Record Reviews

BACKSPACE ~ AD_DA HEVHETIA 0188 (Barcode: 8588005258616) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by Polish experimental / Avant-Garde duo BackspaceFind albums by this artist, which comprises of violinist Lukasz CzekalaFind albums by this artist and accordionist Zbigniew ChojnackiFind albums by this artist, who both also employ extensively live electronics in their music. On this album the duo was expanded (or "augmented") to a trio with the addition of cornetist Marcin Albert SteczkowskiFind albums by this artist. The album, recorded live (and unedited), presents four extensive pieces, which are not specifically credited and are assumably spontaneously co-created by the participants. Chojnacki appeared like a comet on the Polish Jazz / Avant-Garde firmament just a few years ago, but his extraordinary talent and virtuosic performances on the accordion, a sadly much neglected instrument in Jazz and experimental music, earned him an almost instant stardom, despite his youthfulness. I have followed closely his development both as a recording artist and live performer from the onset of his career and invited him to perform a solo concert during the Singer Jazz Festival in 2017. In the process I witnessed his rapid metamorphosis from a timid wunderkind to a full blown and mature sound magician. Another aspect of his development over time was the growing involvement with electronic sound devices, which gradually overshadowed the acoustic sound of the accordion and become almost completely a wall of synthesized sound effects, often completely detached from any straightforward melodic substance. And yet this accordion / electronics fusion, which might have caused some of his early admirers to stay behind, developed into a new phantasmagoric instrument that places Chojnacki right along the leaders of the pack. However, in the company of Czekala and Steczkowski, who create a plethora of exquisite melodic passages, both brief and prolonged, his role as integrator and supplier of the sound layers behind the violin and cornet "soloing" is absolutely stunning. Listeners expecting to hear any unambiguous accordion on this album will be obviously disappointed, but there are plenty of brilliant passages created by Chojnacki. The performance of the trio is absolutely mesmerizing and offers a perfect model of what one might expect from contemporary electro-acoustic music. For the entire duration of the album there is an intimate closeness between the performers and the listener and a calm, wonderful warmness of co-existence. The interplay and coordination between the trio members is nothing short of being telepathic. I hope my attention to the role of Chojnacki in this recording does not overshadow the contributions of Czekala and Steczkowski, which are of course equally important. Overall this is an absolute brilliant piece of contemporary music, cross-genre and beyond classification, which shows the way and explores uncharted territory, offering a non-aggressive, cohesive and aesthetically pleasing piece of modern sound Art (since calling it just music might not do it justice). There is almost nothing else I could recommend as warmly as this gem!

Updated: 28/10/2019Posted: 28/10/2019

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

MELECH ~ PLAYS GEBIRTIG MULTIKULTI MPT 015 (Barcode: 5907796319826) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Polish Free Jazz / Avant-Garde quartet MelechFind albums by this artist, which comprises of clarinetist / composer Piotr MelechFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Marcin Albert SteczkowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Marcin JadachFind albums by this artist and drummer Michal KasperekFind albums by this artist. The album presents six pieces, five of which were composed by the Polish / Jewish poet / songwriter Mordechai GebirtigFind albums by this artist and one is an original composition credited to all four members of the quartet. The album continues the interest in Jewish music by the Polish Jazz Avant-Garde, which is one of the most fascinating developments on the local scene since the turn of the Millennium. A whole "New Jewish Music" scene developed in Poland, exploring the treasures of Jewish Music and creating contemporary Jewish Music, despite the fact that there are almost no members of the Jewish community left in Poland at the moment. Gebirtig´s legacy is one of the most re-visited, which is no surprise considering the wealth, depth and strength of his creations. Some of the treatments of his songs in the past suffered from too many liberties, but this album is a wonderful example of just the right way to respect the original music and take it forward to contemporary Avant-Garde. The quartet manages to preserve the spirit of the music in spite of the radically changed musical environment and the individual contributions by the quartet members fit the transposed sounds ideally. Melech states the original melodies almost faithfully, before those are picked up by the rest of the band and transformed, stretched and re-composed in Free Form. The rhythm section is elevated to a full membership within the quartet, adding its invaluable contributions. I wonder what would Gebirtig say to these transformations, but considering his progressive intellectualism, he would probably embrace them wholeheartedly. Overall this album is a wonderful example of preservation by modernization, where Culture is brought forward to contemporary recipients in form and shape that bridge over time barriers. It manages to stand by itself both as a contemporary work of art and as a tribute to the past. Thanks to the talent of the musicians involved and their respect towards the source of this music, their goal was achieved in full. This is definitely one of the most successful tributes to Gebirtig´s legacy done within the Polish Jazz Avant-Garde. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 28/10/2019Posted: 17/12/2016

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

NUDA ~ NUDA NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by Polish quartet NudaFind albums by this artist (Eng. Boredom), which includes cornetist Marcin Albert SteczkowskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Michal MilczarekFind albums by this artist, bassist Marcin JadachFind albums by this artist and drummer Michal BryndalFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all co-credited to all four members of the quartet. The members of the quartet come from very different backgrounds, between almost mainstream Jazz, via Jazz-Rock Fusion to Avant-Garde Jazz, but the music on this album is mostly improvised and rather free, with limited melodic contents. The overall approach is very minimalistic and the music plays around with sound and silence, creating imaginary, almost ambient soundscapes. Although the cornet and guitar are at the front line, the quartet distributes equal weight between all four players, which is very effective. The rhythm section often plays in a completely different space-time continuum than the soloing instruments, and even creates polyrhythmic diversity between the bass and the drums. Therefore at times all four musicians play seemingly "inconsistently" between each other, but highly creatively and artistically. There is no doubt that the album manages to present a fresh, highly unconventional approach to music making and has a lot to offer together to an open-minded listener. The concept needs perhaps a bit of refining and the short playing time (just above half an hour) needs expanding, which can all bee achieved on the next album. Overall this is a splendid debut effort and a most welcome fresh breath of air. Well done!

Updated: 21/08/2020Posted: 21/08/2020

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

ORANGE THE JUICE ~ THE DRUG OF CHOICE FOR TUNE 0031 (Barcode: 5902768701333) ~ POLAND ~ Pop & Rock Recorded: 2012 Released: 2014 This is a live recording by Polish alternative Rock group Orange The JuiceFind albums by this artist, which appears here both in audio and video formats with almost identical contents. The band comprises of vocalist Konrad ZawadzkiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Dawid LewandowskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Mariusz GodzinaFind albums by this artist, keyboardist / cornetist Marcin Albert SteczkowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Marcin JadachFind albums by this artist and drummer Jan KiedrzynskiFind albums by this artist. Guest musicians include vocalist Ida ZalewskaFind albums by this artist and an extended brass section. The album presents fourteen original songs, all but one composed by the entire group with lyrics written by Zawadzki. As appropriate for a Polish alternative / Avant-Garde Rock ensemble, Orange The Juice stretch the borders of the genre by expanding into such extremely disassociated idioms as Death Metal and Free Jazz. Strangely enough and against all odds this bizarre amalgam works very well overall and this is definitely a challenging, but superbly executed and highly interesting piece of contemporary music. The ensemble freely ignores all conventions and limitations, jumping within one tune from hysteric Death Metal screams, via melodic ballad into an improvised Jazz section, somehow managing to connect the dots very effectively. Of course such daring approach is only justified if it is based on real music, which of course is true in this case. Judging by the group´s success on the local scene in the time following this live recording, which (at the time of writing these notes) is already three years old, it seems that the potential they show here was fully realized. It is recommended to lend the listener´s ear to this, now archival, recording in order to follow their development and see the roots of their music. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Updated: 28/10/2019Posted:

CD+DVD 2 Recommend To A Friend