Record Reviews

BEAT FREAKS ~ LEON GATEWAY (Barcode: 5707471047200) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Polish ensemble The Beat FreaksFind albums by this artist, which consists of guitarist Michal StarkiewiczFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Tomasz LicakFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel GrzesiukFind albums by this artist and drummer Radek WoskoFind albums by this artist. The album includes nine original compositions, all co-composed by all the ensemble members. The music floats between straightforward modern Jazz and Fusion, and somehow lacks the ability to present a cohesive musical concept. A few less constrained moments show the guitar and saxophone conversing and improvising, but the ensemble soon returns to a steady rhythm and typical vamping on the theme, which frankly is not very interesting. There are hardly any remarkable melodies which the listener can follow and all the tunes sound a bit similar to each other. The performances are all pretty professional, but not remarkable. These musicians can all play very well, but on this album their collective effort simply does not add up. Except for the one track on which Licak plays the bass clarinet, which is a nice melancholic ballad, all the rest of the tracks simply do not register in the long term memory. The guitar is definitely too aggressive and too loud in the balance, which does not help at all. It is hard to guess if the musicians involved wanted this album to come out the way it did, but basically it sounds like Polish Yass or American Punk Jazz from the 1980s and 1990s, music that might have been relevant at the time but definitely lost its charm over time. Of course this is just my personal opinion and others might like this music very much. Definitely not my cup of tea!

Updated: 02/11/2016Posted: 02/11/2016

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

BEAT FREAKS ~ STAY CALM NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 5707471065136) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the second album by Polish ensemble The Beat FreaksFind albums by this artist comprising of guitarist Michal StarkiewiczFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Tomasz LicakFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel GrzesiukFind albums by this artist and drummer Radek WoskoFind albums by this artist. The album presents thirteen original compositions, eight of which were composed by Starkiewicz, two by Licak, one by Wosko and two were co-composed by all four members of the quartet. The album was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist. The quartet´s debut album recorded three years earlier (2016) left me with mixed feelings and I am happy to say that this one is a significant improvement, especially as far as the compositions are concerned, as well as the guitar playing, which works this time without a hitch. Also the superb recording quality improves the overall coherence of the music, with less harshness and excellent separation, making every little nuance audible. The music is all melody based, Fusion oriented contemporary Jazz and offers some excellent guitar / saxophone interplay supported by a steady and solid rhythm section. Licak is the primary soloist, but Starkiewicz follows suit time after time with a nicely balanced guitar tone, which manages to shake off most of its Fusion mannerisms that prevailed earlier on, and offers heartfelt guitar soli. Their unisono parts, which then develop into a saxophone / guitar conversations is the central feature of this album. Overall this is an album which can be enjoyed by a wide Jazz / Fusion audience, especially guitar enthusiasts, who should be able find many interesting licks here. Definitely worth investigation!

Updated: 08/12/2019Posted: 08/12/2019

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

ILONA DAMIECKA / TOMASZ LICAK QUINTET ~ PIESNI POLSKIE VOL.1 NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz quintet co-led by vocalist / pianist Ilona DamieckaFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Tomasz LicakFind albums by this artist, which also includes saxophonist Michal Jan CiesielskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel GrzesiukFind albums by this artist and drummer Adam GolickiFind albums by this artist. The album presents six songs by Polish Classical composers: Stanislaw MoniuszkoFind albums by this artist, Feliks NowowiejskiFind albums by this artist and Mieczyslaw KarlowiczFind albums by this artist, arranged for the quintet by Licak. The music was recorded live at the Radio Gdansk studio and offers a remarkable sound quality. The music is an interesting Jazz-Classical Fusion, and although personally I am not a great fun of the original music, composed mostly in the 19th Century, these Jazz arrangements manage to transform it into the Jazz idiom rather successfully. The swinging treatment transforms the original melodies, many of which are based on Polish Folklore, into a much more vigorous environment and the resulting modern mainstream zest serves them well. The ballads emphasize the typical Polish melancholy, again deeply rooted into Polish Folk music, and those also work out very well in the up-to-date dressing. The closing song on the album gets a much more adventurous treatment, and perhaps points to a direction of the follow up album? The entire transformation process is done with taste and sophistication, which deserves to be praised. The members of the quintet are all seasoned musicians, which is clearly obvious by the splendid level of the performances herein. The idea of the double saxophone front line is excellent, but sadly although the two saxophonists perform beautifully on their own they do not play together enough, which might have intensified the result. Damiecka plays some wonderful piano soli and her treatment of the original lyrics, which are replaced by her vocalese, is also excellent, albeit somewhat minimalist. The rhythm section swings passionately and carries the tunes forward, as expected from professionals. Overall this is a superb debut effort and a most enjoyable listening experience, which as the title pledges, is just a first glance of the future plans by the quintet. Passionate performances, great soloing and swinging fluidity – what else can one expect form a mainstream modern Jazz album. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 16/07/2020Posted: 16/07/2020

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

LEEMEET TRIO ~ THE FIRST ENTRANCE TO THE GARDEN RECART 0013 (Barcode: 5908285287121) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz piano trio, called LeeMeet TrioFind albums by this artist, led by young pianist / composer Liliana KostrzewaFind albums by this artist, with bassist Pawel GrzesiukFind albums by this artist and drummer Radek WoskoFind albums by this artist. The album consists of eight tracks, five of which are originals by Kostrzewa, one is a standard, one a folk tune and the remaining one is an arrangement of a Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist tune. The music is a pretty straight-forward mainstream effort, melodic and well organized, and holding no surprises or unexpected twists. The bassist plays electric bass, which sets the entire sound of the trio astray from the classic piano trio sound. The original compositions are nice, but somewhat simplistic, and hesitant, but considering this is a debut effort at least Kostrzewa plays her own material rather than playing standards. Technically the performances suffer from minor imperfections, like a poor balance between the instruments, with the piano being often dominated by the rhythm section and synch problems between the players. Kostrzewa has a very delicate touch and her playing the piano requires a much softer and compassionate rhythmic support. Her technical repertoire is also still underdeveloped, but she does show a lot of potential and surely will get better in time. Overall not a bed debut, which hopefully is just a first step of a long and successful career for everybody involved.

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend