Record Reviews

MARIA NECKAM ~ UNISON SUNNYSIDE 1321 (Barcode: 016728132121) ~ AUSTRIA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012 This is the 3rd album by Austrian-born living in the US singer / songwriter Maria NeckamFind albums by this artist, who has been "making waves" for quite a while now and rightly so, as she definitely is one of the most original and idiosyncratic musical discoveries of the last few years. Although obviously cross-genre and completely free of any conventions, it is quite obvious that she has a deep empathy towards improvisation and the Jazz tradition, which lie beneath her stunning output. The album consists of fifteen original compositions by Neckam, almost all of which are over five or six minutes long (totaling 75 minutes), which leaves a lot of space both for her vocal delivery and instrumental presentation by the great ensemble of musicians, which accompanies her. The core ensemble is a quartet with pianist Aaron ParksFind albums by this artist, guitarist Nir FelderFind albums by this artist, bassist Thomas MorganFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. Several other players (saxophones, trumpet, cello and piano) participate on selected tracks. Neckam also wrote all the lyrics, except for three of the pieces, where she uses (not surprisingly) poems by the 14th century Persian poet HafezFind albums by this artist or more contemporary poetry by Rainer Maria RilkeFind albums by this artist and Pablo NerudaFind albums by this artist. Neckam utilizes her voice both to deliver the lyrics and use it as an instrument, with her vocalese improvisation being one of the highlights of this album. Her vocal delivery is quite unique, with a slight, but charming, foreign accent, which adds to the overall mystique. The accompaniment is brilliant from start to finish, subdued and supporting when needed, with some excellent solos and always greatly sensitive and aesthetically pleasing. Considering the fact that this music can be devilishly complex and unpredictable, the overall delivery here is simply stunning. But it is the actual music, which is the true forte of this album. Neckam´s compositions are simply outstanding in every respect; amalgamating Jazz with contemporary Classical, Progressive Rock, World Music influences, shades of the Blues and so on, she is simply floating somewhere in her own universe, completely beyond categorization and eschewing all conventions. There is an intrinsic elegance, artistic beauty and intellectual challenge herein, coexisting peacefully with each other, which is a rare quality in any Art form. But of course there is a price to be paid for such lofty qualities; this is definitely not "easy" music, and therefore it is destined to attract mostly the open-minded and cultivated ears of music connoisseurs, which is often hard on an artist expecting a wide recognition of his work. Regardless of the album´s commercial prospects, Neckam can certainly feel proud to be the creator of this musical gem, which certainly deserves to be listed among the best albums released in 2012, and there are only a handful of these. Considering the fact that she is, after all, just starting her wondrous musical journey, may I be allowed to wish her Godspeed!

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RAFAL SARNECKI ~ CAT`S DREAM BJU 045 (Barcode: 5908254159367) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the third album by the Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Rafal SarneckiFind albums by this artist, who currently lives in NY. It presents eight original compositions, all by Sarnecki, which are performed by a sextet led by him, which also includes vocalist Bogna KicinskaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Lucas PinoFind albums by this artist, pianist Glenn ZaleskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Rick RosatoFind albums by this artist and drummer Colin StranahanFind albums by this artist. One of the tunes uses lyrics by the great Chilean poet Pablo NerudaFind albums by this artist. The music is a beautiful blend of many influences, based on the Jazz tradition but incorporating various other influences, like World Music, Fusion, Progressive Rock and Contemporary Classical, creating a unique universe of sound. The compositions are very diverse and present a wide vista of Sarnecki´s inventions; also distinctly melodic, they are quite complex with frequent tempi changes and intertwined melodic themes, which keep developing, often unexpectedly. In fact this music requires quite an attentive listening in order to be properly comprehended. It is truly refreshing to hear such ambitious music being made today. The individual performances are all excellent and the album is above all an ensemble effort. But the talents of all the players are plainly exposed. Kicinska sings wordless vocalese (except for one case), using her voice as an instrument, which blends well with other instruments in the ensemble. Her presence is a stimulating factor, which adds to the overall success of this album. Pino plays some excellent solos throughout, which are fluent and expressive. Zaleski and the rhythm section keep the music moving ahead smoothly and elegantly, exactly as needed, obviously keeping their ears open and handling the tricky parts with ease and elegance. I´d love to hear them in a piano trio format. And of course Sarnecki and his guitar are, as always, the cherry on the cake. I´ve always liked his tone and phrasing, but his playing on this album is definitely stronger than ever. Overall this is an ambitious effort, splendidly performed and beautifully recorded, adding up to an album of true artistic value, so rare these days. Sarnecki shows a distinctive process of growing up and developing his talents, one of which is surrounding himself with great musicians. This is definitely one of the most interesting recordings released so far in 2014 and I hope it will be received open-mindedly both by the audiences and the critics, which for projects like these is, sadly, far from being self-understandable. This is the kind of aesthetic approach I´d personally love to hear in many other recordings, especially those originating in the US, but in the case of Sarnecki he simply managed to maintain his European qualities unblemished. Brilliant stuff!

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