Record Reviews

KRZYSZTOF HERDZIN ~ JAZZ Z MACV WARSZAWSKA OPERA KAMERALNA 001 (Barcode: 5904316586829) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is an album by Polish pianist / composer / arranger / conductor Krzysztof HerdzinFind albums by this artist, recorded with the Musicae Antiquae Collegium VarsovienseFind albums by this artist (MACVFind albums by this artist), an early music orchestra playing original period instruments. The album presents two works: Wolfgang Amadeus MozartFind albums by this artist’s Piano Concerto No. 17 and Herdzin’s piece called “Chopiniana con delizia”, based of Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist’s themes. Both works are in three parts. For his entire career Herdzin floats between Classical Music and Jazz, trying to excel in both, a process which often borders on musical schizophrenia and works perfectly (well almost) only in extremely rare cases. There is no doubt about Herdzin’s talents and abilities, and he did manage to produce a fine body of recorded legacy over the time, but somehow I have always found his efforts a tad problematic, unfocused and in extreme cases pointless. Sadly, this album belongs to that last category. On the Mozart concerto Herdzin fiddles a little with the original composition, but that’s about it. There are many classical pianists in Poland who can play this concerto much more elegantly, passionately and imaginatively, and Herdzin’s minimal “improvisations” are somehow out of place. The original piece, based on Chopin’s themes, immediately brings on the problem of abusing Chopin’s Genius ad absurdum within the “Jazz” idiom, which somehow never seems to stop. It is somewhat closer to the cross-genre concept, but only slightly, and contributes absolutely nothing to both genres, trivializing them on the way and crossing into the kitsch region. Overall, this is a sad example of an attempted cross-genre Classical-Jazz Fusion, that went astray. Herdzin is perhaps a classic case of “to talented for his own good” musician, which is a great pity. But of course he will surprise us all with his display of pure Genius in the future (hopefully).

Updated: 31/12/2023Posted: 19/02/2023

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

MARCIN MASECKI ~ JAZZ Z MACV WARSZAWSKA OPERA KAMERALNA 003 (Barcode: 5904316586850) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 This is an album by Polish pianist / composer / bandleader Marcin MaseckiFind albums by this artist, recorded with the Musicae Antiquae Collegium VarsovienseFind albums by this artist (MACVFind albums by this artist), an early music orchestra playing original period instruments. The album presents three harpsichord / piano concertos, one each by Johann Sebastian BachFind albums by this artist, Carl Philipp Emanuel BachFind albums by this artist and Wolfgang Amadeus MozartFind albums by this artist. All works are in three parts and all are performed by Masecki on piano. Masecki received Classical Music education and was recognized early on as an exceptionally gifted pianist. Later on he added Jazz to his milieu and since many years is active in both genres. In Classical Music he is known for his very unique interpretations of Classical pieces, in which he shows incredible originality and innovative approach. In Jazz he seems to be truly ubiquitous, playing everything between Ragtime and Avant-Garde, always brilliantly and with matchless virtuosity. He also presents a highly idiosyncratic stage persona, which offers a fascinating live experience. This album is somewhat puzzling, since Masecki performs the three concerti with remarkable restraint and almost complete reproduction of the original scores. Only a patient and very attentive listening will lead to the discovery of his delicate personal “artifices” utilized herein, all very clever and elegant, as expected, but somewhat too modest to call this entire enterprise as an “interpretation” of the original works. Overall, this is a very nice Classical Music album, which offers excellent performances of well-known keyboard concerti with a bit of “hide & seek” detective aspect, trying to find the subtle personal alterations utilized by Masecki. Calling this album Jazz is a wide stretch, but anything played by Masecki is definitely worth listening to. Personally I’d prefer to hear more of his “wild side”.

Updated: 31/12/2023Posted: 22/02/2023

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend