Record Reviews

MAREK GRECHUTA / ANAWA ~ KOROWOD POMATON 724352774227 (Barcode: 724352774227) ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 1971 Released: 2000 This is the second album by Polish singer / songwriter / poet Marek GrechutaFind albums by this artist, one of the most iconic figures on the Polish popular music scene and the most important representative of the Music & Poetry movement in Poland. This is also his second and last album with the group AnawaFind albums by this artist, which he founded during his student years in Krakow together with fellow architecture student, pianist / composer Jan Kanty PawluskiewiczFind albums by this artist. Anawa was an octet, an unusually large ensemble on the Pop scene, and included also bassist / flautist Jacek OstaszewskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Marek JackowskiFind albums by this artist, drummer Eugeniusz MakowkaFind albums by this artist, cellist Anna WojtowiczFind albums by this artist, viola player Tadeusz KozuchFind albums by this artist and violinist Zbigniew PaletaFind albums by this artist. The album includes nine tracks, five composed by Pawluskiewicz (including one instrumental), three composed by Grechuta and one by Jackowski (the instrumental intro opening the album). Grechuta wrote lyrics to three of the songs and the remaining four are by some of the Polish poets Grechuta admired: Jan ZychFind albums by this artist, Konstanty Ildefons GalczynskiFind albums by this artist, Leszek Aleksander MoczulskiFind albums by this artist (closely associated with the legendary Polish group SkaldowieFind albums by this artist) and Tadeusz SliwiakFind albums by this artist. Musically the albums is light-years ahead of its time and completely different from anything else that was happening on the Pop / Prog scene at the time in Poland or anywhere else for that matter. It amalgamates seemingly conflicting elements like contemporary Classical music, Psychedelia, chanson and cabaret, Jazz and very strong Folklore and World Music influences. Anawa was among the earliest ensembles to be influenced by World Music and it´s not surprising that Ostaszewski and Jackowski would soon after create OssianFind albums by this artist, the first full-fledged World Music ensemble in Poland. In addition there is also the omnipresent Polish melancholy, emphasized by the poignant lyrics and sensitive delivery. The short instrumental suite composed by Pawluskiewicz is an absolute masterpiece and a timeless gem in its own right. Grechuta is a master of his trade and his vocal delivery is simply sublime. Always somewhere in between singing and reciting, his interpretation of the lyrics is exquisitely intelligent and insightful. The entire band performs simply divinely, displaying obvious talents and sensitivity. Such combination of beautiful music performed as perfectly as here is indeed extraordinary. Therefore in retrospect this is simply one of the best Pop / Prog albums ever recorded in Poland and absolutely nothing recorded since comes even close to its perfection. It is completely untouched by time and constantly gets better in contrast to most music created today. It is an absolute must have for every lover of Polish music and no collection of Polish music will be complete without it. This expanded and remastered edition includes eight bonus tracks recorded by the Polish Radio, all of excellent quality, both sonically and musically. Perfection incarnate!

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

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:

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend