Record Reviews

PIOTR DAMASIEWICZ / KUBA WOJCIK ~ DIAVOLEZZA L.A.S. 005 ~ POLAND ~ Electronic & Ambient Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 During the last decade or so Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer / activist Piotr DamasiewiczFind albums by this artist managed to amass a considerable volume of recorded music as well as highly-spirited activism, which puts him firmly in the epicenter of the Polish Avant-Garde / Improvised Music / Free Jazz scene. A restless traveler, social adventurer and highly spiritual person, who uses music to reflect his nature and connect with other musicians with similar inclinations. Kuba WojcikFind albums by this artist, a more recent arrival on the Polish Jazz scene, also managed to stir an interest with his Mad ShipFind albums by this artist and Minim ExperimentFind albums by this artist / MinimFind albums by this artist ensembles. This album finds the two musicians improvising in a duo setting in the seclusion of the Swiss Alps, captured during their “Uncool” Artist Residency, inspired by the surroundings and local legends. The album offers just two lengthy pieces, both almost half an hour in duration. Damasiewicz, in addition to his trumpet, plays also harmonium and percussion and vocalizes, and Wojcik, in addition to his guitar, is also in charge of the electronic sound effects. Alicja ChmielewskaFind albums by this artist adds some spoken word parts. The album was released on the L.A.S.Find albums on this label record label, owned by Damasiewcz. The music, or rather the sound sculptures, created by the duo, are highly spiritual, contemplative and meditative, offering a continuous flow of sounds, which offer a minimal variance over time, with a hypnotic effect. Damasiewicz offers impressive vocalese parts, which fit the spirit of the music candidly, in addition to his trumpet playing, which sounds somewhat like the alpine horn, fitting the location. Wojcik creates a solid “wall of sound” effect with his guitar and the electronic background. There is no melody as such or harmonic development in these meditations, but the overall effect is fascinating and engulfing, as long as the listener if willingly submitting to this aural communication. This is undoubtedly the furthest excursion beyond the Jazz idiom undertaken by these two musicians, which of course is perfectly legitimate as far as their inner development is concerned. Breaking barriers, even if done transcendentally rather than implicitly, is always challenging and interesting. Overall, this is a very unusual, even unique experiment by two highly talented musicians, which offers an alternative to the noise and extreme extroversion, which characterizes contemporary music. Obviously not for everybody, but still a highly Artistic and aesthetic piece of originality, for those able to appreciate it. Well done, you fearless champions!

Updated: 01/12/2022Posted: 01/12/2022

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PIOTR DAMASIEWICZ / KUBA WOJCIK ~ KREW L.A.S. 008 ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the second album by the Polish Jazz / Improvised Music duo of trumpeter Piotr DamasiewiczFind albums by this artist and guitarist / electronics manipulator Kuba WojcikFind albums by this artist. The album presents three tracks, two of which are over sixteen minutes in duration and one is a brief one and half minute piece. The album is dedicated to blood donation and treatment, hence the title. With the establishment of his L.A.S.Find albums on this label label Damasiewicz firmly established his vocation and musical direction, which combines Improvised Music / Ambient soundscapes / Folkloristic traditions in a most unique way. I became almost immediately hooked on his new expressionism, which presents his trumpet playing emerging from the electronic background like sun storms erupting from the star’s surface, and which despite its total abstractionism simply makes perfect sense to me. This album continues these modus operandi and manages to create some of the most profound contemplative music I ever encountered. Obviously the total lack of melodic continuity and harmonic support might create a barrier, which many listeners will probably not be able to cross, but those who manage to do so, should expect deeply emotional sonic rewards. This is total abstract, but so are many other Art forms that I love and so is often also philosophy and even theoretical physics and advanced mathematics, all of which are equally fascinating to me. Is this music at all? Who cares? It is a collection of sound waves, which speak to me as brightly as other forms of sonic communication, including music. That is all that matters. However, I do realize this sonic sorcery is definitely not for everyone, and that is great as well. Overall, this is a deeply moving sonic experience, which demands patience, open-mindedness, tolerance and above all love of sound and an open heart. Ideal music for time travel, when that comes around any time soon ;)

Updated: 05/12/2023Posted: 04/12/2023

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MAD SHIP ~ FLASH YEARS KOLD 0003 (Barcode: 5706274010480) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz ensemble Mad ShipFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist Tomasz LicakFind albums by this artist, guitarist Kuba WojcikFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Grzegorz TarwidFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof SzmandaFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Wojcik. The music presents a highly charged, soaked in synthesizer and electronic effects sound, with an eerie ambiance and very atypical overall approach, surely as far as Jazz is concerned. The pieces range between atmospheric, slow developing vistas a la New Age and energetic up-tempo dense explorations, almost Heavy Metal in nature, surely not something one would expect from a Jazz album, but on the other hand a reflection of a steady trend in contemporary Polish Jazz to increasingly involve electronics within the genre. But pushing these convoluted descriptions aside, this album definitely offers an interesting listening experience, which keeps surprising and keeps the listener at his toes. All four players are experienced and talented musicians and therefore the performances are highly effective. Licak, in spite of his harsh tone, plays highly lyrically and melodically for the duration, spicing the proceeding with some superb Free Form improvisations. Wojcik concentrates on electronics and his guitar contributions are mostly riffs and background chords, with occasional soloing, Tarwid, nor surprisingly, steals the show completely with his brilliant synthesizer parts, which provide most of the content and finally Szmanda keeps the entire havoc together with his excellent versatile and solid drumming. Overall this is a superb debut effort, perhaps still not completely focused but offering a lot of very interesting music, with a strong emotional impact resulting in a dense, demanding listening experience. As usual, the most important factor is the effort to leave conventional approach behind and keep exploring, which this music surely represents. I am already waiting for the next album, but in the meantime this one is certainly worth investigating!

Updated: 15/07/2020Posted: 15/07/2020

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MAD SHIP ~ TIME SHIFT OFFCZART 001 (Barcode: 0606707447485) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the second album by Polish Jazz quartet Mad ShipFind albums by this artist, which comprises of guitarist Kuba WojcikFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Tomasz LicakFind albums by this artist, pianist Grzegorz TarwidFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof SzmandaFind albums by this artist. The album presents twelve tracks, ten of which were composed by Wojcik and two by Tarwid. Six of the tracks are basically improvisations, based on “concepts” by Wojcik. The music continues where the debut left off, this time somewhat less experimental perhaps with more clear melodic themes and less electronics, but keeping the mystery in the air, with a central theme of time clicking steadily. Wojcik offers some impressive guitar parts, sometimes almost Rock oriented, Licak is the steady link to Jazz and free spirit, Tarwid, as usual, ornaments everything with stunning keyboards parts and Szmanda is in perfect command of the rhythmic layers, all cooperating towards the common goal of keeping the listener in constant anticipation of the next move. The music is again only marginally Jazz oriented, at least as far as mainstream Jazz listeners are concerned, but the amalgam of cross-genre vistas creates a tapestry of sounds, which is fascinating and stimulating for the entire duration, expanding the Jazz idiom towards uncharted territory. Overall, this is another highly successful effort by the quartet, which passes the sophomore release test with ease and high hopes for the future. Of course these four musicians take part in many other projects parallel to their work herein and establish the next generation of the Polish Jazz scene with class and obvious talent. Well done Sirs!

Updated: 20/03/2024Posted: 20/03/2024

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MINIM ~ EARTH KOLD (Barcode: 7427137119598) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the second album by Polish Jazz quartet MinimFind albums by this artist (previously named Minim ExperimentFind albums by this artist) comprising of guitarist / composer Kuba WojcikFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Kamil PiotrowiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Andrzej SwiesFind albums by this artist and drummer Albert KarchFind albums by this artist and featuring the renowned experimental Tuvan singer Sainkho NamtchylakFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, five of which were composed by Wojcik, two were improvised, one was co-composed by Wojcik and Piotrowicz and one was composed by Karch. Namtchylak added some improvised lyrics. The music is absolutely unique, to some extent continuing the ideas put forth on the debut, but exploring many new dimensions obviously inspired by the strong personality of Namtchylak and her vast experience. The result is an absolutely innovative amalgam of cross-genre music making, encompassing such diverse explorations as electronics, World Music, Avant-Garde, Jazz, Rock and a pleiad of other named and unnamed genres and sub-genres, all intermixed into a kaleidoscope of sounds, which is irresistibly beautiful. There is no doubt that the meeting between Minim and Namtchylak creates a result that is greater than just a sum of its ingredients. Namtchylak´s extended discography created in the last thirty years includes dozens of albums, but this recording definitely belongs to the very best of her outings. The wonderful fact is that she is carefully avoiding dominating the proceedings here despite her repute, allowing full freedom to the "youngsters" to state their ideas and by herself contributing only when appropriate. Minim present the individual talents of its members on this album, with beautifully lyrical piano parts by Piotrowicz, brilliant bass parts by Swies who turns out to be ready to step beyond the mainstream with Mastery and incredible feel, unusual and innovating guitar parts and superb compositional skills by Wojcik and highly imaginative drumming by Karch, who turns out to be one of the leading Polish young generation stick men; in short these guys are definitely worth being followed. This album is certainly one of the most interesting recordings released on the Polish scene in 2020, which suffered, as did the entire world, from the pandemic, which resulted in almost completely silencing many of the creative forces this year. As such, it offers hope and anticipation for great things to come in the future for all uncompromising, searching and open-minded Artistic minds. Music knows no borders and this album attest to this fact more convincingly that most other efforts, fully deserving our praise and gratitude. Hats off Lady and Gentlemen!

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

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MINIM ~ MANIFESTO KOLD 0006 (Barcode: 606707738859) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2021 This is the third album by Polish Jazz ensemble MinimFind albums by this artist led by guitarist / composer Kuba WojcikFind albums by this artist and the second release featuring renown Tuvan vocalist Sainkho NamtchylakFind albums by this artist. Minim on this recording includes keyboardist Grzegorz TarwidFind albums by this artist, bassist Andrzej SwiesFind albums by this artist and drummer Albert KarchFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded live at the Warsaw club SPATIF and presents seven original compositions, five by Wojcik, one by Namtchylak and one co-composed by the two. The album is in fact a companion to the previously released studio album “EarthFind albums with this title”, both recorded in 2019, based on the same material. As already stated in my review of the a.m. studio album, this music is absolutely original and incomparable with anything created on the Polish Jazz scene or even worldwide scene for that matter. Obviously strongly under the spell of the Tuvan throat singing, which here appears as virtuosic improvised vocalese, the entire atmosphere of Avant-Garde Jazz-World Fusion manages to spellbind the listener from the very first note and maintain the suspenseful tension to the very last. Of course these are some of the best Polish Jazz musicians out there, so their individual performances come as no surprise, but the obvious bond they manage to create with the vocalist, who comes from a very different cultural background, speaks volumes about the open-mindedness they are blessed with and no less importantly the deep respect of dissimilar Cultures. As usual in such circumstances, it is fascinating to compare the studio and live versions of the same material as well as the interaction between the musicians in these two environments. Of course in this case one can be hardly surprised how different the two results can be, both able perfectly to preserve the esthetic validity of the music. Kamil PiotrowiczFind albums by this artist, who played on the studio album, and Tarwid, are two very different keyboardists, which of course has an impact on the differences found between these two recordings, which again emphasizes the amazing amount of talent among the new generation of Polish Jazz musicians. Overall, this is a perfect companion to the studio album and the two complete each other splendidly. The music is fascinating and often mindboggling, but despite the artistic freedom remain perfectly coherent. I can only repeat my recommendation to grab a copy of this album ASAP, and as usual thank the musicians for sharing their talents with us.

Updated: 09/11/2021Posted: 09/11/2021

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MINIM EXPERIMENT ~ DARK MATTER FOR TUNE 0107 (Barcode: 5906395808090) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by a young Polish Jazz quartet Minim ExperimentFind albums by this artist, led by guitarist / composer Kuba WojcikFind albums by this artist, which also includes pianist Kamil PiotrowiczFind albums by this artist, Italian bassist Luca CurcioFind albums by this artist and drummer Albert KarchFind albums by this artist. The album presents five pieces, all original compositions by Wojcik. The music is a wonderful open format amalgam of melodic themes and free improvisations, full of energy, inspiration and surprisingly fresh ideas, which are even more amazing considering the young age of the musicians involved. There is a wonderful balance between the melodic content and the freedom of expression, which keeps this music coherent and focused on one hand and opened and unexpected on the other hand, an ideal all modern Jazz musicians are striving to reach, but only very few actually succeed. There is of course a certain minimalism involved, as the name of the quartet suggests, but it is that wonderful kind of minimalism which manages to emphasize the "less is more" effect, which again is very rarely achieved. The individual contributions by all for musicians are outstanding. The leader plays with a very clean, almost sterile sound, eschewing electronic effects and other cornucopia, which is remarkably fresh and effective. Piotrowicz, who already has a couple of solo albums under his belt, sounds outstandingly open minded here, very far from the pretty conventional approach he used on his own albums, almost as if he wasn´t himself. Curcio does a great job on the bass, playing sparingly but always right on the money, with his individual punches standing like pillars upon which the rest of the music rests comfortably or arco work creating additional layers of the overall soundscape. Karch, who already made his impressive statements on other Polish Jazz albums, is the ideal drummer, who does not play rhythm but is there alongside his partners exactly when needed. Overall this is a brilliant debut album, one of the best Polish Jazz debuts of 2016 and perhaps even one of the best albums of this year. It is with great pleasure that I am able to write these words on New Year´s Eve, rounding up my work as a reviewer for 2016. A beautiful finishing accord of a very intense year for Polish Jazz, hopefully to be followed starting tomorrow! Hats off!

Updated: 31/12/2016Posted: 31/12/2016

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