Record Reviews

FREE COOPERATION ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.18 POLSKIE RADIO 1668 (Barcode: 5907812246686) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1985 Released: 2014 This is the eighteenth installment in the new series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. This album is perhaps one of the most important pieces of the Polish Jazz legacy issued so far as a part of this series. It presents the cult Free CooperationFind albums by this artist ensemble, an informal gathering of top young Polish Jazz musicians active in the 1980s, which in retrospect turned out to be the next generation of the local scene, which carried on the tradition into the difficult next decade, after Poland finally received its political independence. The music of Free Cooperation was an eccentric amalgam of cross-genre explorations, moving between Reggae and Jazz-Rock, through the Jazz Big Band tradition and far out into collective improvisation and even some World Music influences. The music was composed by the ensemble´s members, like keyboardist Wojciech KonikiewiczFind albums by this artist, flautist / saxophonist Aleksander KoreckiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Janusz Yanina IwanskiFind albums by this artist and bassist Wojciech CzajkowskiFind albums by this artist. Among the ensemble members we find the legendary trumpeter Andrzej PrzybielskiFind albums by this artist, whose solos on this album are absolutely breathtaking. Other members include trumpeters Antoni GralakFind albums by this artist and Mariusz StopnickiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Mateusz PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and Marek KazanaFind albums by this artist, trombonist Bronislaw DuzyFind albums by this artist, electric bassist Marcin PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist, violinist Henryk GembalskiFind albums by this artist and drummers Michal ZduniakFind albums by this artist and Sarandis JuvanudisFind albums by this artist. Piotr BikontFind albums by this artist recited poetry, which accompanied some of the compositions. Listening to the music today, almost three decades after it was recorded, clearly points out how revolutionary and ahead of its time it was, not only as far as the local scene is concerned, but on the entire European Jazz scale. Free Cooperation came to the public attention thanks to their appearance at the 1985 Jazz Jamboree festival, which is documented here on one of the tracks; the other six tracks were recorded at the Polish Radio Studio in Poznan some months earlier. The ensemble was active between 1985 and 1988 and recorded two albums for the PoljazzFind albums on this label label, which are still waiting to be reissued, which is a true shame. In April 2014 the remaining members reactivated Free Cooperation playing a gig in a club in Krakow. The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must. Side Note: In 1985 I returned to Poland for the first time after leaving the country in 1967, in order to record the now legendary "The Book Of JobFind albums with this title" project (follow the link to read the entire story). Andrzej Przybielski was one of the musicians participating in that project and he told me about Free Cooperation, which I than saw in person a few days after the recording was over on the stage of the Sala Kongresowa during the a.m. Jazz Jamboree performance, which of course left me flabbergasted. This album is therefore especially dear to my heart.

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GREEN REVOLUTION ~ REWOLUCJA ZIELONA GAD 203 (Barcode: 5903068123030) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1987 - 1988 Released: 2022 This is an archival album by the Polish Fusion / Funk / Brass Rock ensemble Green RevolutionFind albums by this artist, led by keyboardist / composer Wojciech KonikiewiczFind albums by this artist and including vocalist Jorgos SkoliasFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Andrzej PrzybielskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Marek KazanaFind albums by this artist and Michal KulentyFind albums by this artist, guitarist Krzysztof SzmigieroFind albums by this artist, bassist Marcin PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and Zbigniew HeflichFind albums by this artist. The album presents five compositions, all by Konikiewicz, who also wrote the lyrics to four of the tracks and programmed the drum machines. One track uses lyrics written by Polish poet Miron BialoszewskiFind albums by this artist. The album was previously unreleased and was the second album recorded by the ensemble, which was active between mid-1980s and mid-1990s. The album symbolizes the musical philosophy of Konikiewicz, which completely disregards fads and fashions, ready to incorporate every possible genre and style, as long as it is honest and bullshit free, which of course ostracized him from the Polish Jazz mainstream / establishment, a fact which never seemed to worry him too much or influence his modus operandi. The list of musicians participating in the album’s creation is a wonderful collection of “strange birds”, mostly from the Polish Avant-Garde underground, which flourished at the time, all of which were brilliant musicians destined to remain in the shadows. It took many years to earn them the proper recognition, which in some case is still much belated. The music, despite its complexity and multilayered density, is remarkably accessible and enjoyable to a wide audience, incorporating Funk, Fusion, Reggae and even some early Rap with Jazz, sometimes as advanced as Free Jazz. Fused together it all makes perfect sense and offers a great listening experience, and must have been a blast when performed live on stage. All the players offer some great soli, and the Brass players are of course legendary, which makes every note they recorded a valuable addition to their rather limited recorded legacy. Konikiewicz, who at any given time was involved in several musical projects in parallel, continued his activity over the years to come, often against the stream, but always true to himself, creating a lot of remarkable music over time, which in the last years is finally being given the attention it deserves. This unknown gem of Polish Jazz history is long overdue to see the light of day, but completely relevant and fresh today – highly recommended!

Updated: 27/04/2022Posted: 27/04/2022

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KAZANA / TWISTER / ALBAN JUAREZ ~ MAM DWOCH WNUKOW W BIRMINGHAM BIG FLOW 01 (Barcode: 5904730520003) ~ POLAND ~ Electronic & Ambient Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 This is an album, which documents a cross-genre project by Polish trio, which consists of Avant-Garde Jazz saxophonist Marek KazanaFind albums by this artist, Grzegorz CzerkasowFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. DJ TwisterFind albums by this artist) who spins the turntable and adds additional sound effects and instrumental parts and drummer Jose Manuel Alban JuarezFind albums by this artist. The trio co-composed seven original tracks, two of which feature Rap vocals by Adam Bogumil ZielinskiFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. LonaFind albums by this artist). The music demonstrates the multifaceted Polish music scene, which lacks any inhibitions as far as mixing diverse genres into a new amalgam. This album is not the first album of this sort and quite a few similar projects were released on the local scene in the last three decades, since the Polish Yass revolution completely buried conventions and "proper behavior" limitations. Contrary to the expectation the music on this album is mostly "well behaved" and easily accessible by a wide variety of listeners. Kazana plays quite melodically and shows great restrain in comparison to his Avant-Garde Jazz output, Czerkasow keeps his effects well in check and Alban Juarez drives the music steadily forward with his solid drumming, which is full of textures and polyrhythmic tension. Overall this is an interesting insight into the Polish scene, which might surprise listeners, who are not familiar with its diversity. There is not much innovation here perhaps, but the album reflects a successful cooperation of musicians coming from different backgrounds, which works well.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 24/04/2016

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MAREK KAZANA PROJECT ~ TANGOLA NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 5903292105253) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish Jazz saxophonist Marek KazanaFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with saxophonist Tomasz LicakFind albums by this artist, bassist Marek MacFind albums by this artist and drummer Grzegorz GrzybFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded "live in the studio" in Radio Szczecin and presents ten original compositions (the title track is repeated twice opening and closing the album), three of which were composed by Kazana and seven are credited to all four quartet members and are largely improvised. Kazana is relatively little known on the Polish scene, which is a price many musicians pay when choosing the unbeaten path of individuality, usually in the Free Jazz / Improvised Music idiom. Although he was a member of two seminal Polish Jazz ensembles in the 1980s: Young Power and Free Cooperation and participated in quite a few recordings, his remains almost anonymous and recorded this debut album as a leader only in 2012. The fact that he resides relatively far away from the Polish Jazz centers is probably another reason for the lack of his exposure. The music played by the quartet is definitely part of the Free Jazz idiom, but surprisingly it is quite accessible, preserving melodic motifs and natural flow on one side and a feeling of rhythmic swing on the other, which enable even a less experienced / radical listeners to enjoy this music with relative ease. The individual statements by the participants are all impressive. The young and well schooled Licak plays with confidence and balances Kazana´s less groomed approach. Mac glues the music together with his powerful bass lines and Grzyb, who originates from much more conventional circles, adds a barrage of percussion, which at times is a bit over the top, but overall fits the bill quite well. In general this is a very interesting recording which deserves to be heard well beyond its niche image. Of course it is also a well deserved achievement by Kazana, who certainly should be better known and recognized for his contributions to the Polish Jazz scene. Recommended!

Updated: 25/04/2016Posted: 25/04/2016

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