Record Reviews

MICHAL BARANSKI ~ NO RETURN NO KARMA (POLISH JAZZ VOL.90) WARNER MUSIC POLAND 5021732661166 (Barcode: 5021732661166) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2025 Released: 2025 This is the 2nd album as a leader by Polish Jazz bassist / composer Michal BaranskiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with Polish pianist Michal TokajFind albums by this artist, and drummer Lukasz ZytaFind albums by this artist and Israeli guitarist Shachar ElnatanFind albums by this artist. Five additional Polish musicians guest on selected tracks: trumpeter Tomasz DabrowskiFind albums by this artist, tabla player Bodek JankeFind albums by this artist (resident in Germany) and three vocalists – Aga ZaryanFind albums by this artist, Kuba BadachFind albums by this artist and Michal RudasFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven tracks, all of which are original compositions by Baranski. This is also the 2nd album by Baranski released as part of the prestigious “Polish Jazz” series, following his sensational debut “Masovian MantraFind albums with this title”, released three years earlier. The album is everything one might hope to hear from Baranski, a wonderful amalgam of Jazz and World Music influences, which travel far and wide between Eastern Europe, Middle East, India and many other exotic locations, all perfectly balanced and incorporated within beautiful melodic themes. The masterful team of musicians enables Baranski to paint a rich tapestry of sounds and ambiences, producing a fascinating vistas and moving moments. Elnatan is an ideal partner to introduce the Middle Eastern accents as well as ornament the music with his elegant guitar soloing and oud parts, Dabrowski, one of Polish Jazz top trumpeters, adds the strong Jazz emotions. Tokaj, as usual, is the melodic dreamer and master of the atmospheres. Zyta and Janke supply the rich rhythmic textures, which pulsate vividly. The vocalists, all quite different from each other, add spark and coloring and finally the leader keeps everything in check with his brilliant bass pulsations. A true dream-team in every sense! It seems that with every listening to this album, one is exposed to some new elements, and the dense collection of the various elements needs attentive and repeated listening. Like all great Art, this music changes with the mood of the listener, and therefore stays fascinating over time, always ready with new emotional surprises. The album offers excellent sound quality, but I am not sure that the fact it was released in the SACD format, which has been de facto dead before it was born, has anything to do with it. It is often difficult to understand the decision making process of record companies, except for making more money? Overall, this is a brilliant album in every respect, which strengthens the status of Baranski as one of the leaders of the Polish Jazz scene, which he of course well deserves. The music and the performances are nothing short of sensational, and the universal power of this music should resonate with music lovers the world over, regardless of their genre preferences. An absolute Masterpiece! Side Note The iconic "Polish Jazz" series of recordings, originally released between 1965 and 1989 by the Polish state owned record company Polskie NagraniaFind albums on this label, which used the MuzaFind albums on this label label as its moniker, consists of seventy six LP albums. It presents the history of Polish Jazz recordings during that period, which includes some of the most important Polish / European modern Jazz milestones and reflects the extraordinary development of Jazz music behind the Iron Curtain. It is one of the most important historic documents of Polish Music and of course Polish Culture in general. The series had an eminent logo designed by Roslaw Szaybo and the albums were numbered sequentially from Vol.1 to Vol.76 accordingly. The album's artwork was wonderfully stylish and modernist, featuring the brilliant photographs and characteristic design by the legendary Polish Artist Marek Karewicz. Stylistically the series presented all Jazz genres, from Traditional Jazz to Avant-Garde / Free Jazz, which was extraordinarily liberal considering the cultural censorship imposed by the Socialist Regime. It suffered from some inconsistency, as far as the musical quality and aesthetics were concerned, as well as the internal "politics" of the Polish Jazz scene at the time, but in retrospect it achieved a spectacular overall result, unparalleled as far as consistently documenting a national Jazz scene is concerned. After the Polskie Nagrania catalogue was bought by Warner Music PolandFind albums on this label, the new owner started a reissue process of the Polish Jazz series, carefully remastered, repackaged and including extensive liner notes, which keeps the artwork as close to the original design as possible. So far six four volumes of the original series were reissued. In 2016 Warner Music Poland decided to continue the original series by releasing new contemporary Polish Jazz recordings under the same format and even to continue the sequential numbering starting with Vol.77 – a decision I personally consider almost sacrilegious. Some things are simply untouchable, and the "Polish Jazz" series is surely one of those things. If Warner Music Poland wants to produce Jazz albums, which is always more than welcome, they could have started a new series, under a new title, rather than exploiting the reputation of the historic series. As a result, some artist whose albums are released as part of the new series might be led to expect instant gratification, fame and stardom, just for being an artificial part of a prestigious past, which of course is as bogus as it is sad.

Updated: 05/12/2025Posted: 05/12/2025

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