Record Reviews
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  | BIG CITY BLUES / HOWLIN` WOLF ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.19
POLSKIE RADIO 1871 (Barcode: 5907812248710) ~ USA ~ Blues
Recorded: 1964 Released: 2015
This is the nineteenth 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.
This album is the first to feature Blues music rather than Jazz, but considering the proximity of these two genres and their historic and stylistic links this seems to be perfectly acceptable. It presents a live recording of a concert, which was a part of the seventh edition of the Jazz Jamboree Festival, which took place in 1964. The band, called Big City BluesFind albums by this artist (the City being of course Chicago, the cradle of electric Blues), which included legendary Blues figures such as bassist / vocalist Willie DixonFind albums by this artist, guitarist Hubert SumlinFind albums by this artist, pianist / vocalist Sunnyland SlimFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Albert LuandrewFind albums by this artist) and drummer James CliftonFind albums by this artist is joined by vocalist / guitarist / harmonica player Howlin` WolfFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Chester Arthur BarnettFind albums by this artist). Together the group represented some of the finest American electric Blues of the mid-1960s, which influenced the renaissance of the Blues movement, first in UK and later all over Europe. Dixon and Wolf were of course responsible for dozens of Blues standards, which are still a part of the repertoire used by Blues musicians today, fifty years later.
The album presents thirteen tracks (plus a spoken intro), many of which are true Blues Classics, well known by countless recordings by Blues and Rock artists later on. Dixon, Wolf and Slim take turns in the vocal department and Sumlin delivers some superb guitar solos, which later will be copied by hordes of young guitarist the world over. Overall the performance is highly spirited and presents a wonderful authentic glimpse at the peak of the original electric Blues. Needless to say, many young Polish Blues musicians / enthusiasts have been deeply influenced by this concert, which shaped their future careers.
The album suffers from some sonic quality problems, which obviously could not have been solved by the restoration process, but considering the historic importance of the music, all is forgiven. 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 Blues in Poland. Nevertheless this is an essential piece of Blues history which every Blues fan will surely consider an absolute must.
| | | CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | OWL ~ IMPROCODE
FSR 2020/21 (Barcode: 5905279364790) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music
Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020
This is the second album by Polish Jazz trio The OwlFind albums by this artist, comprising of violinist / composer Marcin HalatFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof GradziukFind albums by this artist. On this album they expanded the lineup to a quartet with the addition of German pianist Pablo HeldFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, three of which were composed by Halat and six are group improvisations, credited to all four participants.
The music on this album is split between two almost separate environments, the almost "classic" Jazz on the composed pieces and the completely free spirited improvised pieces, which fit together rather well and provide a much more structured listening ambience than most strictly Improvised Music recordings.
The addition of Held had a major impact on the overall sound and musical approach of the trio in comparison to their debut album recorded almost three years earlier, all for the good of the music. On the three composed pieces Held is able to weave a wonderful melodic layer and on the freely improvised pieces his contributions become a wonderfully expressive and balancing element, full of self confidence and clear musical vision.
Halat made a significant progress since his early days in the Free Jazz realm (i.e. on the debut album) and managed to embrace the freedom of improvisation without clinging to his Classical background as before, which takes this album another step further towards the bona fide Improvised Music idiom. Of course the rhythm section is feeling like a pair of whales in the ocean, which is hardly surprising considering their long-lasting experience in the field.
Overall this is a most welcome sophomore outing by the trio and a superb collaboration with the guest pianist, combining the best of what these four wonderful musicians have to offer. Considering the exquisite sound quality of this complex music, which enables every detailed nuance to be perfectly audible, this album is a true feast for the ears and surely one of the best Improvised Music albums released in 2020.
One can only hope we won´t have to wait for another three years to hear again from The Owl and hopefully to meeting with Held will lead to further future recordings – a trio by Held and the GG rhythm section sounds salivating. Well done Gentlemen!
| | Updated: 30/12/2020Posted: 30/12/2020 | CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend |
  | OWL ~ ON THE WAY
FSR 2017/07 (Barcode: 5905279364219) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion
Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017
This is the debut album by the Polish trio called The OwlFind albums by this artist, which comprises of violinist / composer Marcin HalatFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof GradziukFind albums by this artist (the last two well known as the rhythm section of the famous RGGFind albums by this artist trio). The double CD album presents fourteen original compositions, nine of which were composed by Halat and five were co-composed by all three members of the trio.
On the Polish Jazz violin scene, which is pretty crowded these days, Halat arrives as a newcomer, although he has years of experience of playing Classical Music. His sound is quite unusual and unconventional in many respects, surely not typically Jazzy, with obvious Classical phrasing, fingering, and voicing. But when placed opposite one of the mightiest Polish Jazz rhythm sections Halat is pulled into the Jazz idiom, seemingly almost against his will. His improvisation is also atypical and stays relatively close to the core themes, which after a while gets a bit too uniform.
The musical themes are generally simple, folkloristic little ditties, not really fully developed melodies, which are fine as starting points for the mostly improvised pieces, but hardly able to stand on their own. Nevertheless the music flows smoothly and is able to sound coherent mostly thanks to the incredible swinging feel of the rhythm section. Time after time the listener is faced with the dilemma if he is listening to a Jazz recording or a contemporary Classical piece, all relative to the measure of involvement of the rhythm section.
There is a lot of freedom and space in this music, which characterizes both modern Jazz and Classical idioms. This allows a lot of different forms of dialogue and trialogue conversations within this music, which becomes the most interesting ingredient of the music, especially when it becomes completely improvised as in the five collective pieces.
It seems that Halat was extremely lucky in finding these two partners to record his debut Jazz offering, which probably would have not been possible otherwise. Garbowski and Gradziuk, who have consistently moved towards more open / improvised music in the last few years, prove here that they are able to carry on a full album just on their own, and their contribution here is simply invaluable.
As to Halat being the next "thing" on the Polish Jazz violin scene, I´d definitely need to hear more and give it some time. This is a very unusual, surprising and even promising album, but it does suffer from some inhibitions which need to be resolved, before Halat earns his honorable place on the pedestal.
Overall this is definitely music that should be investigated and even embraced, as it does offer a novel approach and a lot of courage. Highly recommended!
| | Updated: 19/01/2018Posted: 28/11/2017 | CD 2 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend |
  | SHADOWLAND ~ RING OF ROSES
VERGLAS 006 ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
1st album from 1992 by this UK Neo-Prog band, which is another `side` project of Clive Nolan - leader and keyboards player with Arena and Pendragon. Shadowland is more lyrical and calm then the other groups Noland plays with and the themes are largly based on literary works.
| | Updated: 21/09/2021Posted: | CD 1 Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
  | SHADOWLAND ~ THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
VERGLAS 010 ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
2nd album from 1993 by this UK Neo-Prog group led by Clive Nolan from Arena and Pendragon. Beautiful melodies and gentle themes based on literary influences (mainly Lewis CarrollFind albums by this artist) are the main characteristic of the group`s music. Excellently played and sung, this is Neo-Prog at its best.
| | Updated: 31/03/2024Posted: | CD 1 Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend |
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