Record Reviews

LOWBOW ~ MURMURS EASTRINGS 0002 (Barcode: 194171751134) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Classical Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is a stunning debut album by Polish duo LowBowFind albums by this artist comprising of bassist / composer Maciej SadowskiFind albums by this artist and cellist / composer Malgorzata ZnarowskaFind albums by this artist. American multi-instrumentalist / composer Kevin Scott DavisFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. GlowwormFind albums by this artist) accompanies the duo on four tracks and four other musicians participate on the final track. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Sadowski, except two which are co-composed by him and Znarowska. The music is an absolutely marvelous collection of strongly melodic tunes, which elegantly escape genre classification, and flow between Medieval Church Music, contemporary Classical Music, Ambient vistas and whatever else comes to the listener´s mind while experiencing these deeply moving sounds. The stern minimalism, which seemingly rules a priori due to the duo´s instrumental range, proves to be a complete false assumption, as the duo manages often to sound like a full orchestra in spite of the intrinsic limitations, partly due to multi-tracking but mostly due to the power of the music itself. The ambient synthesized sounds on the tracks with Davis´ participation are completely organic with the rest of the material, which leaves only the last track played by a sextet to round things up with a slightly different accent but completely consistent with the rest of the album. But beyond the unique low key sound, the melodic lyricism and ocean deep melancholy of this music are its most striking characteristics. It easily stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the most profound contemporary Polish Classical Music by such lofty names as Witold LutoslawskiFind albums by this artist, Wojciech KilarFind albums by this artist, Krzysztof PendereckiFind albums by this artist, Henryk GoreckiFind albums by this artist and others. I know this statement will raise a brow or two, but honestly anybody listening to this music should be able to immediately recognize the distinctive "Polishness" it radiates, and although the formalism of the orchestration may still lack the sophistication of the Masters, it has all it takes to make it profoundly beautiful and lasting. Albums like this make the life of a music reviewer worth living. It is not very often that music of such striking quality lands on my desk in spite of the fact that I get thousands of albums every year. It takes just a few seconds to hear that this is something completely different as far as quality and beauty are concerned and a repeated listening only strengthens this feeling. People who know me are aware of the fact that I am rarely left speechless, but in this case I am truly short of words to say anything more… just listen!

Updated: 23/11/2019Posted: 23/11/2019

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MACIEJ SADOWSKI ~ I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO SAY, SO LISTEN RHODIUM 012 (Barcode: 193872506616) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2021 This is the debut solo album by Polish Jazz bassist / composer Maciej SadowskiFind albums by this artist (who also plays synthesizers) recorded with a bunch of musicians / friends including his usual cohorts: drummer Tomasz KoperFind albums by this artist and trumpeter Dawid LipkaFind albums by this artist, a string quartet, several vocalists, American multi-instrumentalist / producer Kevin Scott DavisFind albums by this artist, pianist Antoni WojnarFind albums by this artist and others. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Sadowski. The highly provocative / sarcastic title of the album stands in complete contrast to the contents of the album, which has in fact quite a lot to say on any imaginable musical plane. The compositions are spectacularly resounding, continuing the modus operandi which prevailed on the LowBowFind albums by this artist duo album by Sadowski and cellist Malgorzata ZnarowskaFind albums by this artist (who also plays here), called “Murmurs”. The resulting music presents a unique kind of Avant-Garde Contemporary Classical Music, which incorporates subtle elements of Jazz and Ambient / Electronic Music in addition to Chamber Classical Music, producing deeply lyrical and fascinating sound vistas. Sadowski eschews flashy expositions and prefers solid compositions, based on coherent melodic themes, which are the basis for his sound-paintings. His music leaves much to the listener’s imagination and real-time interpretation, which of course means that with every listening session the aural result might resound differently, which is a rare quality. Despite the fact that the album offers only slightly over half an hour of music, it definitely presents a full musical package, naturally leaving the listeners wishing for more. The team of musicians that performs on this album is nothing short of a “dream-team” every artist might desire to work with, setting aside any individual ambitions other than do their best to contribute to the success of Sadowski’s compositions. The delicate minimalism, which is the prevailing artistic directive on this album, pays off in full, according to the “less is more” principle, with the music rather floating in the air than hitting the listener directly between the ears. Judging by the quality of his output in the last few years, Sadowski proves that he is by far not a “one hit wonder” and has plenty to say, all of which is worth listening to. He definitely emerges as one of the most interesting figures on the young Polish scene, who deserve to be followed closely. Overall, this is a stunning piece of a wonderful musical treasure, which deserves to be heard by as many true music lovers around the globe as possible, regardless of their stylistic preferences. This is simply universally beautiful music!

Updated: 05/01/2022Posted: 05/01/2022

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