Record Reviews

KUBA CICHOCKI ~ AUDUBON LAB EXPERIMENT NOT ON LABEL 024606956035 (Barcode: 024606956035) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Funk Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Polish (resident in NY) Jazz keyboardist / composer Kuba CichockiFind albums by this artist, recorded with his ensemble called Audubon Lab ExperimentFind albums by this artist, which also includes bassist Dylan KaminkowFind albums by this artist, drummer Allen BranchFind albums by this artist and percussionist Francis BenitezFind albums by this artist. Vocalist Bogna KicinskaFind albums by this artist (another Polish NY resident) guests on one track. The album presents five original compositions, all by Cichocki. The music is a typical Jazz-Rock Fusion, which was popular in the early 1970s and closely follows the pattern of Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist´s early albums with Return To ForeverFind albums by this artist or Herbie HancockFind albums by this artist´s albums of that period. The music is very melodic and offers a Funk groove, which makes it a very pleasant listening experience, although at the same time invoking a strong déjà vu feeling. The fact that there is only one instrument capable of soloing makes the overall experience a bit trying, but on the other hand the sound of the Rhodes is irresistible and people who have profound nostalgia to that kind of music will definitely enjoy it. The rhythm section does a great job; the bass keeps the Funky feeling up quite brilliantly, and performs a few nice solo parts, and the two percussionists add a polyrhythmic background, which also keeps the music bubbling. Overall this is a superb Funky / Fusion album, which is a great fun to listen to and perhaps even to dance to. Nothing innovative, au contraire, a strong nostalgic trip to the time when music was based on the "no bullshit" approach. Funky / Fusion fans will have a field day with this, as nobody makes music like this today. Unadulterated Fun(k)!

Updated: 29/05/2017Posted: 29/05/2017

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KUBA CICHOCKI ~ FLOWING CIRCLES BJU 076 (Barcode: 195269264673) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2021 - 2023 Released: 2023 This is an album by Polish (resident in US) Jazz pianist / composer Kuba CichockiFind albums by this artist, recorded with American musicians: saxophonist Lucas PinoFind albums by this artist, guitarist Brandon SeabrookFind albums by this artist, bassist Edward PerezFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. Polish vocalist Bogna KicinskaFind albums by this artist (also resident in US) adds vocalese parts and in one case sings lyrics. Three musicians guest on one track and a string quartet guests on three tracks. The album presents ten tracks, all of which are original composition by Cichocki, and one includes lyrics by Polish poetess Wislawa SzymborskaFind albums by this artist. The music comes as a huge surprise, considering the fact that earlier recordings by Cichocki, which I am familiar with, were pretty straightforward Fusion, whereas this album is way more advanced musically and offers pretty radical modern Jazz, often bordering on Free, uses mostly odd meters and unconventional instrumentation. Kicinska’s vocalese parts are similar to her work on her debut album “The MazeFind albums with this title”, recorded almost a decade earlier, which was excellent, and the track, which features the lyrics, is definitely of the best ones on the album. The radical change in Cichocki’s approach is very interesting and commendable, but on the way he lost much of his melodic / romantic touch, which was pretty impressive on his earlier recordings, and as a result this new album suffers from many pretty chaotic moments, where the music seems to have lost its course. It seems that the stylistic change was tad too radical, at least to my ears. Also the recording quality lacks depth and detail, which makes the music sound detached and alienated, being quite difficult to listen to. The last track on the album, a solo piano piece, which was recorded more than a couple of years following the rest of the material, is another radical stylistic change, in a Jazz-Classical Fusion direction, which is perhaps a sign of things to come. It is the most interesting piece on this album. Overall, this is a very interesting experiment, perhaps somewhat to drastic and recorded too early, before the music had time to crystalize and settle. But it is definitely a step in the right direction, as far as making ambitious music is concerned, and one can hope the next effort should be more focused.

Updated: 26/07/2024Posted: 26/07/2024

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BOGNA KICINSKA ~ THE MAZE SURCA 002 (Barcode: 5907796319574) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by the Polish (resident in NY) Jazz vocalist Bogna KicinskaFind albums by this artist, recorded with a core quartet comprised of violinist Mateusz SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Kuba CichockiFind albums by this artist, bassist Edward PerezFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. Electric bass player John BenitezFind albums by this artist plays on two tracks replacing the regular bassist, and a string quartet is utilized on two other tracks. The album includes nine tracks, five of which are originals by Kicinska (only one of those includes lyrics) and the remaining four are standards. I approach albums by Polish vocalists with an almost pathological fear of the dreaded "English vocals sung by non-native English speakers" syndrome, which for many years time after time consistently proves to be a failure, sometimes of catastrophic proportions. The exceptions are few and far between, and luckily this album manages to slip into the class of exceptions, which does not mean that the English vocals work – they simply don´t. But there is enough merit on this album to make it interesting and the English vocals are after all the less significant ingredient of the entire package. What does work wonderfully is the fact that Kicinska uses her vocals as an instrument, singing scat and vocalese, which combined with the excellent instrumental backing, works out wonders. She emerges as a very interesting composer and arranger, with her original compositions being the highlight of this album musically and her arrangements of the standards being very original, non-trivial and intricate. She combines wonderfully her Polish roots by using folkloristic themes and mixing them with other elements, most importantly Jazz improvisation. With the violin behind her, these originals bring fond recollections of the work done by Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist and Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist four decades earlier. Considering the fact that four of her five original compositions do not involve lyrics at all and concentrate on vocal explorations is very promising and hopefully shows the way towards the future. The two Polish players on this album: Smoczynski, who is a violin virtuoso and swings like hell and Cichocki, who is a delicate poetic player yet also swings magnificently, both support the vocalist intelligently and elegantly. The rhythm section is accommodating and handles the sometimes complex tempi changes well, but remains in the background without leaving a very strong impression. Overall this is a very promising debut, full of potential and holding many promising developments in the future. Just skip the lyrics (and the standards) next time and you will get far girl. Thanks for the thrills and keep doing your thing!

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