Record Reviews

ASAF ~ SILENT PRAYER SOLITON 669 (Barcode: 5901571096698) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the second album by the Polish Jazz quartet ASAFFind albums by this artist, following a sixteen years break in its activity. The current lineup includes saxophonist Maciej SikalaFind albums by this artist, pianist Joanna GajdaFind albums by this artist, bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist (who replaced the original bassist Michal BaranskiFind albums by this artist) and drummer Piotr JankowskiFind albums by this artist. Bassist Michal BakFind albums by this artist and vocalist Barbara PospieszalskaFind albums by this artist guest each on one track. The album presents seven original compositions, four recorded in studio and three recorded live on various occasions. Sikala and Gajda composed two of pieces each, Pospieszalski and Bak composed one piece each and the last is by Polish Jazz bassist / composer Andrzej CudzichFind albums by this artist, who sadly departed at a tragically young age in 2003. The debut album by ASAF from 2004 was dedicated to the memory of Cudzich. The music is strictly mainstream Jazz oriented, with solid melodic themes and straightforward arrangements, which offers little innovation or challenge but is excellently executed by the participating musicians, who are all highly professional. The superb saxophone parts by Sikala, who is after all one of the top Polish Jazz players, are especially impressive. Despite the fact that the album mixes studio and live recordings, the overall sound quality is very good and the album offers a coherent sound and stylistic continuity. The nature of the music is rather contemplative and as the album´s title and individual track titles (as well as the album´s liner notes) suggest, the music is an attempt to offer a spiritual message with the music serving as a medium. The atmosphere of some of the compositions is definitely soaked in deep melancholy, which of course every listener can interpret in his own way. Overall this is a good mainstream Jazz album, which should make fans of music closer to the American rather than European Jazz aesthetic very happy. Great compositions and perfect execution is exactly what the doc prescribed. Definitely worth checking out!

Updated: 26/05/2020Posted: 26/05/2020

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MICHAL BAK QUARTETTO ~ FORTRESS ALPAKA 017 (Barcode: 308175527897) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is the second album by Polish Jazz ensemble Michal Bak QuartettoFind albums by this artist, led by bassist / composer Michal BakFind albums by this artist and also including trumpeter Emil MiszkFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Jakub KlemensiewiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Slawomir KoryznoFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, five of which are original compositions by Bak, two are his arrangements of Classical pieces and two are original compositions by Miszk. The music is very minimalist, and except for the unisono statements by the trumpet and the saxophone, offers mostly one of the instruments supported by the rhythm section with limited ensemble performances. Lengthy rhythm section passages and bass soli dominate the atmosphere of the album. The bass is high in the mix and obviously sets the framework of the entire affair. The two arrangements of the Classical pieces are a bit of a foreign body within the concept of the album, as far as I am concerned, but perhaps the intention was to create a Jazz-Classical Fusion of sorts, which I am simply just not able to hear. The album offers a dark and daunting ambience, which might challenge some listeners, and although the musicians are obviously highly capable, the minimalist concept restrains them from displaying full-blown statements. The extremely slow paste of the music and the limited developments within are honestly trying the listener’s patience. Overall, although more adventurous that most Polish Jazz albums released this year (2021), this album fails to excite and swap the listener off his feet, despite the obvious talent of the musicians involved. Bak is still probably trying to define his composing aims and a coherent unique style for his ensemble, and will hopefully reach his goal in the future. Whatever worked fine on the debut album is simply not enough anymore for the sophomore outing.

Updated: 08/12/2021Posted: 08/12/2021

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MICHAL BAK QUARTETTO ~ MICHAL BAK QUARTETTO ALPAKA 002 (Barcode: 191924127741) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz ensemble called Michal Bak QuartettoFind albums by this artist (the Italian reference remains obscure), led by bassist / composer Michal BakFind albums by this artist and also featuring trumpeter Emil MiszkFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Piotr CheckiFind albums by this artist and drummer Slawomir KoryznoFind albums by this artist. Miszk, Checki and Koryzno are also members of the AlgorhythmFind albums by this artist quintet, with another bass player and a pianist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Bak. In a recent conversation with a fellow Polish Jazz journalist the subject of debut albums by young Polish Jazz groups released in 2017 came up and the conclusion was that relatively very few of those albums dealt with Free (at least to some degree) Jazz, concentrating mostly on melody and harmony. This album, although still based on melodic themes, demonstrates a much wider degree of freedom, which balances the overall output very nicely. The music is typical Modern Polish Jazz, based on beautifully lyrical / melancholic compositions, expanded into lengthy statements, full of opportunities for improvisation by the quartet members, which here demonstrate the freedom and space which can be achieved within music, which is still within the traditional boundaries of the idiom. All the players on this album demonstrate a high level of professionalism and obvious talent, and to those who follow their consecutive recordings, also a consistent path of personal development. The fact that this quartet is pianoless and still manages to sound fully harmonic speaks firmly as to the quality of these musicians and their mutual respect and ability to cooperate. Miszk plays some superb solo trumpet parts and is also a great accompanist when playing behind Checki, who is the romantic soul most of the time but also delivers some truly biting solos. Bak gets a lot of exposure as a bassist, both as part of the rhythm section and as a soloist, and his performances are all top notch. Koryzno is the rhythm machine driving the music forward and he is excellent both as an illustrator on the slow and free parts and the pusher behind the up-tempo swinging parts, demonstrating an overall exquisite drumming technique and feel. Overall this is an impressive debut album, which presents daring, intelligent and adventurous music and brilliant personal abilities by the players. Connoisseurs of Modern Jazz, especially those following the Polish Jazz scene, are in for a refreshing, invigoration experience. Definitely one of the most interesting debuts of 2017 – highly recommended!

Updated: 18/11/2017Posted: 18/11/2017

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AGNIESZKA MACIASZCZYK ~ A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO LIFE SJ 082 (Barcode: 5905489721000) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2024 Released: 2024 This is the 2nd album by Polish Jazz vocalist / composer Agnieszka MaciaszczykFind albums by this artist, recorded with the same quartet which recorded her debut six years earlier: pianist Michal CiesielskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BakFind albums by this artist, drummer Przemyslaw JaroszFind albums by this artist and saxophonist / flautist Szymon LukowskiFind albums by this artist. Marta BuschmannFind albums by this artist adds backing vocals. The album presents eight tracks, four of which were composed by Maciaszczyk and the other four co-composed with Ciesielski. She wrote also all the lyrics. I have been very impressed by the debut album by Maciaszczyk, and this new outing preserves many of its good qualities, especially the extensive use of vocalese rather than singing lyrics. This approach to Jazz vocals is sadly seldom utilized by singers, which is a great pity, since the human voice is after all the mightiest instrument. This time, however, Maciaszczyk does also sing lyrics (in English – and you know what I think about that) on three tracks, and on these tracks the vocalese becomes mostly secondary, which is somewhat disappointing, at least for me. Also the music on these tracks is definitely less Jazz and more Pop oriented. An attempt to reach new audiences? The instrumentalists are obviously more experienced than last time and more expressive, performing their duties as perfectly as one might expect from Polish Jazz players, which means that the performances are all excellent and their involvement and dedication to the project is as complete as one might wish for. Overall, this is again quite an unusual vocal Jazz album, with wonderful extended vocalese parts and excellent instrumental accompaniment, which is a pleasure to listen to from start to finish. The only minor snag is the fact that is takes off exactly where the debut landed, without moving much forward in the meantime. I am not so sure if it will be possible to do that again in the future?

Updated: 10/02/2025Posted: 10/02/2025

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AGNIESZKA MACIASZCZYK ~ IN SEARCH OF NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz vocalist Agnieszka MaciaszczykFind albums by this artist recorded with a quartet comprising of pianist Michal CiesielskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Szymon LukowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BakFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw JaroszFind albums by this artist - all four prominent upcoming representatives of the young Polish Jazz scene. The album presents seven original compositions, all co-credited to Maciaszczyk and Ciesielski, although in a short online conversation I conducted with her Maciaszczyk credited the entire crew for arranging and co-creating the music, except the one song, which she composed and wrote the English lyrics for and one other track which was entirely composed by Ciesielski. All the six compositions, other than the song, feature wordless vocalese by Maciaszczyk. The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, with usual as always superb sound quality. The music and the entire artistic concept of this album is quite unusual and unique, since as already stated, the focus here is on wordless vocalese rather than on songs, which use lyrics (with one exception). As I have already stated repeatedly, most young Polish Jazz vocalist make the tragic mistake of insisting to sing in English, which in most cases ends up in a fiasco. I also often say that it would have been better if they used wordless vocalese instead. I have no idea if Maciaszczyk ever read any of my record reviews and took my advice or arrived at this conclusion on her own, but the result is exactly what I had in mind and now I can use this album as an example. The vocalist uses her voice like an instrument and becomes an integral part of the resulting quintet, something great Jazz vocalist, including the sublime Polish vocalist Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist, pioneered already five decades ago. I was a bit surprised that Maciaszczyk decided to use only acoustic vocals and chose not to use electronic enhancements, but that is of course entirely her own decision and a future option. The courage to choose the path less travelled by is of course admirable. The four instrumentalists all perform superbly here, as expected. Ciesielski builds up most of the melodic and harmonic layer, accompanying the vocalist amicably and with great sensitivity. Lukowski is less dominant but adds some hair-rising parts, especially those played on the bass clarinet. The rhythm section is also absolutely first class, handling the often devilishly tricky odd rhythmic patterns and quirky tempi changes with flair and elegance. The ensemble performance is absolutely second to none. Overall this is a stunning debut, full of intelligent music and superb performances by these excellent musicians. The music might be a tad difficult at first hearing, but open minded listeners are sure to fall in love with this music at some point, as it offers a new perspective on vocal Jazz in contemporary young European Jazz, an event that happens only very rarely. Wholeheartedly recommended to all serious vocal Jazz connoisseurs and thanks to the talented minds behind this music! Chapeau bas!

Updated: 28/09/2019Posted: 28/09/2019

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MOON HOAX ~ MOON HOAX TKLIWI NIHILISCI ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is an excellent debut album by young Polish Jazz / Fusion ensemble Moon HoaxFind albums by this artist, co-founded by guitarist Michal KarbowskiFind albums by this artist and bassist Ju GhanFind albums by this artist. The lineup is completed by trumpeter Klaudiusz KlosekFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Michal BakFind albums by this artist, vibraphonist / electronic sounds creator Marcin CiupidroFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw BorowieckiFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Karbowski. The music of Moon Hoax is a modernized and updated version of Brass Rock / Jazz-Rock Fusion movement represented by a plethora of bands active in late 1960s and early 1970s, like Blood, Sweat & TearsFind albums by this artist, ChicagoFind albums by this artist, IfFind albums by this artist, DreamsFind albums by this artist, ChaseFind albums by this artist and many others. If any of those bands would have been active today, they would probably sound quite similar to Moon Hoax, but since Brass Rock is a lost Art Form, this album is a true delight, not only as a kind of retro trip down the nostalgic lane, but as an ass-kicking splendid piece of music, which is fresh and excellent in every respect. Based on solid melody lines, which are then arranged for the entire ensemble, the music balances between the Jazzy brass section (which sounds much "bigger" than it actually is) and the Rocky guitar, with the vibraphone and electronic sounds filling the spaces and adding the contemporary layer. The rhythm section rocks steadily, but with finesse and great respect for the soloists. There are very few contemporary ensembles which are able to produce such invigorating music of such quality, which puts this album in a class by itself. Hopefully Moon Hoax will find a way to take this music into the future and find new directions, without loosing the charm. It will be hell to create another such great album as that one; you have been warned! In the meantime let´s celebrate and enjoy this little gem, as such miracles happen rarely. This is definitely a stunning debut!

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KAMIL PIOTROWICZ ~ BIRTH HEVHETIA 0105 (Barcode: 8588005257572) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Kamil PiotrowiczFind albums by this artist recorded in a quintet setting with trumpeter Emil MiszkFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Piotr CheckiFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BakFind albums by this artist and drummer Slawomir KoryznoFind albums by this artist. It presents nine original compositions (one appearing twice and another based on a Folk tune) by Piotrowicz and one standard. The music is mostly quite conventional, well within the mainstream Jazz format, with occasional less constrained and more open moments. The compositions are however quite sophisticated and often feature several subsections with different rhythmic patterns and melodic themes, turning them into mini-suites. The overall level of these compositions is certainly well advanced, especially in view of the young age of the composer. The arrangements feature the entire ensemble extensively, with the brass section up front, in charge of most of the solos, and the leader staying relatively in the background. It is pretty obvious that the emphasis of this album is in the following order of importance: compositions, arrangements, ensemble performance and only then individual solos. All the young members of the quintet have already some experience and appear on earlier recordings and they are the new generation that will dominate the Polish Jazz scene in the years to come. Judging by what they are able to do herein, things look pretty promising. This is definitely a most impressive debut effort, which although does not break any new ground, certainly proves that there are still infinite opportunities within the established borders of Jazz. Congratulations are in order and of course I´m already waiting for the next endeavor.

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KRYSTYNA STANKO ~ EURODYKA STM 009 (Barcode: 5906489287343) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the 11th album by Polish Jazz vocalist / songwriter Krystyna StankoFind albums by this artist, recorded with a fabulous team of old and new friends, which include vibraphonist Dominik BukowskiFind albums by this artist, bass guitarist Paul RutschkaFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BakFind albums by this artist and drummer / percussionist Mikolaj StankoFind albums by this artist. Norwegian trumpeter Arve HenriksenFind albums by this artist guests on three tracks, which he also arranged. Other guests include Portuguese vocalists Joao de SousaFind albums by this artist, Ukrainian vocalist Laura MartiFind albums by this artist and Hungarian clarinetist Daniel MesterFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten tracks, four composed by Stanko, one co-composed with Bukowski, four composed by Bukowski and finally one composed by Rutschka. Stanko also wrote all the lyrics for the vocal tracks, in two cases co-written by her vocal partners. The album continues a strong shift towards Jazz-World Fusion, with familiar Latin undercurrents, and even more remarkably towards vocalese, which is featured extensively on most of the tracks, to my personal delight. Since each of the songs is dedicated to a different European city, and combined with the album’s title, this is an obvious tribute to the European Culture, without any geographic / political boundaries, emphasizing the vast diversity on one hand and the common ground, on the other, which generates such a wonderful congruence. The music is perfectly suited for the purpose of the message, and amalgamates many Folkloristic influences, all wonderfully intertwined within the Jazz envelope. As already stated earlier, Stanko choses to sing a brilliant wordless vocalese as much as possible, which overcomes any linguistic barriers, and even when she does sing in Polish, the phrasing and musicality fits the universal aura of the music perfectly. Bukowski, who is a faithful musical partner of Stanko since many years, leaves a distinct mark of his ingenious musicality on the album, but all the participants contribute wonderfully, to create a serene but deeply cutting aesthetic experience, which this music generates. I have been following Stanko since the beginning of her career and her remarkable ability to re-invent herself time after time, intelligently, gently and lovingly is absolutely marvelous. This album is built from an infinite number is little moments, sounds, notes and silences, woven carefully by Stanko and her team, like only she can. She has never disappointed my sensitive musical taste buds, and this album certainly fits perfectly my feelings of respect and adoration for her many talents, as much as her personality. Overall, this is another highly successful, tasteful, sensitive and remarkable achievement by Stanko, who in many ways is a class of her own on the Polish / European vocal Jazz scene. This music is so universal, that any language barriers become completely meaningless and this music should be highly appealing to and Jazz lover on this planet and perhaps the whole Universe. Love you, as always!

Updated: 23/03/2024Posted: 23/03/2024

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