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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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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