Record Reviews

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.06 POLSKIE RADIO 1625 (Barcode: 5907812246259) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1962 Released: 2013 This is the sixth installment in the new series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venue, the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The material collected here presents a second batch of recordings made during the 5th Jazz Jamboree Festival, which took place between October 27 and 29, 1962 in Warsaw. The artists include mostly Polish Jazz ensembles: Andrzej KurylewiczFind albums by this artist quintet (with Kurylewicz playing trumpet rather than piano), legendary singer Wanda WarskaFind albums by this artist with pianist Wojciech KarolakFind albums by this artist trio, Jan TomaszewskiFind albums by this artist Big Band, Jerzy MatuszkiewiczFind albums by this artist Swingtet and New Orleans StompersFind albums by this artist. In addition the album also includes two tracks by the Hungarian pianist Atilla GarayFind albums by this artist and his trio and one track by Soviet pianist Vadim SakunFind albums by this artist and his sextet, which includes legendary Soviet Jazz players like guitarist Nikolaj GrominFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Aleksiej KozlovFind albums by this artist. In many respects this is a review of Eastern European Jazz at the time. The music includes original compositions (Kurylewicz, Garay and Gromin) and Jazz standards, from Dixieland to Bebop, which were the model for most modern European Jazz musicians at the time, leading to the development of a new style, which would crystallize over the next few years. The performances are all excellent and their invaluable historical significance is beyond reproach. Beautifully restored sound quality and a warm ambience of the live analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its meaning to the development of Polish Jazz in particular and Polish Culture in general. Nevertheless this is an essential piece of history which every Polish / Eastern European Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.09 POLSKIE RADIO 1628 (Barcode: 5907812246280) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1957 - 1962 Released: 2013 This is the ninth installment in the new series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The material collected here presents recordings made between 1957 and 1962, all of which represent Traditional Jazz (Ragtime, Dixieland, New Orleans and Swing genres called collectively Trad Jazz for short). The artists include visiting musicians like the American clarinetist Albert NicholasFind albums by this artist and the German clarinetist Emil MangelsdorffFind albums by this artist, both of which were guests of the second Jazz Jamboree Festival in 1957. Other performers are Polish and include pianist Zygmunt WicharyFind albums by this artist and his orchestra, clarinetist Janusz ZabieglinskiFind albums by this artist and his quintet, saxophonist Jerzy MatuskiewiczFind albums by this artist and his octet, trombonist Jan TomaszewskiFind albums by this artist and his Big Band and the New Orleans StompersFind albums by this artist. The various ensembles perform mostly Trad standards, with just a couple of tunes being originals among the total nineteen tracks present. The performances are all very good and show that the Polish scene also enjoyed the Trad revival, which was very popular in Western Europe at the time. The legendary division between the traditionalists and the modernists on the Polish scene was not as radical as beyond the Iron Curtain, with musicians often playing both Jazz camps simultaneously (in different ensembles of course). Overall this music is very good and the invaluable historical significance of these recordings is beyond reproach. Beautifully restored sound quality is not perfect, but considering the problematic and often faulty source material, it is a remarkable job and a warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Polish Jazz. Nevertheless this is an essential piece of history which every European Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

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WARSAW STOMPERS ~ WARSAW STOMPERS (POLISH JAZZ VOL.01) MUZA 1001 (Barcode: 5907783420016) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1959 - 1964 Released: 2008 This album presents a series of recordings made by the polish traditional Jazz ensemble Warsaw StompersFind albums by this artist (earlier called New Orleans StompersFind albums by this artist), which was one of the first and certainly the best of its kind. Led by the excellent trumpeter Henryk MajewskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Mieczyslaw WadeckiFind albums by this artist the ensemble changed the membership over the years and included in its ranks some of the best future Polish Jazz musicians like saxophonist Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist and keyboardist Wlodek GulgowskiFind albums by this artist. The traditionalists vs. modernist Jazz War raged in Poland in the 1950s similarly to what happened all over Europe at the time with the New Orleans revival emerging as a counterforce of the new Bebop and beyond. However, beyond the heated discussions running into the wee hours of the night between the opponents, Jazz as music coexisted peacefully, resulting in outstanding results in both fields. The Warsaw Stompers played an all original programme, which is quite remarkable for the time, again emphasizing the deep involvement of the Polish scene with the Jazz tradition, which started even before the WWII. The level of the compositions as well as the performance is truly stellar and anybody who loves traditional Jazz should be able to enjoy this music to the fullest. Highly recommended! Side Note: Although some Polish Jazz albums were recorded and released in Poland before this album, it marks the very beginning of the legendary Polish Jazz series, which over the years documented the development of the Polish scene and resulted in total 76 releases, which in retrospect include some of the best European Jazz recorded beyond the Iron Curtain. The Polish Jazz LPs and CDs are highly collectable and many fans all over the world try to complete the collection, which is not an easy task these days. The CD reissues (called Polish Jazz Deluxe) expanded the original series with some 20 additional titles, which somehow missed the original series at the time but belong to be a part of it in retrospect.

Updated: 08/07/2020Posted:

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