Record Reviews

ANDRZEJ JAGODZINSKI ~ MUZYKA POLSKA NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 9788393067428) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2009 - 2010 Released: 2011 This is a beautiful and very ambitious album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Andrzej JagodzinskiFind albums by this artist and his trio with bassist Adam CegielskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Czeslaw BartkowskiFind albums by this artist, also involving the great vocalist Grazyna AuguscikFind albums by this artist and two Classical Music soloists: flautist Jadwiga KotnowskaFind albums by this artist and harpist Anna Sikorzak-OlekFind albums by this artist, as well as the AUKSO Chamber OrchestraFind albums by this artist conducted by Marek MosFind albums by this artist. The album presents a seven part Jazz suite for piano trio, voice, string orchestra and soloist, which attempts to "define" what "Polish Music" means in general and especially in the Jazz context as what we understand under the term "Polish Jazz". Five parts of the suite are based on Polish Folk tunes, one is a Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist composition and one is a tune composed by Marcin JanuszkiewiczFind albums by this artist. Jagodzinski and Auguscik arranged the vocal parts and Jagodzinski wrote the elaborate piano trio / string orchestra arrangements. The concept behind this album obviously points towards the conclusion that contemporary Polish Music / Polish Jazz are a synthesis of the Polish Folk tradition with contemporary music forms. The Polish Folk tradition is most obviously identified with the Polish Folklore dances, such as kujawiak, mazurka, oberek and others, but also with the intrinsic Polish melancholy and lyricism, which create its unique characteristics, which are instantly recognizable to a trained ear. Regardless of the concept, this album is first and foremost a true celebration of music, crossing and bridging between Folklore, Jazz and Classical Music and doing it in an impressive, intelligent and truly beautiful way. All the parts and ideas fall together into an amazing amalgam, which is a delightful listening experience. The album is also a wonderful platform to enjoy the individual contributions by the participating musicians. Auguscik again proves that she has very little competition on the local scene and her wonderful sensitivity and power of expression are simply stunning. Her appearance on this album is somewhat prophetic in the sense that her album "Inspired By LutoslawskiFind albums with this title", which was recorded four years after this one, would deal with the same subject matter. Jagodzinski, who also plays accordion on this album, and his trio cohorts, as well as the soloists and orchestra all perform spotlessly and harmoniously, with obvious dedication and joy of creation. This is the best album by far that Jagodzinski recorded during his splendid career, and one of the best attempts to create a coherent musical concept, dedicated to Polish Music. Personally I´d love to see more such attempts done by other musicians. Discovering one´s musical roots and traditions is surely preferable to imitating other cultures. This album is a pure delight from start to finish and I recommend it wholeheartedly to every Polish Jazz fan, as it reveals many of the innermost secrets about what Polish Jazz really means.

Updated: 11/01/2023Posted:

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IGNACY JAN WISNIEWSKI ~ DUOS HEVHETIA 0221 (Barcode: 8588005259026) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2020 Released: 2021 This is an album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Ignacy Jan WisniewskiFind albums by this artist, which presents a series of duos recorded with other Polish Jazz musicians: bassist Olo WalickiFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Olgierd WalickiFind albums by this artist), saxophonist Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist, drummer Michal BryndalFind albums by this artist and vocalist Marcin JanuszkiewiczFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original pieces, all of which are freely improvised. For “freely improvised music”, the music on this album is at times remarkably melodic and returns to the formats used by Wisniewski in his earlier recordings, which amalgamate elements of Jazz and Classical music with Avant-Garde vistas, being this time perhaps somewhat more radical, since the earlier music was definitely largely pre-composed. In any case, if all Improvised Music was as coherent, sensible and aesthetically pleasing as what can be heard here, my general cautiousness about the genre would have been way less intensive. This music is simply beautifully expressive and inviting, in complete contrast to most contemporary Improvised Music, with constant challenges, strange twists and turns and quite unexpected performances by the participants, like almost romantic saxophone parts by Trzaska and Cecil TaylorFind albums by this artist staccatos by the leader. The biggest surprise for me are the vocal performances by Januszkiewicz, whose earlier work I admit to not being familiar with. Due to his contacts with the theatre circles, as composer of music for spectacles, Wisniewski uses actors rather that Jazz vocalist in his projects (see / hear Kamil DominiakFind albums by this artist in “Kantata JazzowaFind albums with this title”), proving his perfect instinct as far as making such decisions. Januszkiewicz is absolutely stunning in his unconventional vocal approach and his parts are, for me, absolutely climatic. But to be fair all the participants contribute heartfelt roles in the entire project. Overall, this is one of the absolutely most wonderful Polish Free Jazz / Improvised Music recordings lately, which is rather unusual in its tameness, which perhaps is the source of its success. Presenting great musicianship, firmly managed by the leader, it proves that Improvised Music can be lasting and still innovate, which is happening very rarely lately. An absolute must to listeners, who are ready to be challenged. Hats off to all participants!

Updated: 01/10/2021Posted: 01/10/2021

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