Record Reviews

GADT / OSBORNE / ZAKROCKI / OLAK ~ SPONTANEOUS CHAMBER MUSIC VOL.3 FSR 2020/17 (Barcode: 5905279364752) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2018 Released: 2020 This is the third album in the "Spontaneous Chamber Music" series, created by the Polish improvising duo comprising of violinist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist and guitarist Marcin OlakFind albums by this artist, this time expanded to a quartet with participation of Polish vocalist Anna GadtFind albums by this artist and Luxembourgian cellist Annemie OsborneFind albums by this artist. The album presents fourteen relatively short spontaneous performances, recorded in a studio, which are assumingly credited to the participating musicians. Although continuing the ideas and modus operandi behind the two previous albums, the music presented here is even more "chamber" than before, in the "intimate" meaning of the chamber idiom. The presence of the two female musicians must have deeply influenced the proceedings, which is hardly surprising after all. Gadt treats her voice as an instrument, which she uses skillfully both to improvise in tandem with the others and to create a background tonal layer behind the others while they improvise. Her brilliant ideas and technical abilities easily place her on top of the list of Polish female improvising vocalists. Considering the fact that she in parallel to her performing career also teaches vocals, the next generation of Polish Jazz vocalist is certainly in good hands. She is the first Polish vocalist to take Polish Jazz / Improvised Music vocals a significant step forward for the first time in decades. Her cooperation with Olak can be heard on the wonderful album "GombrowiczFind albums with this title" they recorded as a duo and Osborne appeared as guest on the recording of her beautiful solo album "Mysterium LunaeFind albums with this title". Although Gadt´s contributions on this album are the most striking, all four musicians contributed wonderfully to its creation. Olak plays some superb guitar lines, Zakrocki adds atmospheric viola choruses and Osborne weaves complex cello structures, all of which combined with Gadt´s vocals create some of the finest improvising music I came across lately, which is perhaps also accessible to relatively wider audiences than such music usually is able to attract, due to the highly melodic approach used by the musicians. Overall this is a splendid album, which proves that Improvised Music can by way more than just an expression of musical freedom and cooperation but also an opportunity to innovate and produce music that is able to reach audience beyond the close circle of sympathizers, which sadly is the case in most Improvised Music recordings. For enthusiasts if Avant-Garde vocals this album is an absolute must.

Updated: 10/10/2020Posted: 10/10/2020

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MYSLOWSKA / PEPOL / ZAKROCKI ~ LEGGEREZZA AUDIO CAVE 2023/001 (Barcode: 5908298549520) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2020 - 2022 Released: 2023 This is an album by a trio of Polish Avant Garde musicians, vocalist Olga MyslowskaFind albums by this artist, cellist Michal PepolFind albums by this artist and (usually) violinist, but here guitarist and electronics manipulator Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, who is feverishly prolific on the local scene. The album presents ten tracks, based on excerpts from a series of lectures by Italian writer / journalist / philosopher Italo CalvinoFind albums by this artist called “Six Memos for the Next Millennium” (Lezioni americane in Italian), the first of which is dedicated to the virtue of lightness (or Leggerezza in Italian). These lectured were in fact never delivered, due to Calvino’s death, but were posthumously published as his last work. This album is a result of a project, which was one commissioned by my lamented friend Miron ZajfertFind albums by this artist, who sadly died a few weeks ago. Although the texts are not poetry per se, the project can be marginally considered as part of the Jazz & Poetry idiom. The music is certainly unusual, solemn and on the border or despair, but captivates the listener with its magical mixture of semi-melodic themes, improvised instrumental background and the dominating, almost operatic vocal parts. It is somewhat similar to contemporary chamber Classical music and certainly requires the same level of attention and patience in order to be absorbed. This is certainly music for connoisseurs of Avant-Garde explorations, and as such it is highly ambitious and in many aspects also beautiful and touching. Sadly, the size of the audience for such challenging escapade will be probably quite limited. My deepest respect goes both to the musicians, who created this music and the Audio CaveFind albums on this label label for releasing it, against all odds. Overall, this is a challenging Avant-Garde musical and literary project, which is highly stimulating and artistically sound, which requires open-mindedness and patience in order to be enjoyed. Hopefully it will also turn the attention to the wonderful writing by Calvino, which is a treasure chest of contemporary literary work. Highly recommended to ye brave hearted!

Updated: 03/05/2023Posted: 03/05/2023

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MARCIN OLAK ~ BESSARABIAN JOURNEY FSR 2016/02 (Barcode: 5905279364073) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is a live recording by a quartet led by guitarist Marcin OlakFind albums by this artist, which also includes violist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej SzczycinskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof SzmandaFind albums by this artist. They perform nine pieces, seven of which are traditional Jewish tunes originating from the region of Bessarabia (Moldova today) and arranged by Olak, one is co-composed by Zakrocki and Olak and the final one is composed by Olak. The project was initiated by Miron ZajfertFind albums by this artist, the creator / director of the wonderful New Jewish Music Festival in Warsaw. Bessarabia, which existed as a Governorate for over a hundred years, was home to many Jews, who amalgamated their ancient traditions with Ottoman / Turkish, Romanian / Balkan and Russian / Slavic cultural influences, creating a unique East European Jewish sub-culture, which had its musical facets also combining a wide range of musical influences. This attempt to mix the music originating in Bessarabia with Jazz sadly does not grab me at all. The resulting music loses most of its original spontaneity and the guitar, which simply does not belong organically to that music at all, treats it completely wrong. Bessarabia is definitely not Spain! With the element of improvisation and a lack of steady meters applied here the original music is simply completely lost. But most importantly Bessarabian music is characterized by very specific rhythmic approach, which is mostly based on odd meters, something most musicians not born into those specific realms have a great difficulty to handle. As a result applying simplistic Rock or Jazz rhythms to that music simply does not work well. As much as I appreciate any attempt to create ambitious projects, cross-cultural meetings and new discoveries, this project, as far as I am concerned, simply does not cut it. At some moments listening to the CD was simply unbearable and I even considered stopping it, which happens to me very rarely. Even the hidden track did not manage to save the day. Of course it´s only me and if anybody enjoys this music, my opinion is completely immaterial.

Updated: 27/10/2016Posted: 13/06/2016

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POLSKI PIACH ~ POLUDNIE NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Blues Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by Polish trio called Polski PiachFind albums by this artist, which comprises of guitarist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, clarinetist Piotr MelechFind albums by this artist and percussionist Kuba FalkFind albums by this artist (a.k.a Kuba FalkowskiFind albums by this artist). The album presents ten (assumably) original compositions, which remain uncredited on the album’s artwork. On the album’s artwork we can find the following statement: “The Polish Sands project delves into the spiritual bonds which bind the sands of the Mississippi Delta, the Sahara Desert and the Wisla River”, which roughly describes the music included on this album, which is mostly Blues influenced, which in turn is a spiritual ancestry of African origin, combined with Slavic melancholy and spiced with Jazz improvisation. Zakrocki, who is primarily identified with playing violin on Improvised Music recordings, plays an alter ego role on this album, playing deeply melodic and completely docile acoustic guitar. Melech, on the other hand, is less surprising, playing a beautifully sentimental bass clarinet parts, for which he is known (among other things). Falk who is completely out of nowhere, is rather less prominent here, but his mouth harp playing and percussion fit the bill perfectly. It is rather difficult to describe the music precisely, which of course is not really necessary, but I really enjoyed the music immensely, for some strange reason. Although the basic Blues riffs are nothing out of the ordinary, the overall atmosphere and Melech’s superb playing simply won me over, and the music managed to engage me more on a subconscious level than as an analytical attempt to get into it. The Blues is after all a universal music, as this music is trying to demonstrate, so after all I am not surprised. I am sure it also sounds great live. Overall this Blues / Jazz-World Music exploration is a nice and original idea, which is a great fun to listen to, surely on the debut album; I am not sure if it has the stamina to last for more albums though. Definitely worth investigating!

Updated: 15/02/2021Posted: 15/02/2021

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WARSAW IMPROVISERS ORCHESTRA ~ CSW 14_03_2015 FSR 2016/08 (Barcode: 5905279364127) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Warsaw Improvisers OrchestraFind albums by this artist, a loose gathering of about fifty musicians living in or around Warsaw, twenty nine of which (I count thirty names) participate in this live recording, which resulted in three long freely improvised pieces. The orchestra was conducted on two of these pieces by British, resident in Warsaw, saxophonist Ray DickatyFind albums by this artist and on the third one by violinist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, and the compositions are credited to all the participants. The music is quite predictable, as similar attempts to create music by large improvising ensembles were already tried in the past many times. If fact the term "music" is principally applicable here only due to the fact that the participants are using musical instruments (or human voice), but otherwise does not describe what most people recognize as music. Improvised music is complex enough when created by an intimate solo / duo / trio format, but when attempted by such a large gathering, even when not all the musicians are plying at once, is simply too much. However, listeners interested in sound experimentation and imaginary soundscapes would probably be able to listen to this album with interest. There are moments of tension and buildup, intense climaxes and long quiet passages, so there is at least dynamics and evolution, which defuses boredom. But ultimately this all does not add to a musical statement, as such. As much as I love experimentation, this particular album seems to be an attempt to create quality by quantity, which simply fails. As usual in such cases, it was probably great fun to record this music and perhaps also listening to it while being recorded, but sadly after it was transferred to a piece of plastic, it lost all of its charm and wind. I can hardly imagine anybody listening to this at home more than once. Of course this is, as always, only me…

Updated: 19/12/2016Posted: 19/12/2016

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ZAKROCKI / GARBOWSKI / GRADZIUK ~ BALLADS & BLUES FSR 2024/05 (Barcode: 5904441617467) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2022 Released: 2024 This is a 2CD album by Polish Improvising Music trio comprising of guitarist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer / percussionist Krzysztof GradziukFind albums by this artist (the last two being 2/3 of the RGGFind albums by this artist trio). The album, recorded during a single studio session, presents seventeen improvised pieces, which remain uncredited and as appropriate in these circumstances are assumed to be co-created spontaneously by the three musicians. As the title suggests, ten of the tracks are entitled “Blues” I to X and seven are entitled “Ballad” I to VII, depending of the musical inspiration prevailing at the time of their creation. The music is hyper-minimalist, which means that both the volume and the density are sparse and although seemingly a lot is happening the result is extremely humble, unassuming and intimate. The flow and development of the music is almost painfully slow and challenges the listener’s patience, almost assuming that the listener is willing to enter a state of trance, which would enable to absorb the music more subconsciously than analytically. One might compare this music to the American Minimalists, like Terry Riley and Steve Reich, but the parallelism is only partly applicable here, as this music is not as cyclic as that variation of minimalism, and there is subtle, but definite sense of development herein, which eases the feel of void and stagnation and points towards coherent goal. Obviously, this is not music for a wide range of listeners, surely not contemporary ones, with an attention span measured in seconds. It does require open-mindedness, patience and musical aesthetics, which usually comes with time and effort. There are almost two hours of music here, of highly inspired, unusual and extremely delicate music, which probably will grasp the hearts of few… sadly the destiny of all exceptional and unconventional musical experiments. Overall, this is a deeply engaging musical message, almost impregnable to a casual listener, but mesmerizing to those, who are able and willing to make the effort required in this case in order to absorb and accept this music for what it is: a ladder to a higher musical consciousness. The tougher the rind, the sweeter the fruit, comes to mind.

Updated: 11/12/2024Posted: 11/12/2024

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ZAKROCKI / OLAK / FERNANDEZ ~ SPONTANEOUS CHAMBER MUSIC VOL.2 FSR 2018/03 (Barcode: 5905279364158) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is the second album by the Polish Improvised Music duo comprising of violinist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist and guitarist Marcin OlakFind albums by this artist, expanded to a trio with the participation of the Spanish pianist Agusti FernandezFind albums by this artist. The album presents sixteen, mostly quite short, completely improvised pieces, which are not specifically credited on the album´s cover art and therefore are assumed to be collective compositions. The music is a continuation of the ideas first explored on the previous album, which are an attempt to create what the title precisely describes – Chamber Improvised Music – chamber meaning minimalistic, limited by the scope of instruments and intimate. As such, this music is not very similar to the typical Avant-Garde / Improvised Music outings, which are usually extremely intense and extrovert, with the participants mostly interested in saying as much as possible within the time limitations. This music is much more relaxed, reflexive and modest, based on the intense togetherness and listening to each other by the participating musicians. Fernandez displays a remarkable self control on this album, playing delicately and sparingly, in complete contrast to other recordings he takes part in, where he is usually quite dominant and outright aggressive. His contributions on this album are all tasteful and wonderfully cooperative. Zakrocki and Olak seem to have a symbiotic relationship, which is reflected in their telepathic conversations as a duo. Their non-conformist approach to improvisation is fresh and inspiring. Overall this is a very interesting and rich album, full of exciting moments and relaxed interludes, keeping the listener on his toes for the entire duration. This music is unique and shows a completely different Avant-Garde concept, which allows for calmness and contemplation to replace anger and aggression, which often turns Avant-Garde music into and unlistenable cacophony. This album is highly recommended for Improvised Music connoisseurs, who are a tiny, but highly loyal crowd.

Updated: 02/09/2020Posted: 25/06/2018

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ZAKROCKI / OLAK / WIELECKI ~ SPONTANEOUS CHAMBER MUSIC FSR 2016/05 (Barcode: 5905279364059) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Polish Improvised Music trio comprising of violinist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Marcin OlakFind albums by this artist and percussionist Mikolaj WieleckiFind albums by this artist. Together they perform eight pieces, all of which are spontaneously improvised and the album is an exact presentation of the music as it was created during the recording session. The title seems to describe the music pretty accurately, as the intimate mostly acoustic ambience and the melodic proximity certainly belongs to what is considered as Chamber Music. Of course in this case the music is entirely improvised, as opposed to the Classical Chamber idiom, but music is moving ahead and definitions and borders of our musical terminology are changing on the fly. The pieces are also Chamber in their very nature, due to the fact that they have a relatively short duration and are based on intimate relationships between the three performers, who are "changing positions", i.e. constantly changing the focus of the music from one instrument to another. The level of interplay and telepathic communication between the musicians is truly astounding and this is immediately reflected in the music itself, which remains calm and non-aggressive / non-competitive at all times. Improvised Music does exist really only at the very moment it is creation and in the vast majority of cases completely loses its meaning and purpose the moment its over, which of course means that recording Improvised Music is an oxymoron of sorts. In some very rare cases however, Improvised Music is able to create a lasting, coherent, meaningful piece of music, which still makes sense after being recorded and then consequently played back. This is definitely one of such magical moments. It is important to know, however, that contrary to the brand Improvised Music is often trying to "sell" to the listener, there is nothing really revolutionary or innovative in this music, to be honest, regardless of how good it is. Improvised Music exists both in the Classical Music and Jazz idioms for many decades and experimentation and border crossing much bolder than the music recorded here have been achieved many times before. In fact in many respects this music is pretty conservative in most respects and for that reason it is more accessible to a much wider audience than most Improvised Music recordings. Overall this is a beautiful musical moment captured for posterity on this album, which many open-minded listeners should be able to enjoy. I encourage the people who usually avoid Improvising Music to try this one and perhaps discover an entire universe of music they have been missing earlier.

Updated: 27/10/2016Posted: 01/10/2016

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PATRYK ZAKROCKI ~ TALES FOR SOLO GUITAR AUDIO CAVE 2023/009 (Barcode: 5908298549728) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2022 Released: 2023 This is an album by Polish Jazz violinist / guitarist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, which is his first attempt at recording completely solo, for which he chose to use the guitar. The album presents thirteen tracks, three of which were partly pre-composed, and the rest are spontaneous improvisations. Zakrocki has been very prolific during the last decade, recording many albums with the key players on the Polish Improvised Music scene, playing mostly the violin and occasionally also the guitar, all of which were excellent examples of the diversity and depth of the genre. Although mostly improvised, the music on this album offers a melodic continuity, even if that is achieved subconsciously by the Artist. Subdued and delicate, the music is caressing and meditative, completely devoid of the cacophony and confusion often associated with Freely Improvised Music. The fact that the tracks are short in duration manages to keep the listener focused and follow the development, before he gets disenchanted or bored. Despite the fact that the music is kept at the same volume level for the entire duration, which might have been a perilous decision, works all for the best here, creating a continuous aural experience, all set in a similar mood. Zakrocki does not try to impress the listener with his virtuosity as a performer, as the music is all about the atmosphere and a certain groove, which is based on the Blues soaked riffs used repeatedly. But his guitar skills are ideal for whatever he wants to communicate to his listeners here. Overall, this is very engaging, aesthetic piece of music, which should impress many music connoisseurs beyond the Improvised Music genre. In fact, the “improvised music” label on this album should be treated very liberally, not that it is not essentially true, but because it is very different from what most people associate with that genre. It is first and foremost simply a very personal statement by a highly talented Artist, which should be able to help many people relax and unwind, especially in these trying times.

Updated: 19/10/2023Posted: 19/10/2023

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