Record Reviews

ATOM STRING QUARTET / SZCZECIN PHILHARMONIC WIND QUARTET ~ KARLOWICZ RECOMPOSED FILHARMONIA SZCZECIN 015 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2021 This is the 7th album by the Polish Atom String QuartetFind albums by this artist, recorded in cooperation with the Szczecin Philharmonic Wind QuartetFind albums by this artist, dedicated to the compositions by Polish Classical composer Mieczyslaw KarlowiczFind albums by this artist, concentrating on his songs for voice and piano, which he composed to poems by Polish Romantic Poets and poets of the Young Poland movement like Kazimierz Przerwa-TetmajerFind albums by this artist. The eleven songs presented on the album have been arranged and / or “recomposed” by the members of the Atom String Quartet: violinists Dawid LubowiczFind albums by this artist and Mateusz SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist, violist Michal ZaborskiFind albums by this artist and cellist Krzysztof LenczowskiFind albums by this artist. The beautifully melodic and deeply romantic original music by Karlowicz, which is saturated with Polish Folklore, was transposed quite dramatically into contemporary musical environment, brilliantly using the balance between the string quartet, which improvises and plays polyrhythmically, and the wind quartet which faithfully represents the original compositions, allowing the string quartet members to create the magic, which they do ever so gracefully. The arrangements and the performances are all brilliant from start to finish, creating a superb listening experience, which the Atom String Quartet followers expect time after time and which so far the quartet managed to deliver without a hitch, which by itself is an unprecedented success. Although the music on this album has only limited direct links with Jazz, the spirit of Jazz is of course present here, as on all their albums, with the spirit of Freedom and Creativity at the helm. It is quite an unusual album in their recording legacy, but on the other hand there is no such thing as a “normal” album when the Atom String Quartet involved. Overall this is a masterful piece of Polish / European music, which pays tribute to the Cultural legacy and manages to remain contemporary and up to date. Brilliant music and breathtaking performance skills leave absolutely no prisoners. Hats off!

Updated: 27/06/2024Posted: 08/07/2021

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KRZYSZTOF HERDZIN ~ JESTES SWIATLEM UNIVERSAL 602537293872 (Barcode: 602537293872) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 The Jazz & Poetry sub-genre is one of the pillars of Polish Jazz in particular, but also Polish Music in general, as it appears on the scene in many variations and crosses genre boundaries between Pop, Rock and Jazz since many decades. The abundance of great poets and poetesses as much as composers and performers, the intrinsic Polish lyricism and melancholy and the intellectual elitism of Polish Art evidently produce a fruitful ground for such meetings between words and music, which happen in the Polish Culture more often then anywhere else in the world. This album by celebrated Polish Jazz pianist / composer / arranger Krzysztof HerdzinFind albums by this artist is his contribution to the Jazz & Poetry legacy. It presents eight original compositions and one arrangement of a song by the Polish 19th Century Romantic composer Karol KurpinskiFind albums by this artist to the words of a late 18th / early 19th Century poet Franciszek KarpinskiFind albums by this artist, the father of Polish Sentimentalism. Of the eight compositions by Herdzin, one (the title track closing the album) is an instrumental and the others have lyrics by contemporary Polish poets: Konstanty Ildefons GalczynskiFind albums by this artist (one of my favorite Polish poets) and Kazimierz Przerwa-TetmajerFind albums by this artist. Herdzin assembled a dreamy team to record this music, which features him on keyboards and a plethora of other instruments, bassist Robert KubiszynFind albums by this artist and drummer Cezary KonradFind albums by this artist. Guitarist Marek NapiorkowskiFind albums by this artist guests on five tracks. The vocal tracks are sung by the legendary Anna Maria JopekFind albums by this artist, Dorota MiskiewiczFind albums by this artist and Grzegorz TurnauFind albums by this artist. Herdzin himself sings on one track and adds background vocals on two more. In spite of the truly excellent instrumental accompaniment and no less excellent vocals, the focus of this album is the original music, which spotlights Herdzin´s talent as a composer. Diverse and often even contrasting in the many tempi and cross-genre excursions, from deep lyricism to exotic World Music themes, this music remains constantly beautifully melodic and round. It fits the various poems used as the lyrics perfectly, which is always a great challenge for any composer. Even though Herdzin is still a relatively young musician, his enormous experience and his many talents come to full fruition herein. The instrumental work is pretty exciting as well, with Herdzin changing instruments more often that he changes his socks, playing all of them quite well, Kubiszyn playing some very nasty fretless bass parts that make the hair on your neck curl, Konrad keeps the entire ensemble rolling like only he can, and Napiorkowski adds some superbly tasty ornamentation. All three (or four in fact) vocalists are without reproach, with Jopek being (for me) divine as always, but the others not falling behind by any means. Turnau, who specializes in the Jazz & Poetry niche, sings most of the vocals, always with sensitivity and exquisite diction. So here we have it, another great album by Maestro Herdzin, whose inexhaustible energies know no limits. Jazz & Poetry buffs will of course love this to bits, but for any cultural music connoisseur this is a piece of music worthy admiration and a source of many pleasurable moments.

Updated: 01/01/2016Posted:

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