Record Reviews

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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KRZYSZTOF HERDZIN ~ DANCING FLOWERS FUSION 001 (Barcode: 5907564258012) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2001 Released: 2005 This album by Polish keyboardist / composer / arranger Krzysztof HerdzinFind albums by this artist presents yet another aspect of his seemingly universal musical personality. It is basically a Funk album, which consists of seven instrumentals and three songs, all composed by Herdzin. The arrangements, especially those involving the horn section, have some proximity to Jazz, but overall it is a Pop album with some Jazz-Rock Fusion elements. The music is performed by an excellent team, which includes guitarist Marek NapiorkowskiFind albums by this artist, bassists Zbigniew WegehauptFind albums by this artist (in a rare appearance on bass guitar), Filip SojkaFind albums by this artist and Miroslaw WisniewskiFind albums by this artist and drummers Cezary KonradFind albums by this artist, Grzegorz GrzybFind albums by this artist and Michal DabrowkaFind albums by this artist and horn players like saxophonists Michal KulentyFind albums by this artist, Marek PodkowaFind albums by this artist and Mariusz MelczarekFind albums by this artist and several others. The vocals are handled by three young Pop vocalists, two female and one male, all of them quite unimpressive The music is based on the American Funk model, which was developed in the 1970s / 1980s by a plentitude of mostly African American musicians, especially the archetypical Earth, Wind & FireFind albums by this artist, but also by many partly Jazz oriented artists like George DukeFind albums by this artist, Stanley ClarkeFind albums by this artist, Grover Washington, Jr.Find albums by this artist and even Miles DavisFind albums by this artist and Herbie HancockFind albums by this artist during some periods of their extensive careers. Herdzin presents his version of Funk, which is based more on the melodic content than the rhythmic progression and is therefore somewhat softened, or simply more European. Herdzin often states that anything he does is by no means inferior to whatever the Americans are doing, and to tell the truth he is often correct when saying so, but on the other hand as it was once so adequately put: "White Man Can´t Jump" and Funk is after all about "jumping" more than anything else. When asked if he ever played Funk, Herdzin can most certainly answer positively, following this recording. Overall this is a well done, pleasant album (except for the vocal tracks), which is ideal for driving on sunny days (pretty rare in Poland) with the volume up and a pretty blonde beside you. Enjoy!

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KRZYSZTOF HERDZIN ~ FANTASY ON THEMES FROM IV STRING QUARTET BY GRAZYNA BACEWICZ / FAIRYTALE STORIES POLSKIE RADIO 1269 (Barcode: 5907812242695) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2009 Released: 2009 It seems that some Jazz musicians / composers, especially those with Classical Music education and training, are caught in a duality conflict between these two streams of artistic expression. After all the European musical tradition cultivated Classical music for centuries as a lofty and superior cultural form, leaving other kinds of music, like Folklore, Pop and later also Jazz to the masses. Since the late 20th Century Jazz managed to achieve some recognition from the Classical music elite, but is hardly commonly accepted on equal terms. Polish pianist / composer / arranger Krzysztof HerdzinFind albums by this artist belongs to that particular group, which is probably the reason why he tries to bridge his Jazz activities with Classical music, as demonstrated on this album, which presents two Jazz-Classical Fusion pieces composed by him. The first piece is a three parts fantasy based on the themes used in the 4th String Quartet by Polish 20th Century violinist / composer Grazyna BacewiczFind albums by this artist, who was an exceptionally gifted composer concentrating on music involving the violin, but wrote also full orchestral pieces. The fantasy is performed by a Jazz quartet, which includes Herdzin´s regular rhythm section: bassist Robert KubiszynFind albums by this artist and drummer Cezary KonradFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Michal KulentyFind albums by this artist. The Jazz quartet is accompanied by the Royal String QuartetFind albums by this artist. The second piece is an eight part cycle of miniatures performed in a duet setting with saxophonist Pawel GusnarFind albums by this artist. The problem with most such attempts is to combine Classical music with Jazz is usually twofold: to integrate the two into an organic amalgam and to maintain a balance between the conflicting nature of the two. Often those attempts fail on both counts or at least at one of them, becoming either Jazz & Strings or Classical music played by the saxophone. In this case is seems that Herdzin´s Jazz affiliation takes over, leaving the Classical component slightly in the background. Although the integration between the Jazz and string quartets is very smooth, the resulting music demonstrates a Jazzy "swing", which Classical music usually lacks. Whatever the music misses in adventurousness and novelty is well compensated by great melodies and slick arrangements. Nevertheless this is overall a very satisfactory effort, which surely deserves a wider audience than it initially achieved. Personally I prefer the intimate duets, which work better for me, but the whole record should prove interesting to most true music lovers. The performances are, as usual with Herdzin´s albums, spotless and inspired. All the musicians involved are highly talented and professional. Herdzin, as usual, manages to present one more facet of his bottomless box of tricks, which never ceases to amaze.

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

MICHAL KULENTY ~ DUSZA W USZACH POLSKIE RADIO 1835 (Barcode: 5907812248352) ~ POLAND ~ Smooth Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2016 This is an album by veteran Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Michal KulentyFind albums by this artist, recorded in a classic quartet setting with pianist Krzysztof HerdzinFind albums by this artist, bassist Robert KubiszynFind albums by this artist and drummer Cezary KonradFind albums by this artist and accompanied by the Polish Radio OrchestraFind albums by this artist conducted by Herdzin. The album presents twelve original compositions, all by Kulenty and all arranged by Herdzin. The album was recorded four years prior to its release. The music is all very melodic and well structured, only marginally belonging to the Jazz idiom, being much closer to Popular and light Classical music, especially in view of Herdzin´s elaborate, but sugary arrangements. Although Kulenty improvisations are at the centre of the listeners attention, they are somewhat watered down by the orchestral accompaniment with an overall Smooth Jazz ambience. Kulenty´s wonderful tone and phrasing, which awarded him the nickname of "saxophone poet" due to his superb feeling and lyricism, are indeed pure delight. The album offers many wonderfully lyrical moments, appropriate especially for the less strictly Jazz oriented audiences, and is highly professionally executed and recorded, which overall produces a very pleasant listening experience. Tragically the release of this album almost coincided with Kulenty´s premature death in January 2017, which was a great loss to the local Jazz scene.

Updated: 31/03/2017Posted: 31/03/2017

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

KWARTET PALUCKI ~ NA SKRZYZOWANIU RZEK FOR TUNE 0073 (Barcode: 5902768701777) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is a live recording by the Polish ensemble Kwartet PaluckiFind albums by this artist, a quartet dedicated to playing music that originates in the Paluki region, combined with Jazz improvisations. It comprises of zither and harmonica player Grzegorz TomaszewskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist / flautist Michal KulentyFind albums by this artist, vibraphonist Karol SzymanowskiFind albums by this artist and bassist Krzysztof SamelaFind albums by this artist. They are joined by four guest musicians: vocalist Zbigniew ZaranekFind albums by this artist, knee fiddle player Maria PomianowskaFind albums by this artist, accordionist Lukasz MirekFind albums by this artist and percussionist Julia RauhutFind albums by this artist. Together they perform six traditional tunes / songs arranged in a Jazz-World Fusion fashion. The music is a well rounded, melodic, straightforward mainstream Jazz combined (gently) with the folkloristic themes. Everything is well performed and there are plenty of nice solos by the participants. The vocal parts are also quite excellent. Generally this is a very pleasant listen and although the song´s lyrics are in Polish, the album should be accessible to most Jazz-World Fusion fans. On the other hand this album is not really very ambitious or innovating, and therefore does not belong to the list of groundbreaking Polish Jazz albums amalgamating Polish Folklore, which have been recorded on the local scene since the 1960s and are still being created today, some of which were released by For TuneFind albums on this label Records. Overall this album is worth checking out for people who appreciate the diversity of the Polish Jazz scene.

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