Record Reviews

BRESLAUER COCKTAIL ~ ABSYNETRIA MULTIKULTI MPT 013 (Barcode: 5907796319918) ~ POLAND ~ Pop & Rock Recorded: 2015 - 2016 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by the Polish group Breslauer CocktailFind albums by this artist, which comprises of vocalist Natalia NikolskaFind albums by this artist, drummer Janusz WawrzalaFind albums by this artist, bassist Szymon DanisFind albums by this artist, guitarist Marcin KuzdowiczFind albums by this artist and trombonist Kuba KlepczynskiFind albums by this artist. Several other musicians guest on selected tracks. The album presents thirteen songs, mostly originating in the 1930s, with the exception of one original song. The basic concept behind the album is to present popular songs from the pre-WWII era, representing the Polish, German, Russian and Jewish Cultures prominent in Central Europe at the time. The songs have been re-arranged, or rather transformed into contemporary Pop / Rock environment, but are sung in the original languages. The overall attitude is rather nonchalant, punkish and simplistic, which in most cases loses the original songs in the process almost entirely. Although potentially an interesting attempt to bring this music back to life, the actual result leaves me personally cold and estranged. It is all too chilly, too fast and too loud, sort of artificial and impersonal. The sound (I assume purposely) is muffled and blurred, which does not contribute to the aural experience. Of course I am an old fart and this music might be simply too modern for me, but it´s sadly not my cup of tea. Additionally the vocals in German, Yiddish and Russian suffer badly from terrible accent and pronunciation, which in the punkish don´t care atmosphere might work but they hurt my ears. The album was released in the "Tikkun" (which in Hebrew means reparation / correction / rectification) series, sadly (for me) not fulfilling any of these goals.

Updated: 26/09/2017Posted: 26/09/2017

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FREEWAY QUINTET ~ THIS IS NO ORDINARY JAZZ NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2012 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz ensemble Freeway QuintetFind albums by this artist, co-founded by saxophonist Piotr SzwecFind albums by this artist and guitarist Marcin KuzdowiczFind albums by this artist. The lineup is completed by a second saxophonist Krzysztof KowalczykFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel UrowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Wojciech BulinskiFind albums by this artist. Female vocalist Paulina GolebiowskaFind albums by this artist and percussionist Konrad RoginskiFind albums by this artist appear as guest musicians on several tracks. The album presents nine original compositions, seven of which were composed by Kuzdowicz and one each by Szwec and Urowski. The music presented by the group has certainly some unusual elements, such as a double saxophone front line, rocky, often distorted guitar and melodic lines based on ethnic motifs, which altogether are closer to Jazz-Rock Fusion or Progressive Rock than to Jazz. Therefore the statement used as the album´s title is correct to some degree; but let´s not exaggerate, this music, although very nice and interesting, is definitely not revolutionary or radically different from music we all heard before. But statements aside, this is quite an excellent album in every respect. The original music is the strongest artistic statement herein, with beautifully developed melodies and rich instrumental arrangements. There is a lot of the typical Polish melancholy, which is predominant even on the more up-tempo pieces. Overall the music is simply superb from start to finish. It is also very well performed by all the musicians involved, although personally I´d prefer to hear more improvisation and soloing. But the ensemble spirit, which is very strong on this album, is also gratifying. It is certainly interesting to see where the group will take their "no ordinary Jazz" into the future. There is so much potential and possibilities here, that anything is possible. Polish Jazz / Fusion and even Prog connoisseurs should definitely keep an eye on these talented young musicians. As far as debuts go, this is definitely one of the most impressive I´ve come across this year, perhaps because it is original enough to distinguish itself from many other debuts that mostly follow up well beaten tracks. Well done!

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