Record Reviews

JADZKA KLAPA ~ PUNT STYKU NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2022 Released: 2023 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish vocalist / saxophonist / keyboardist / songwriter Jadzka KlapaFind albums by this artist, recorded with keyboardist Pawel Bzim ZareckiFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej SzczyczynskiFind albums by this artist, drummer Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist, violist Krzysztof LenczowskiFind albums by this artist and violinist Mateusz SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents fifteen songs, all by Klapa, and it is lavishly packaged in a box containing a book of short stories written by her, sixteen inserts with the song’s lyrics and details about the participating musicians and of course the CD, all in all a true multimedia package with music, poetry, prose, photography and graphic Art of the highest aesthetic level, an obvious total offering of love, perhaps appropriately designed (as the title suggests) to be a “touching point” of a complex, very personal offerings. The music, although obviously Jazz influenced and encrusted by instrumental improvisation, is all over the place (in the best meaning of this phrase), with traces of Blues, Rock, Cabaret, Polish omnipresent melancholy and a myriad of other influences, creating a magical amalgam, which holds the listener literary by his throat. For a lack of a better definition, the entire package falls neatly into my beloved Jazz & Poetry idiom, and we shall leave it at that. As usual in such cases, the literary layer becomes oblivious to non-Polish language native speakers, but even then the album is able to hold the listeners in its nets of charms, created by the aural layers. Klapa is a wonderful voice manipulator and her vocal range, expressiveness and theatrical characteristic go beyond language limitations. Her cohorts are all, like one, brilliant for the entire duration. The rhythm section handles the tricky rhythm changes and odd meters like a breeze, and the short, concise instrumental solos by Klapa and Zarecki ornament the proceedings with finesse. The two string players, brothers in arms in the Atom String Quartet, fully justify their fame and glory. The sound recording and mix are also extraordinary, enabling all the nuances to be heard vividly, offering a very contemporary approach, more Alternative Rock oriented that Jazz, which usually bothers me, but in this case adds to the mystique and charm of the entire package. Overall, this is a powerful (and yet delicate) and complex piece of Art by a highly multi-talented Lady (she is also a MD I understand), which took a while to develop and ripen, resulting in a truly wonderful piece reflecting her personality, which she gracefully is willing to share with the world. This is definitely one of the most exciting new releases on the Polish scene this year and a most rewarding musical (and more) experience, for which I personally thank you Milady!

Updated: 22/07/2023Posted: 22/07/2023

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