Record Reviews

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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LUCAS PINO ~ THAT`S A COMPUTER OUTSIDE IN MUSIC 1814 (Barcode: 888295805841) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is an album by American Jazz saxophonist / composer Lucas PinoFind albums by this artist recorded with his No Net NonetFind albums by this artist ensemble, which includes the Polish (resident in NY) guitarist / composer Rafal SarneckiFind albums by this artist. Chilean vocalist Camila MezaFind albums by this artist guests on two tunes. The album presents six original compositions, four by Pino and one each by Sarnecki and saxophonist Alex LoreFind albums by this artist and an additional short piece of unknown origin. The nonet sounds almost like a small Big Band, mainly due to the intricate arrangements and extensive use of unisono phrasing, which is wonderfully executed throughout the album. Combined with the superb compositions, this album is a beautiful example of American Jazz brought up to date and aesthetically inspired, which sadly happens all too rarely lately. The music is just perfect, untouchable as a form of expression and needs absolutely nothing in addition to what it already offers, which is an événement exceptionnel indeed. This music is simply too good to be described in words, sort of like attempting to dance architecture. Being fed new music constantly, I rarely get excited about an album, but this is a proverbial "something else". Elegant, sophisticated, lyrical, exciting…this music has an uplifting quality about it that literally "puts a spell on me". If blind tested I would have probably gambled that this is a European ensemble, as the overall musical approach sounds similar to what the Vienna Art OrchestraFind albums by this artist and other European ensembles were doing (and still do), especially on those two tracks featuring Camila´s vocals, which are simply sublime. But the entire album just kicks ass big time and is definitely one of the most exciting pieces of music that arrived on my desk lately. I surely have to explore Pino and his music and wholeheartedly advice all true music connoisseurs to do the same ASAP!

Updated: 23/05/2019Posted: 23/05/2019

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RAFAL SARNECKI ~ CAT`S DREAM BJU 045 (Barcode: 5908254159367) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the third album by the Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Rafal SarneckiFind albums by this artist, who currently lives in NY. It presents eight original compositions, all by Sarnecki, which are performed by a sextet led by him, which also includes vocalist Bogna KicinskaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Lucas PinoFind albums by this artist, pianist Glenn ZaleskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Rick RosatoFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. One of the tunes uses lyrics by the great Chilean poet Pablo NerudaFind albums by this artist. The music is a beautiful blend of many influences, based on the Jazz tradition but incorporating various other influences, like World Music, Fusion, Progressive Rock and Contemporary Classical, creating a unique universe of sound. The compositions are very diverse and present a wide vista of Sarnecki´s inventions; also distinctly melodic, they are quite complex with frequent tempi changes and intertwined melodic themes, which keep developing, often unexpectedly. In fact this music requires quite an attentive listening in order to be properly comprehended. It is truly refreshing to hear such ambitious music being made today. The individual performances are all excellent and the album is above all an ensemble effort. But the talents of all the players are plainly exposed. Kicinska sings wordless vocalese (except for one case), using her voice as an instrument, which blends well with other instruments in the ensemble. Her presence is a stimulating factor, which adds to the overall success of this album. Pino plays some excellent solos throughout, which are fluent and expressive. Zaleski and the rhythm section keep the music moving ahead smoothly and elegantly, exactly as needed, obviously keeping their ears open and handling the tricky parts with ease and elegance. I´d love to hear them in a piano trio format. And of course Sarnecki and his guitar are, as always, the cherry on the cake. I´ve always liked his tone and phrasing, but his playing on this album is definitely stronger than ever. Overall this is an ambitious effort, splendidly performed and beautifully recorded, adding up to an album of true artistic value, so rare these days. Sarnecki shows a distinctive process of growing up and developing his talents, one of which is surrounding himself with great musicians. This is definitely one of the most interesting recordings released so far in 2014 and I hope it will be received open-mindedly both by the audiences and the critics, which for projects like these is, sadly, far from being self-understandable. This is the kind of aesthetic approach I´d personally love to hear in many other recordings, especially those originating in the US, but in the case of Sarnecki he simply managed to maintain his European qualities unblemished. Brilliant stuff!

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RAFAL SARNECKI ~ CLIMBING TREES OUTSIDE IN MUSIC 1804 (Barcode: 5908254159800) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is the fourth album by Polish (resident in NY) guitarist / composer Rafal SarneckiFind albums by this artist and the second album recorded with the same sextet, which includes vocalist Bogna KicinskaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Lucas PinoFind albums by this artist, pianist Glenn ZaleskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Rick RosatoFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, all composed by Sarnecki. The music is a continuation of the path paved by this album´s predecessor "Cat`s DreamFind albums with this title", which amalgamates a plethora of different influences, including modern mainstream Jazz, but also adding World Music influences and contemporary Classical approach. This album is significantly more open and Freely Improvised than his previous recordings, and as such is noticeably more difficult and complex than anything he recorded earlier on. All of the sextet members contribute significantly towards the overall result, each in his special way. Kicinska´s vocalese parts are a highlight of the music and she manages to handle the complex and neck breaking parts with stunning ease and elegance. Zaleski lays down the harmonic layers and plays splendid solos, Pino is the calm and cool cat, who adds almost romantic elements, before his improvisations wander into the Free vicinity. The rhythm section handles the tricky tempi and constantly changing beat with flair and obvious dedication and finesse. Sarnecki limits his guitar performances to the same level of presence as the rest of the band, definitely not dominating the music with his guitar parts, which are just one more voice of the sextet´s overall output. He is obviously a very gifted instrumentalist, but his role on this album concentrates on the compositional level, leadership of the sextet and production. Overall this is a strong, mature statement, which takes Sarnecki one step further towards his own voice as a composer and instrumentalist, with the music being certainly more ambitious and demanding. Some listeners might need several listening sessions before penetrating the depth of this music, but this ambitious music definitely deserves to be heard and admired. Well done!

Updated: 12/09/2018Posted: 12/09/2018

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RAFAL SARNECKI ~ THE MADMAN RAMBLES AGAIN FRESH SOUND 381 (Barcode: 8427328423816) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 This is the 2nd album by the excellent Polish guitarist / composer / arranger Rafal SarneckiFind albums by this artist, following his outstanding debut released a couple of years earlier. Sarnecki manages to repeat the same level of freshness and quality, but the new album is different in many ways, mostly due to the fact that Sarnecki lived in NY for some time, absorbing some of the Big Apple´s influences, which are evident in the brass arrangements, Latin rhythms and overall sound of the recording. But fortunately this amalgamation of American influences did not replace his European roots, which remain intact, especially in his superb compositions. He composed seven of the eight tracks on the album and included one standard, same as last time. His musical cohorts consist partly of the same excellent musicians who recorded the debut album: pianist Pawel KaczmarczykFind albums by this artist, bassist Wojciech PulcynFind albums by this artist and drummers Lukasz ZytaFind albums by this artist (on six tracks) and Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist (on two tracks) (all five are members of the pianist´s Audiofeeling BandFind albums by this artist), strengthened by a brass section: US saxophonist / flautist Lucas PinoFind albums by this artist and trumpeter Jerzy MalekFind albums by this artist. Percussionist Jose Manuel Alban JuarezFind albums by this artist (despite the name he´s Polish) guests on two tracks. The sextet format allows Sarnecki to develop a much richer orchestration and complex arrangements for his superb compositions, which he does beautifully, carefully avoiding overdoing it, which is a rare and commendable approach. The performances are of course stellar and these young musicians bring a wide smile on veterans´ (like me) faces, seeing that Jazz has a future after all. What I particularly admire about Sarnecki is his ability to eschew the Fusion trap – he manages to keep this album 100% Jazz, which is extremely rare for guitar albums these days. The album was released on the Spanish Fresh SoundFind albums on this label label, which releases albums by young and promising Jazz musicians from all over the world, giving them a chance of international exposure, an admirable policy deserving support. Polish Jazz legend Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist gives Sarnecki some warm compliments on the album´s cover, and I´m only happy to concur with his opinion – this is definitely a great piece of music, which deserves repeated listening and an honorable place on the shelves of Polish Jazz discography. Wholeheartedly recommended!

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