Record Reviews

PAWEL KRAWIEC QUARTET ~ OFENSYWA SJ 076 (Barcode: 5905489720478) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Pawel KrawiecFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with trumpeter Mateusz ZydekFind albums by this artist, bassist Filip HornikFind albums by this artist and drummer Mateusz LorenowiczFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven tracks, all composed by the leader (although not credited on the album’s artwork). The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio, engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, and offers a wonderful sound quality. The music is basically modern mainstream Jazz oriented, but the unusual guitar / trumpet front line is very unique and offers a splendid “twist”, which makes the album stand out amongst the multitude mainstream Jazz releases. The guitar floats between Jazz, Rock / Fusion and Blues, but again in a most original way, the trumpet steals the show with its brilliant sharp and clear sound and virtuosity and a superb rhythm section, which also shows an inventive approach to keeping time. All together, the quartet offers a highly exciting sound and novel sound and attitude, which makes this album to attract attention immediately. The compositions are all also very creative and definitely non-trivial, with less attention to the lyrical side and much more open, even slightly touching on Free here and there, which makes things way more exciting and intellectually challenging. This adds to the general feeling of this album being “something else”, with a wink of humor and a “take it easy” attitude, which sadly are way too rare on most Jazz recordings these days. I absolutely must emphasize the enormous value of the contributions by Zydek, whose trumpet playing is nothing short of phenomenal, as already stated in my review of the ZiemiaFind albums by this artist debut album “Ziemia DniemFind albums with this title”, which accidently shows some similarities to this album, especially as far as originality and attitude are concerned. Overall, this is a wonderful debut album. Creative, vibrant and a true pleasure to listen to, as well as being a vivid proof that the young Polish Jazz scene is alive and kicking, as always. As usual in such case, I am already eager to hear the next album by these talented young people and wish them all the best on their path to artistic development. Well done!

Updated: 22/04/2024Posted: 22/04/2024

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ZIEMIA ~ ZIEMIA DNIEM NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz quartet ZiemiaFind albums by this artist (Earth in Polish), which comprises of bassist / violinist Jakub WosikFind albums by this artist, guitarist / clarinetist Oskar TomalaFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Mateusz ZydekFind albums by this artist and drummer Alan KapolkaFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions, four by Wosik and three by Tomala. The music is very difficult to categorize, partly based on melodic themes, but very open, bordering on free improvisation, moving into Fusiony / Bluesy stride and then suddenly swinging – in short an organized mayhem, which is one of my favorite approaches to modern Jazz, but which is also extremely hazardous in the long run, as it tends to get repetitious and loses focus easily. But Ziemia managed to stay focused this time and the result is one of the most innovative, uniquely sounding and highly stimulating albums released recently, especially in view of the fact that they don’t sound similar to any other ensemble on the local scene. Although the four band members contribute their very individual ideas and instrumental input, the music seems to be centered around the distinctive trumpet sound, which makes me personally very happy, as Polish Jazz has a great tradition of exceptional trumpeters, and seems now to be able to grow the next generation, closing the void created by deaths of Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist and Andrzej PrzybielskiFind albums by this artist. The unisono trumpet / guitar parts are also some of the most intriguing effects on this album. The guitar, when playing at full might, is a tad too “electric” / “muddy”, but that is a very minor reservation on my part, and the delicate / quiet guitar parts are a full compensation. The rhythm section is every bit as strong as the two soloists, and without it this music would have not worked as splendidly as it does. The wonderful contrast between Wosik, who is a monument of stability and sanity with his wonderful bass lines, and Kapolka, who is the “hold me down before I hurt someone” frenzy and zany drummer, who is also able to keep time like clockwork, is absolutely charming. Overall, this is a brilliant album from start to finish, completely fresh, unusual, unlike anything else, free as a bird… of course all this is well beyond words and I’m just yapping… If this is what these guys can do on their debut album, I am even frightened to imagine what will come next? Absolutely stunning stuff!

Updated: 30/01/2023Posted: 29/01/2023

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ZIEMIA / IREK WOJTCZAK ~ WARMING / MELTING AUDIO CAVE 2024/002 (Barcode: 5908298549773) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2023 Released: 2024 This is the 2nd album by the Polish Jazz quartet ZiemiaFind albums by this artist, comprising of guitarist Oskar TomalaFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Mateusz ZydekFind albums by this artist, bassist Jakub WosikFind albums by this artist and drummer Alan KapolkaFind albums by this artist. The quartet is expanded into a quintet with the addition of saxophonist / bass clarinetist Irek WojtczakFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded live and presents eight tracks, all original, but uncredited composition, assumed to be co-created by all the participants. The music is significantly different from that presented on the quartet’s debut album, recorded just one year earlier, and tends to step boldly into the “well behaved” Improvised Music / Free Jazz idiom, rather than stick to established mainstream Jazz formulas. The musicians offer a series of intimate conversations, which move between solo, duo and trio exchanges, which then are joined by the rhythm session to explore the group improvisation modus operandi. Of course there are also pre-composed pieces, but those also morph into Free Form territory, soon after the introduction of the theme, but keep a more “traditional” structure with consecutive soli, rather than group improvisation. The sound and the mood of the music are quite unconventional for the entire duration, but the music stays within coherent boundaries and should be accessible to a relatively wide range of Jazz listeners, which for such complex music is quite a miracle. The level of the individual performances is stunningly excellent, and despite the generation / experience gap between Wojtczak and the four youngsters, musically they seem to have no inferiority complex playing side by side. Personally I seem to develop a high interest in the work of Zydek, whose trumpet parts are nothing short of sensational and I have high hopes for his future explorations on the local scene. Overall, this is a great album, diverse and surprising from start to finish with no dull moments in between. These your musicians are certainly going places and their cooperation with Wojtczak is unblemished by the generation gap, which knowing Irek and his open-mindedness, is not surprising. Although non-trivial in every sense, this music is absolutely worth being investigated by open-minded listeners the world over. Well done indeed!

Updated: 09/05/2024Posted: 09/05/2024

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