Record Reviews

JANUSZ ZDUNEK ~ NUMERY SP 02/17 (Barcode: 5909876540045) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Funk Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2017 This is an album by Polish trumpeter / composer Janusz ZdunekFind albums by this artist, recorded in an octet setting with six brass players (Zdunek on trumpet, trombonist Jaroslaw WaznyFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Bogumila LudwinskaFind albums by this artist, Mariusz GodzinaFind albums by this artist and Tomasz GlazikFind albums by this artist and tuba player Piotr WrobelFind albums by this artist) and rhythm section: bassist Ireneusz KaczmarFind albums by this artist and drummer Rafal BacaFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions, all by Zdunek. One of the tracks features Rap style lyrics. The musicians on the album are old Zdunek´s cohorts from his Yass ensembles 4 SyfonFind albums by this artist and MarienburgFind albums by this artist and Rock group KultFind albums by this artist. The music is consistent with earlier albums by Zdunek, presenting more or less the same mixture of Jazz, Rock, Yass and Funk influences, which are almost danceable, played with great feeling of Groove and a Funky approach, but basically adding very little to the musical arsenal, which Zdunek presented already in the past, except perhaps for a few Klezmer influenced pieces. The large brass section could have been used to create a much richer and multilayered environment, but sadly it is mostly limited to playing long unisono lines behind Zdunek´s trumpet solos, which are not interesting enough to keep the listener on his toes. The rhythm section keeps the music moving forward in a hypnotic Funky Groove, which is really excellent, but after a while becomes somewhat repetitious. Overall this is a nice, listenable album with a lot of brass sounds and Groovy / Funky rhythms, which many listeners should be able to enjoy and perhaps even dance to. More entertainment that Art, but nevertheless definitely worth investigation!

Updated: 28/04/2017Posted: 28/04/2017

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JANUSZ ZDUNEK / MARIENBURG ~ JEDZIE OKNO 002 (Barcode: 5900000000145) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2011 Released: 2012 This is the 3rd album by Polish trumpeter Janusz ZdunekFind albums by this artist and his ensemble MarienburgFind albums by this artist, which includes bassist Ireneusz KaczmarFind albums by this artist and drummer Rafal BacaFind albums by this artist. The eight tracks on the album were all composed by Zdunek. Zdunek, who was a prominent member of the Yass movement which flourished in Poland in the 1990s, continues his musical quest using similar approach to the original Yass formula, i.e. combining Jazz and Rock elements and creating improvisation-based instrumental music. His trumpet playing technique is quite accomplished, but he rarely moves away from the main melody line, staying safely within the mainstream limitations. The melodies are pretty straight-forward, as is the strong grove, which pulsates steadily, changing rhythmic patterns between Reggae, Rock and Jazz. The rhythm section also keeps things very straight-forward, often with clockwork precision. Basically the modus operandi of the album stays pretty set, with the melody line being introduced at the start of each tune, followed by an improvised section, on top of a steady, almost danceable, rhythmic background often repeated in a drone fashion. Zdunek plays some great notes overall, but they are not enough to keep the entire album interesting for an entire span of its duration. Some people will surely find this music greatly enjoyable for sure, and that is perfectly fine, but I can´t find anything innovative or inspiring here, so my advice would be: listen and then decode for yourself. Trumpet aficionados watch out!

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JANUSZ ZDUNEK / MARIENBURG ~ MIASTO NIC OKNO 102 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2008 Released: 2008 This is the 2nd album by Polish trumpeter / keyboardist / composer Janusz ZdunekFind albums by this artist and his ensemble MarienburgFind albums by this artist, which usually includes bassist Ireneusz KaczmarFind albums by this artist and drummer Rafal BacaFind albums by this artist, but here also includes the bass clarinet player Mariusz GodzinaFind albums by this artist. The seven tracks on the album were all composed by Zdunek. Faithfull to the principles of the Yass movement, which flourished in Poland in the 1990s and still has a significant following today, Zdunek creates instrumental music which mixes elements of Jazz, Rock and other genres, which serve as a foundation for expanded improvisation, which in turn is kept well within the basic melody lines and original chord changes. The rhythmic patters are often funky and even danceable (well, depending of how many substances were consumed) but always stable and repetitive, with minimal, if any, change within one particular tune. The intrinsic tension between the rigid framework and the improvised motifs is basically what makes this music tick. Zdunek is obviously a very proficient trumpeter and his technical skills are remarkable, but this kind of music makes it difficult to fully appreciate them. This music is more about atmosphere and ambience than outward expression, and should be accepted for what it is. This kind of music usually divides the audiences into the love it / hate it camps with very few listeners left in the limbo, which is perfectly fine. So if you know this music and belong to any of the a.m. crowds, there is little that can be added here. If you don´t know this music, you owe it to yourself to try it out, in case it´s exactly what the doctor prescribed in your case.

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