Record Reviews

IREK WOJTCZAK ~ ROM TOM DADA FSR 2021/17 (Barcode: 5904441617016) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is an album by veteran Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Irek WojtczakFind albums by this artist recorded with a quartet, which also includes trumpeter Tomasz DabrowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Max MuchaFind albums by this artist and drummer Jan MlynarskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, all of which are Polish Folk tunes from the Leczyca region, collected by the Polish ethnographer Oskar KolbergFind albums by this artist, arranged by Wojtczak. Wojtczak continues here his fascination with Polish Folk music, transforming it into contemporary Jazz / Avant-Garde setting, creating a truly fascinating amalgam, as already documented on his earlier recordings: “Folk FiveFind albums with this title” and “Play It AgainFind albums with this title”. This new quartet setting is much more focused and moves brilliantly between the original tunes and the improvisations. The saxophone and trumpet create beautiful duet dynamics and the rhythm section, with its dense / quirky intensity, drives the music strongly atop the odd rhythms and tempi changes. All the personal performances are absolutely top notch and Mlynarski surprises with his highly unusual drumming, feeling obviously at ease alongside these top Jazz instrumentalists, despite the fact that he usually operates in completely different musical environments. It is great to discover his alter ego here. Overall, this is an excellent album, which continues a highly interesting path of cross-genre creativity, as well as obvious love of Polish musical tradition, which obviously deserves to be cherished and remembered. Although clicking at only slightly over half hour in duration, this music is so intense and fulfilling that the timing has little significance. Brilliantly done, as always!

Updated: 31/01/2022Posted: 31/01/2022

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