for the entire duration. Although Jazz & Poetry is one of my favorite music forms, I was sadly left pretty cold by this album. I am not really sure why, but the chemistry between the lyrics and the music did not happen here, the melodies are pretty mundane and the vocals get very little exposure within the mostly instrumental environment, whereas they deserve to be pretty much in the very focus of the project. Mirowska has a potent voice and her vocalese parts are the highlight of the album, but they are very limited. In short the guitar and saxophone soloing overshadows the vocals, which has an adverse effect. I did enjoy reading the poetry printed on the album’s booklet, however. Overall, I was sadly somewhat disappointed by this album, despite the fact that it is a Jazz & Poetry project, but of course this is just my personal opinion, and other listeners might enjoy it very much. There is nothing actually wrong with it, I was simply not able to embrace it, which is entirely my problem.

Updated: 19/05/2024Posted: 19/05/2024

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SOUND PACK ~ ON AIR SJ 045 (Barcode: 5912596066801) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz vocal quartet The Sound PackFind albums by this artist, led by Marcin WawrzynowiczFind albums by this artist, which also includes three female singers: Joanna Swiniarska-SzebeszczykFind albums by this artist, Katarzyna MirowskaFind albums by this artist and Malgorzata BiniekFind albums by this artist. They are accompanied by a splendid instrumental septet, which comprises of trumpeter Dominik MietlaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Marcin KaletkaFind albums by this artist, trombonist Lukasz RakalskiFind albums by this artist (who was in charge of the excellent instrumental arrangements), guitarist Gabriel NiedzielaFind albums by this artist, pianist Boguslaw KaczmarFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal KapczukFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw JaroszFind albums by this artist (who was also in charge of the album´s mix). The vocal arrangements were supplied by veteran Polish Jazz musician / arranger Aleksander MazurFind albums by this artist (more about him later). The album presents ten Jazz standards, nine of which are evergreens known to every Jazz fan around the world and one originates in Poland. The album was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist offering the usual splendid sound quality. To anybody familiar with Polish Jazz this album immediately brings on the obvious association with the legendary and phenomenal Polish Jazz vocal quartet NOVIFind albums by this artist, which clearly also sets an incredibly tough and perhaps even unfair standard of comparison. After just a few seconds into the music the association becomes a reality, which is not entirely surprising considering the fact that Mazur worked with NOVI on one of their later albums and was involved with arranging for vocal groups for years. Therefore rather than comparing this album with those made by NOVI, I´d like to say that it is good to see (well, hear) finally someone who dares to stand up to the challenges and continue the Polish Jazz vocal quartet legacy. The album offers excellent vocal arrangements and up to date instrumental approach, which allows for soloing by the individual players. All the performances, vocal and instrumental as one, are first rate and represent the fabulous level of the young Polish Jazz generation. The bluesy guitar parts by Niedziela and lyrical piano parts by Kaczmar are my personal favorites, but again everybody performs splendidly. The vocal parts deliver both lyrics and vocalese with the same level of harmonic perfection. Some critical notes, however, are also in order: the choice of material is a tad too obvious / trifling, which can be forgiven considering this is a debut outing, and hopefully will be improved on future recordings. Although the singing of lyrics in English is not particularly ostracizing here, the sole song in Polish is an example of how things could be done better? Overall this is a splendid debut offering, which is a true pleasure to listen to from start to finish and a delightful experience for Jazz vocal group connoisseurs. Looking forward for the next album already, well done Ladies and Gents!

Updated: 13/02/2023Posted: 26/10/2019

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SOUND PACK ~ ZYJ KOLOROWO SJ 070 (Barcode: 5905489720003) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is the second album by Polish Jazz vocal quartet Sound PackFind albums by this artist, led by Marcin WawrzynowiczFind albums by this artist with Joanna Swiniarska-SzebeszczykFind albums by this artist, Katarzyna MirowskaFind albums by this artist and Malgorzata BiniekFind albums by this artist. The instrumental support this time is in the most capable hands of the Yarosh Organ TrioFind albums by this artist, led by drummer Przemyslaw JaroszFind albums by this artist with saxophonist Tomasz PruchnickiFind albums by this artist and organist Kajetan GalasFind albums by this artist. The album presents new arrangements of ten Polish Jazz evergreens, six of which were arranged by Bartosz PernalFind albums by this artist. There are very few surprises on this album, since the concept of a vocal Jazz quartet has been explored on the local scene since its early days. I am happy to see that the group followed my suggestion to switch to songs in Polish, which solves the problems with diction and pronunciation, but somehow they also decided to keep their vocal arrangements to bare minimum, which makes the entire affair rather less exciting. I also have a problem with the balance between the vocal and the instrumental parts, despite the fact that I absolutely love the organ trio, but somehow the match does not work for me as ideally as I have hoped for, which might be also a result of the sound recording and the mix. The overall sound is somewhat mushed and muddy. Of course all these are just my very personal impressions. But all things considered, the Sound Pack are a valid concept as is the selection of material, especially for Polish Jazz fans familiar with these songs, so I am pretty sure many local listeners will enjoy this album. Perhaps a straightforward piano trio accompaniment might have proved much more appropriate here and the organ trio proved to be a tad too complicated to handle. Overall, this is a nice Jazz vocal quartet recording, with an unusual organ trio accompaniment, which results is some less than ideal match, but at least is highly unusual and somewhat aurally challenging.

Updated: 13/02/2023Posted: 13/02/2023

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YAROSH ORGAN TRIO ~ ALTERAKCJE AKADEMIA MUZYCZNA WROCLAW 015 (Barcode: 5902738950006) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 In time Jazz evolved so dramatically, that the common perception of the idiom is by far not relevant any more. The Polish Jazz scene contributed in the last two decades a phenomenal input into the worldwide Jazz scene, rejuvenating the genre and taking it places that were not considered possible until recently. The most important characteristic of the Polish Jazz scene is its complete disregard of convention and conceptual limitations of any kind, which more often than anywhere else on this planet makes Polish Jazz albums innovative and original. Veteran Polish Jazz drummer / composer Przemyslaw JaroszFind albums by this artist founded the Yarosh Organ TrioFind albums by this artist with organist Kajetan GalasFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Tomasz PruchnickiFind albums by this artist, which released its excellent debut album a couple of years ago. They are now back with their sophomore release, joined by the vocalist Katarzyna MirowskaFind albums by this artist. It presents six original compositions, five by the leader and one by the saxophonist. Everything about this album shouts originality; from the completely unusual instrumental lineup, the stylistic "coolness" and the individual performances which add up to a musical experience, that makes the listener focus on the music. Beautifully spiced with the new element of vocals and vocalese, which fits the music like a silk glove, the overall effect is truly impressive. The music is much more complex and open this time, in comparison to the debut, with a lot of breathing space and "almost free" passages, which of course makes this album more adventurous, without however sacrificing its melodic qualities. As such it should be of interest not only to the mainstream Jazz fans, but also to the more audacious listeners, who like facing challenges. This new attitude can be felt in all three layers (or four in fact); the saxophone improvisations are at times almost avant-gardist, the organ produces a plethora of "strange noises" not usually associated with the most melodic of all instruments, the drums play way more polyrhythmically and dynamics and on top the wonderful vocal ornamentations just make it all perfect. Jazz is, after all, the Art of the unexpected, and this album is more often unexpected than not, which of course is what makes it work so well. All I can wish for is that it does get to as many listeners as possible, as this is definitely way too good to fall under the radar. Well done Lady and Gentlemen! Side Note The above are my liner notes included on this album's artwork. I am honored when asked by the Artists to write liner notes for their albums, always hoping that my words reflect the true spirit of the music. This is also a symbol of our mutual respect and friendship developed over the years. The same is also true when Record Labels ask me to write liner notes for their releases, mostly in the case of reissues of archival albums, which is a symbol of their appreciation of my knowledge and historical perspective and my recognition of their dedication to the preservation of the history of recorded music and the effort to keep human Culture and Aesthetics alive.

Updated: 22/11/2018Posted: 22/11/2018

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