Record Reviews

TUBIS TRIO ~ FLASHBACK AUDIO CAVE 2018/010 (Barcode: 5905669566612) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the third album by Polish Jazz piano trio called Tubis TrioFind albums by this artist led by pianist / composer Maciej TubisFind albums by this artist with bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw PacanFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by the leader. The music is deeply melodic and often melancholic, strongly related to the typical Polish harmonics, soaked in Polish musical heritage, but also touching upon serial music and minimalism. It floats somewhere between popular instrumental music, contemporary Classical Music and Jazz, but escapes clear stylistic or genre classification. However the music does have a coherent compositional language and approach, definitely more precisely defined than on the earlier albums by Tubis, which means that he reached herein his maturity as a composer. This album also marks the position of the trio as a close musical unit, way more prominently than on the earlier recordings, which were dominated by the piano parts. On this album the music features the piano and the rhythm section side by side as equal partners. Although the melodic content is obviously stated by the piano, the bass and the drums are clearly present all along the way, recorded on the same level and being inseparable from the piano parts. Although the music is only somewhat related to Jazz, being intrinsically quite distant from the mainstream Jazz idiom, the Jazz listeners are probably the most immediate audience, to which this music should speak straightforwardly. But of course any open-minded and sensitive music lover should be able to enjoy it to the max. In spite of its seemingly easy nature, this music requires serious and attentive listening and a lot of patience, as it utilizes nontrivial harmonic structures and odd meters, quirky tempo alterations and other compositional tricks of the trade. Overall this is by far the most interesting offering by Tubis to date, a mature, coherent piece of music, which clearly presents him and his cohorts as a slick musical unit and offers his compositional vision in full bloom. Warmly recommended!

Updated: 20/10/2018Posted: 16/10/2018

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TUBIS TRIO ~ SO US AUDIO CAVE 2019/015 (Barcode: 5905669566872) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the fifth album by Polish piano trio called Tubis TrioFind albums by this artist, led by pianist / composer Maciej TubisFind albums by this artist and including bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw PacanFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by the leader. The music is melody based, with emphasis on long cyclic repetitions of the themes with little variance and subtle dynamic changes. The powerful piano parts are dominating the proceedings almost completely, which leaves very little space for the rhythm section to add anything except rhythmic assistance. As a result the trio functions as a very tight musical unit, producing an intense, almost wall of sound effect. It is difficult to classify this music as strict Jazz, in spite of the fact that it does include improvisations, since its ambience is closer to Classical Music in many respects and its rhythmic elements do not swing in a classic Jazzy way. But regardless of what on tries to classify it as, it can be very appealing to Jazz lovers as well. Tubis piano playing is certainly impressive enough to keep piano lovers happy. The only problem with this album, as far as I am concerned, is the fact that all the albums by the trio (except for the album that precedes this one, which was a special project) are very similar in sound and structure, and do not show a clear path towards new ventures, which naturally slips dangerously into the déjà vu area, so much so that the album´s title is almost ominous. Hopefully this will change with the trio´s next album.

Updated: 13/01/2020Posted: 13/01/2020

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TUBIS TRIO ~ SYGNOWANO BAJGELMAN: IMPRESJE NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the fourth album by Polish Jazz piano trio (Tubis TrioFind albums by this artist) led by pianist / composer Maciej TubisFind albums by this artist with bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw PacanFind albums by this artist. The album is a tribute to the Jewish violinist / conductor / composer Dawid BajgelmanFind albums by this artist, who was the director of the Lodz Yiddish Theater and who composed music for many Yiddish theatre plays, including S. Ansky´s "The Dybbuk", as well as many popular songs. Bajgelman was a prominent figure in the cultural life of the flourishing Jewish community of Lodz in the period between the two World Wars. He was interned in the Lodz ghetto in 1940 where he lived until 1944, and was sent by the last transport from the ghetto to Auschwitz, where he died in early 1945 shortly before the liberation. The album, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the liquidation of the Lodz ghetto, presents Jazz arrangements by Tubis of seven songs composed by Bajgelman. Tubis made a remarkable job in transporting Bajgelman´s music almost a Century forward in time, proving how timeless and universal the music was to start with. The trio performs the music with passion and elegance, expressing the mixture of joy and melancholy that Jewish music is always immersed in, reflecting Jewish passion for life, which often is met with harsh reality. The trio members are all seasoned musicians and their instrumental performances are all, as expected, beyond reproach. The ensemble performances sound as if performed by one spiritual body of music-makers, and the dynamics and sensitivity in relation to the original music is truly superbly expressed. Listeners familiar with the original songs will be able to recognize the motifs of course, but one can assume that Bajgelman´s music is not easily found these days, and therefore this album serves a great opportunity to re-discover this immensely talented composer. Although inevitably soaked in the Holocaust historic setting, the music is a celebration of life and creativity and a wonderful tribute to Jewish Culture and tradition. Thank you Maciej for undertaking this challenging project and putting so much soul into making it come true!

Updated: 18/09/2019Posted: 18/09/2019

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TUBIS TRIO ~ THE TRUTH CHALLENGE 73445 (Barcode: 608917344523) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the second album by Polish Jazz piano trio (Tubis TrioFind albums by this artist) led by pianist / composer Maciej TubisFind albums by this artist, with bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist, who replaced the original bassist Marcin LamchFind albums by this artist, and drummer Przemyslaw PacanFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, all by Tubis. The album was recorded at the excellent RecPublica Studios in Poland, and presents a superb sonic quality with a somewhat unusual timbre and was released by the prestigious Dutch ChallengeFind albums on this label Records label. This album follows the debut album "Live In LuxembourgFind albums with this title", which was recorded nine and released seven years earlier, and which achieved some international acclaim. The music is in fact only partly directly connected with the Jazz idiom, and belongs to the modern European instrumental music variety, which is strongly based on deeply melodic themes and lengthy lyrical, somewhat introvert improvisations, which use typical European harmonic approach, creating a manner similar to many other contemporary pianists, who record for the ECMFind albums on this label, ACTFind albums on this label and related labels. In most cases the compositions are slow and melancholic, with just a few of the album´s tracks using an up tempo pace. The music is dominated by the piano parts and the rhythm section has limited opportunity to show off, but supports the leader very solidly and amicably. The bass provides the bottom notes all the way and its pulsations are vital to this music. The drums provide a steady rhythmic support, which suits this music perfectly. The instrumental performances are of course first class from start to finish. Overall this is an excellent example of contemporary instrumental music, which is accessible to a wide audience without making any compromises as far as the music quality is concerned. This Polish trio proves again that Poland is a reliable source of great European music, which is on par with anything being created beyond its borders, usually quite ahead of the pack. This is definitely a welcome comeback, which hopefully will not be followed by another long term of silence.

Updated: 27/06/2018Posted: 11/09/2017

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MACIEJ TUBIS ~ KOMEDA: REFLECTIONS AUDIO CAVE 2022/009 (Barcode: 5908298549544) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 Here we go again… another Polish Jazz album dedicated to / based on the music by the Godfather of modern Polish Jazz, pianist / composer Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist. It is truly mindboggling why so many Polish Jazz musicians fall time and again into the same trap, especially in view of some catastrophic fiascos, blunders and bloody murders committed already in that area. I even promised myself that the next time I get another album like that I will simply throw it away immediately, but you know me… I just can’t throw away music… Maciej TubisFind albums by this artist has a solid recording legacy behind him, with five albums by his trio, two in a duet and some other projects under his belt, most of which have been warmly received. This album, although designated as a solo piano effort, finds Tubis adding synthesizer support on three of the seven tracks, all of which are of course interpretations of music composed by Komeda, both his cinematic compositions and his Jazz repertoire. The arrangements vary from relatively close to the original versions to widely distant interpretations. What can I honestly say about the music? Well, Tubis is a highly skilled piano player and knows all the tricks in the book to make everything sound pretty – which is probably the biggest problem of this music. People, who understand Komeda’s music know that his music is anything, but pretty. It is deeply emotional, full of pain and despair, tragically melancholic, but never pretty, even if it sounds like it. But hay, this is just me, and what do I know… To be fair, this is not a bad album at all, Tubis plays fluently and there is enough diversity to keep the listener interested in the music from start to finish. Personally I think he just made a wrong decision this time and surely he will create a lot of great music in the future, which of course I wish him wholeheartedly. Overall, some people will probably love this album, as it is mostly easy on the ear and a very pleasing listening experience. A pity Komeda’s memory was involved, but that’s the price we pay for the freedom of expression. Stick to your own music, my Friend!

Updated: 30/09/2022Posted: 30/09/2022

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