Record Reviews

MAZZOLL / JANICKI / JANICKI ~ MINIMALOVER NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 This is the debut album by the Polish Avant-Garde trio, which consists of clarinetist Jerzy MazzollFind albums by this artist, bassist Slawek JanickiFind albums by this artist and drummer Qba JanickiFind albums by this artist. The album consists of a CD, which includes six improvised pieces recorded in a studio, based on Mazzoll´s ideas, and a DVD which documents a live concert filmed immediately following the studio recording. The music and video was recorded at the legendary "Mozg" center in Bydgoszcz, which includes a recording studio and a club, one of Poland´s most interesting musical epicenters. Mazzoll, one of the pioneers of Polish contemporary Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene and one of the Godfathers of the Yass movement, remains to be a central figure of that scene and his prolific activity is well documented. Slawek Janicki was a member of Mazzoll´s Arhythmic PerfectionFind albums by this artist for many years and they are now joined by Slawek´s son Qba. Mazzoll was also an early member of the legendary ensemble MiloscFind albums by this artist. Although obviously highly spirited and full of great musicianship, the music presented on this album failed to engage me, which is a prerequisite to be able to truly enjoy it. To make sure this is not just a whim of the moment I listened to the music on different occasions and still was left cold. Even the additional visual layer present on the DVD failed to change the situation. Perhaps this music was an ideal vehicle as a means of communication between the players, but it failed to break the intimate inner circle. I admit a personal failure here, not blaming the musicians. The album itself is a beautiful document of the Mozg center and the activities that are carried out there. Considering the fact that this kind of underground culture, which is supported by local Government and carries on a tradition for several decades, this is a wondrous and highly unusual phenomenon.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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MILOSC ~ MILOSC AGORA 9788326812972 (Barcode: 9788326812972) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2008 - 2012 Released: 2012 This is the DVD version of the film "Milosc" by Polish director Filip DzierzawskiFind albums by this artist, which is a documentary about the Polish Jazz ensemble MiloscFind albums by this artist, which was the most influential group on the Polish Jazz scene in the 1990, revolutionizing the approach to Jazz in the country, establishing the Yass sub-genre and most importantly waking up the local scene from the mainstream lethargy, which was overwhelmingly dominating the scene for almost two decades that preceded the 1990s. Milosc was formally founded in April 1988, when the group which included bassist Tymon TymanskiFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist changed its name to Milosc. Soon after the group was joined by clarinetist Jerzy MazzollFind albums by this artist, who left after a brief stay and then the drummer Jacek OlterFind albums by this artist and pianist Leszek MozdzerFind albums by this artist joined the group creating the core quartet of Tymanski / Trzaska / Olter / Mozdzer, which recorded the group´s debut album. A year later the quartet expanded into the full stable lineup when saxophonist Maciej SikalaFind albums by this artist joined them to create the quintet version of Milosc. After several fruitful years and a series of brilliant albums, two with legendary American trumpeter Lester BowieFind albums by this artist, the group started to disintegrate, when Mozdzer left in 1998 to pursue a solo career, Olter died tragically after a long mental illness and Trzaska left the group in 2001. A year later the group played its last gig and formally announced the end of its activity in July 2002, after fourteen years of existence. The documentary, which was filmed during a four years period (2008-2012) pays tribute to the group´s history and to the individual personalities, focusing on the meeting of the Milosc members organized in order to prepare for a concert by the legendary original lineup, less Olter of course who was replaced by drummer Kuba StaruszkiewiczFind albums by this artist. The documentary moves between the scenes captured during these rehearsals, historic footage and interviews with individual members, speaking their minds out. The director wisely avoids any external commentary, simply presenting the reality portrayed by the camera, leaving the spectator free to reach his own conclusions. Although not a typical documentary by any standard, the film presents a cohesive and intelligent document, which highlights several profound observations about people, music and culture. Milosc was all about freedom. Considering the fact that the group was established at the crucial point of modern Polish political history, when the oppressive Socialistic Regime was about to collapse and Poland was finally to achieve its new political Freedom, Milosc expressed the same feeling of upheaval, but on an artistic plane. Polish Jazz, which exploded with incredible vitality and freedom of expression in the 1960s, slowly ran out of steam as a result of economic and social hardships and by the late 1970s and 1980s it was almost completely devoid of any truly spirited, adventurous, inspired activity and completely immersed into ambitionless mainstream. The young generation of Polish Jazz musicians and fans was about to rebel against this stagnant state of affairs and Milosc was one of the first and most successful demonstrations of this rebellion. Although initially associated with Free Jazz, Milosc never actually played Free Jazz, surely not close to its American origins established by Albert AylerFind albums by this artist, Eric DolphyFind albums by this artist and John ColtraneFind albums by this artist. The group was an amalgam of many musical influences and created a unique and new approach and stylistic expression, which eventually was christened Yass. And Yass was more clear about what it didn´t want to be rather than about what it wanted to be, a rebellion against "pretty" melodic, carefully planned, well defined by harmonic conventions music. No more of that old-fashioned bullshit! Yass was "dirty", imperfect, spontaneous, unconventional and constantly changing, but it did not exclude the element of melody and standard meters. Free? Yes by all means, but definitely not Free Jazz. From the very start Milosc was an impossible combination of conflicting strong personalities and diametrically different musical approaches. Why it managed to exists for such a long time is a mystery and a miracle. But musical miracles do happen and when they do, the listeners are the ones to collect the crops. The musicians, initially euphoric, start to suffer at some point and then simply can´t take it any more. The key conflict inside Milosc was always the clash between Trzaska and Mozdzer: a rebel and visionary and a classically trained hipster. This fundamental conflict was what brought Milosc to its knees, but it wasn´t of course the only factor. Poland and its cultural environment went through a dramatic change following the fall of the Socialist Regime, and a new reality emerged; politically, socially and of course culturally. This new reality opened up new possibilities and closed the lid on many others, which existed earlier. Such dramatic environmental changes have a profound impact on people, and musicians are people after all. The 2008 meeting between the Milosc members, which is the focal theme of this film, shows how profound these changes are, so profound that although they are able to play together, they are unable to communicate as human beings. Separated by an unbreachable chasm Trzaska and Mozdzer are further apart that ever, the former representing the Polish Avant-Garde scene still being its non-formal leader in every sense and the latter representing the absolutely opposite ad-nauseam commercialism; a clash of Titans, which simply has no peaceful solutions. So is this a film about failure? About ideas and values that get outdated? Personally I don´t think so. Yes, sometimes not everything works as planned, but that does not necessarily mean a failure and in some rare occasions failures can be magnificent. I still very much believe that the same values that stood behind Milosc: freedom, pioneering search for artistic truth, personal integrity and the courage to do your own thing, are as much valid today as they have always been. Opportunism and conformism have always been and still are the root of evil. This film is a wonderful piece of musical history, which sheds some light on a much neglected period in the history of Polish Culture. Although perhaps unintended, it also spotlights some profound artistic and ethic dilemmas, leaving the resolutions to the spectators. An absolute must to all Polish Jazz connoisseurs, wherever they might by!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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MACIEJ SIKALA ~ LIVE IN CLUB ZAK SOLITON 762 (Barcode: 5901571097626) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is a live recording by veteran Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Maciej SikalaFind albums by this artist, captured in a septet setting with trumpeter Robert MajewskiFind albums by this artist, trombonist Grzegorz NagorskiFind albums by this artist, bass clarinetist Tomasz KlepczynskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Piotr WylezolFind albums by this artist, bassist Andrzej SwiesFind albums by this artist and drummer Sebastian FrankiewiczFind albums by this artist – all of which belong to the commonly accepted top league of the local jazz scene. The album presents six original compositions, all assumed to be by Sikala, as the album´s artwork fails to confirm this. The sound quality is excellent despite the fact that this is a club live recording. The music is all completely mainstream oriented, following the patters set by Bebop and Hard Bop some five or more decades ago. That said, the original compositions are very strong and the performances are all excellent, which means that this music is a real pleasurable listening experience for mainstream Jazz connoisseurs, who after all are the majority of the Jazz crowd. Also the Polish Jazz accents can be heard throughout this music very distinctly, not influential enough to change the character of the music, but appealing enough to make it much more interesting than parallel music performed across the pond. Although Sikala started his Jazz career within the adventurous Yass idiom as a member of MiloscFind albums by this artist and other experimenting ensembles, in time he "returned" to the American influenced mainstream, retaining his wonderful fluency and improvisational power. All the projects he was involved with over the years and numerous recordings he made always represented a high quality of music and musicianship. Overall although the music on this album is quite predictable, it is full of wonderful individual statements by the musicians involved in this project and should keep mainstream Jazz fans vey happy. The original compositions are coherent and well woven and the septet playing is nothing short of perfection in this specific musical scenery.

Updated: 12/06/2018Posted: 12/06/2018

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TRZASKA / MAZUR / PANDI ~ TAR & FEATHERS GUSSTAFF 1402 (Barcode: 5050580617261) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2014 This is a live recording of an exciting meeting between two Polish Improvised Music players: saxophonist Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist and bassist Rafal MazurFind albums by this artist with Hungarian drummer Balazs PandiFind albums by this artist associated with European Avant-Garde / alternative / improvised Rock. The concert was captured at the A38 Club in Budapest, which is in fact a ship anchored to a pier on the Danube River. The album includes six original improvised pieces, all credited to the three performers. In many respects the music captured here is more "conventional" that most of other projects, which Trzaska is usually associated with. Probably the solid rhythmic drumming by Pandi and fairly melodic bass lines by Mazur influenced Trzaska´s performance, moderating his untamed instincts. As a result the overall flow of the mostly up-tempo material is quite accessible to open-minded Jazz listeners, who usually don´t plunge into Improvised Music. As usual in such situations, the level of cooperation between the musicians is what makes the resulting music cohesive and focused. Trzaska is usually directed by a fine taste when choosing his partners and this encounter is no different. The dynamic and powerful rhythm section certainly pushes his playing into areas, which go back to his days with the legendary ensemble MiloscFind albums by this artist. Another aspect of this recording is the contact between the burgeoning Improvised Music scene in Poland and the relatively smaller but very interesting scene developing lately in Hungary, which deserves to be discovered. Hopefully this album could serve as a trigger to more such collaborations.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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MIKOLAJ TRZASKA ~ CZESC, CZESC, CZESC… GOWI 37 (Barcode: 786497165322) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1995 Released: 1996 This is the debut album by legendary Polish saxophonist / clarinetist / composer / bandleader Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist, recorded while Trzaska was still a member of the no less legendary Yass ensemble MiloscFind albums by this artist, which revolutionized the Polish Jazz scene in the 1990s. The album was recorded in a quartet setting with keyboardist Jowita CieslikiewiczFind albums by this artist (from the legendary all female ensemble Oczi CziorneFind albums by this artist) and two Milosc related musicians: bassist Tomasz HesseFind albums by this artist and drummer Jacek OlterFind albums by this artist. Didgeridoo player Szymon RoginskiFind albums by this artist appears as a guest musician. The album presents nine tracks, seven of which are original compositions by Trzaska, one is a traditional song and one was co-composed by Hesse and Tomasz GwincinskiFind albums by this artist (a legendary representative of the Bydgoszcz music scene and considered as one of the creators of the Yass idiom). From a twenty years long retrospect this album sounds today even more poignant than when I heard it for the first time at the time it was originally released. After closely following the musical path and development of Trzaska during that period, it becomes clearly evident that this album was not only revolutionary, but even more importantly so it was completely prophetic as far as Trzaska´s future was about to reveal itself. It includes all the elements in his music, which were about to burst out later on: a superb sense of melody, always full of tension and suspense, which would become Trzaska´s trademark in his remarkable career as a creator of some of Poland´s most important soundtracks to no less important movies. It also includes the element of cyclic, almost trans-like, hypnotic repetition, which was to characterize Trzaska´s music in the ensembles he led during those twenty years. And last but not least it also features his obvious search of his musical roots, which was about to blossom when Trzaska discovered Jewish music. Musically this album lost absolutely nothing of its charm and strength over time and as already mentioned above is an absolutely marvelous statement, which not only depicts the essence of the Yass era, with its nonchalance, daring and open-mindedness on one hand and the total commitment to doing your own thing on the other, but also captures in an embryonic stage one of Poland´s most creative and significant musical minds. Sadly this album never really achieved the iconic status it truly deserves, which complies with the ancient saying: "No Prophet is welcome in his hometown", which tragically is more often true than not. Since it seems to be still available, I can´t think of a Polish Jazz album that deserves to be in every serious Polish Jazz collection than this one, not only for its historic significance but simply because it contains so much great music. Don´t even think twice!

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MIKOLAJ TRZASKA ~ DOM ZLY (SOUNDTRACK) KILOGRAM 018 (Barcode: 5907577284169) ~ POLAND ~ Soundtracks Recorded: 2009 Released: 2010 Polish musician / composer Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist is an iconic figure on the local scene and one of the most influential trend setters in the last two decades. Starting with the pioneering ensemble MiloscFind albums by this artist, which defined the concept / genre called Yass, shaking the local scene profoundly and making many musician to re-examine their paths and return to experimentation and exploration, which was always associated with the Jazz idiom. In time Trzaska became one of the leaders of the Polish musical Avant-Garde / Free Jazz / Improvised Music movement and by mid-2000s he shifted his attention again discovering the Jewish musical tradition and incorporating it in his milieu. The music included on this album was created as a soundtrack of the sinister thriller directed by Wojciech SmarzowskiFind albums by this artist and called "Dom Zly" or "The Dark House" in English. Therefore listening to the music separated from its cinematic reference is a priori problematic or at least should be judged by completely different set of parameters. The album includes ten tracks most of which are sub-divided into several sub-motifs, which together create a collage of short themes following each other rapidly. The music was created by a quintet with Trzaska playing saxophones, clarinets and keyboards, with cellist Clementine GasserFind albums by this artist, pianist Tomasz SzwelnikFind albums by this artist, bassist Clayton ThomasFind albums by this artist and drummer Michael ZerangFind albums by this artist. Not all the players participate on all the tracks and Trzaska is the primary performer as well as the composer of all the pieces. Stylistically the album covers a wide range of diverse sub-genres, like Musique concrète, Ambient, Free Jazz, Experimental, Industrial and other Avant-Garde soundscapes. There is very little melodic content per se or conventional soloing or playing for that matter. Like with abstract painting, where the Artists uses patches of shapes and colors combining them on a canvas and playing with their aesthetic relationships on a two-dimensional plane, Trzaska plays with sounds and tones and time, to create a sonic "picture" in the listener´s brain, which either works of doesn´t, depending on the listener, his momentarily moods and reflections. It works for me, but it might not work for others. This music is obviously not for everybody, not even for most people who listen to music on a regular basis. Many listeners might enjoy this as part of a cinematic experience, heard in the background, but might find this extremely difficult on its own. This does not mean, of course, that Trzaska is not entitled to experiment and do his own thing – au contraire he should be praised for doing just that. A healthy Culture has always space for being different and the ability to embrace those who are different. Life would be simply unbearable if everybody would just play the same music.

Updated: 19/02/2020Posted:

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