Record Reviews

CRACOW JAZZ COLLECTIVE ~ NO MORE DRAMA FOR TUNE 0093 (Barcode: 5902768701692) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz ensemble Cracow Jazz CollectiveFind albums by this artist, an octet led by pianist / composer Mateusz GawedaFind albums by this artist, one of the most notable upcoming Polish Jazz musicians in recent years. The rest of the ensemble consists of other young and upcoming Polish Jazz musicians: trumpeters Cyprian BaszynskiFind albums by this artist and Dominik MietlaFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Marcin SlusarczykFind albums by this artist, Slawomir PezdaFind albums by this artist and Bartlomiej PrucnalFind albums by this artist, bassist Piotr PoludniakFind albums by this artist and drummer Dawid FortunaFind albums by this artist. The album presents three expanded compositions, all originals by Gaweda. The music embodies an amazing amalgam of contemporary Modern Jazz, which moves stylistically between swinging melodic themes and collective group improvisation with elegance and grace. The sound of the octet is typical of much larger ensembles and is no less powerful than a Big Band at times. The arrangements, which call for unisono brass parts and almost Rock like rhythmic riffs, create a fat sound, which is extremely effective. All these contribute to the fact that this is one of the most quite recordings on the Polish scene lately. The extended pieces offer plenty of opportunity to show the individual talents of the ensemble members, which are all very impressive, but also emphasize the ability of the musicians to sub-divide the lineup into sections, which play in a variety of combinations from unisono to individual improvised statements. The majority of the music is however very "well behaved" and follows strictly wonderfully arranged scenarios. This album reveals a much lesser known side of Gaweda, who so far is mostly known as a piano virtuoso of highly individual style, who plays mostly Free Jazz and Improvised Music, whereas here he symbolizes the Jazz tradition not only as the composer and arranger but also as a player, which can be followed through out this album. Perhaps the fact that this music was recorded a couple of years before it was released, portrays Gaweda at that time, which is not what he does now, but I certainly hope he will make more music as majestic and skillfully arranged as this one in parallel to his explorations of the Free realms. There is little doubt as to the fact that music is such complexity on one hand and perfect execution on the other is the proof of the incredible level of the young generation of Polish Jazz musicians, who are slowly taking over the local scene into their capable hands. In fact it is so good that it should studied by other young musicians as a model of what Jazz is all about. Definitely a shining gem of an album!

Updated: 15/07/2016Posted: 15/07/2016

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GRZEGORSKI / SLUSARCZYK ~ TO MUNIAK WITH LOVE BLUES&JAZZ 002 (Barcode: 5908254159879) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is an album by Polish Jazz quintet co-led by saxophonists Tomasz GrzegorskiFind albums by this artist and Marcin SlusarczykFind albums by this artist with a rhythm section comprising of pianist Tomasz BialowolskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej AdamczakFind albums by this artist and drummer Arek SkolikFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten Jazz standards and one original composition by Bialowolski, which is both the title track and a bonus track. The album is dedicated to the memory of the legendary Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Janusz MuniakFind albums by this artist, who was a Father figure to many younger Polish Jazz musicians. The album was produced by Slawomir MajewskiFind albums by this artist, Polish Jazz activist and a great connoisseur of classic mainstream Jazz. The albums holds no surprises, exactly as intended, and is meant to be listened to by lovers of conventional, well known Jazz tunes, which are amicably played by professional musicians. This type of unpretentious, good time and somewhat nostalgic mainstream Jazz is relatively not so easy to come by in Poland, where the new generation of musicians and apparently also listeners tend to prefer much more complex and advanced Jazz explorations, which often distances older and more conventional Jazz connoisseurs from the contemporary scene. The music offers a nice blend of ballads and up tempo numbers, which should keep the listeners happy and the beautiful piano / saxophone duet closing the album is an appropriate gesture to commemorate one of the most beloved figures in Polish Jazz history.

Updated: 12/04/2024Posted: 23/12/2019

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NEW BONE ~ DESTINED CM 1019 (Barcode: 5904259353564) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012 This is the 3rd album by the Polish acoustic Jazz quintet New BoneFind albums by this artist, founded and let by trumpeter Tomasz KudykFind albums by this artist, who also composed all the music included herein, and including in its current lineup saxophonist Marcin SlusarczykFind albums by this artist, pianist Pawel KaczmarczykFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej AdamczakFind albums by this artist and drummer Dawid FortunaFind albums by this artist. Two guest musicians: saxophonist Tomasz GrzegorskiFind albums by this artist and percussionist Jan PilchFind albums by this artist participate on most of the tracks. All these young musicians are excellent players with a proven record and evident abilities, but the music they perform here presents them with no real challenges. It is mainstream Jazz with strong Afro-Cuban rhythmic tendencies, which sounds good at all times but disappears from one´s mind the minute the sound is over. It seems that New Bone tries very hard to sound exactly like an average American Jazz ensemble, which they definitely manage perfectly, rather than search for a unique identity, which is characteristic of most Polish Jazz. I´m sure many listeners, perhaps even the majority, will enjoy this music immensely, but honestly we should expect more from an ensemble of such high potential. Hopefully they´ll do better next time.

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