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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WEEZDOB COLLECTIVE ~ KOMEDA, OSTATNIA RETROSPEKCJA NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is the third album by Polish Jazz quintet Weezdob CollectiveFind albums by this artist, which comprises of harmonica player Kacper SmolinskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Kuba MarciniakFind albums by this artist, guitarist Piotr ScholzFind albums by this artist, bassist Damian KostkaFind albums by this artist and drummer Adam ZagorskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions, two by Marciniak, four by Smolinski, one by Kostka, two by Scholz, one by Zagorski and finally one co-composed by Kostka and Zagorski. The text (in Polish) included on the album was written by Tomasz LachFind albums by this artist and recited by Mariusz ZaniewskiFind albums by this artist. Date and place of recording are not specified on the album´s artwork. As the album´s title suggests, this is yet another project related to the legendary Godfather of Polish Jazz, pianist / composer Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist. Despite the fact that Komeda´s name and music was over time abused, misused and mistreated obsessively countless times, the temptation to gain attention is obviously stronger than decency and good taste. The pretext this time is the text written by Lach, Komeda´s adopted son, which consists of a series of reflections about his adoptive father, incorporated into the music written by the members of the ensemble, creating sort of radio sketch, a popular form of radio broadcast before television took over. The music is series of unrelated composition, which have nothing to do with Komeda´s music per se and if the intention was to create at least am atmospheric similarity, it fails to do so as far as I am concerned. These rather forgettable themes have simply no coherent continuity and although played in the background of the text being recited, offer little, if any, relation to the text itself. The members of the ensemble are obviously well schooled and experienced musicians; hopefully they will make better decisions in the future. Overall this album not only does not pay any tribute to Komeda´s name and status, but is a rather cynical and opportunistic venture, with no Artistic merit. Combined with a murky sound quality and incorrect balance between the music and the recitation, it is even difficult to listen to.

Updated: 04/01/2021Posted: 04/01/2021

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WEEZDOB COLLECTIVE ~ STAR CADILLAC WEEZART 001 (Barcode: 5907529223987) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the second album by Polish Jazz quintet Weezdob CollectiveFind albums by this artist, which comprises of harmonica player Kacper SmolinskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Kuba MarciniakFind albums by this artist, guitarist Piotr ScholzFind albums by this artist, bassist Damian KostkaFind albums by this artist and drummer Adam ZagorskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents twelve original compositions, three by Marciniak, four by Smolinski, four by Scholz and one by Zagorski. The music is all within mainstream Jazz, based on melodic compositions, which are rather forgettable. The highly unusual sound, which is created as a result of the harmonica playing up front and soloing extensively, and the lack of piano, which is usually supporting the harmonic foundation, is largely unnerving and is obviously an acquired taste. The concocted Sci-Fi background story of space travel and electronic effects used to “enhance” the music don’t help either. Overall, this album, although recorded by professional musicians, is not an enjoyable listening experience, in fact it was pretty difficult to listen to it in its entirety. Definitely not my cup of tea, but that is just my subjective opinion.

Updated: 12/10/2022Posted: 12/10/2022

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