Record Reviews

PRZEMYSLAW FLORCZAK ~ IMAGE OF MY PERSONALITY SJ 003 (Barcode: 5902596066024) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2012 This is the debut album by a young Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Przemyslaw FlorczakFind albums by this artist, recorded with his quartet which includes also organist Pawel TomaszewskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist and drummer Sebastian KuchczynskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven tracks, six of which are original compositions, all by Florczak, and one is a Charles MingusFind albums by this artist piece. Florczak is also a member of the excellent group BiotoneFind albums by this artist. The album is very impressive, especially as a debut, and presents a portrait of mature musicianship by the leader both as a performer and a composer. All the quartet members are excellent players, both as individuals and collective contributors. The decision to use the organ, rather than acoustic piano, turns this album into a completely unique experience, as this highly unusual combination opens a whole new world of sonic experience and wonderful unisono passages. The saxophone and the organ simply blend together fabulously and one wonders why they are not used together more often. The compositions are also surprisingly excellent, well within the Jazz mainstream but incorporating many cross-genre elements, like bits of Funk, Bossa and even World-Music influences. Beautifully put together and intelligently arranged, they are a true pleasure to listen to. This music is fun (in the best meaning of the word) from start to finish, being both accessible to a wide range of listeners and sophisticated enough to draw the attention of the connoisseurs. Florczak plays beautifully throughout, being especially impressive on the lyrical pieces, where his wonderful tone and delicate delivery is often breathtaking. Tomaszewski is also "stealing" a large part of the show with his superb organ lines, which bring on memories of times long gone. The rhythm section is simply perfect for the job, providing the vehicle for the two soloists to shine and keeping the wagon on the road. The album has a surprisingly exquisite sound quality, which turns out to be less surprising after reading the bane of sound engineer Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist on the cover, who was in charge "only" of mix and mastering this time, but his signature is well recognized. Overall this is a true gem, sadly somewhat overlooked on the crowded Polish Jazz scene, where albums are being released at an incredible rate, but definitely worth digging out and investigating. Well done indeed!

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MAREK KADZIELA ~ JAZZ ENSEMBLE AUDIO CAVE 2021/004 (Barcode: 5908298549254) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2021 As hard as it is to believe, this is only the second album as a leader by Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Marek KadzielaFind albums by this artist, this time recorded in a quintet setting with his brother saxophonist Maciej KadzielaFind albums by this artist, trombonist Jacek NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist and drummer Radoslaw BolewskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Marek Kadziela. During the second decade of the 2000s Kadziela participated in numerous recordings and co-led several Polish and international ensembles, as diverse as Hunger PangsFind albums by this artist, JazabuFind albums by this artist, K.R.A.N.Find albums by this artist and KaMaSzFind albums by this artist as well as his own ADHDFind albums by this artist. These recordings present a restless, searching spirit, who is constantly trying to re-invent himself and drive towards uncharted territory, crossing genres with ease and competence. Over the years I have had the pleasure to listen to him live as well, which often exposed other aspects of his wide-ranging musical personality. There is no doubt that during that time he established himself not only as one of the leading Polish guitarists, but also as an important leader and trendsetter. In many respects this album (as Kadziela himself states on the album’s liner notes) is an amalgamation of his experiences up to now, with an emphasis on composition, as much as on his guitar playing skills. The rather unusual sounding ensemble highlights his originality as a sound creator, which enhances the acoustic quintet with skillful use of electronics, creating a modern, somewhat rough and toothed exterior, which hides the melodic contents, without damaging it. The individual performances are all absolutely stunning, with the leader moving between Wes MontgomeryFind albums by this artist and Jimi HendrixFind albums by this artist and back in an instant, always being himself. Namyslowski is a surprise as his playing is more open and daring than usual and the rhythm section does a wonderful job driving the music forward and filling the blanks. Overall this is a wonderful modern Jazz album, full of great music and intricate individual performances, not easy on the ear and demanding attentive listening, but highly rewarding. Although Kadziela made a giant step forward in his career, deep down he is still a Blues / Rock kid who loves to show his guitar licks, which I personally love as much as all the serious stuff he is playing. Having said that, this album is almost completely free of any Fusion accents, announcing the leader’s full commitment to the Jazz idiom. Hats off!

Updated: 10/04/2021Posted: 10/04/2021

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TUBIS TRIO ~ FLASHBACK AUDIO CAVE 2018/010 (Barcode: 5905669566612) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the third album by Polish Jazz piano trio called Tubis TrioFind albums by this artist led by pianist / composer Maciej TubisFind albums by this artist with bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw PacanFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by the leader. The music is deeply melodic and often melancholic, strongly related to the typical Polish harmonics, soaked in Polish musical heritage, but also touching upon serial music and minimalism. It floats somewhere between popular instrumental music, contemporary Classical Music and Jazz, but escapes clear stylistic or genre classification. However the music does have a coherent compositional language and approach, definitely more precisely defined than on the earlier albums by Tubis, which means that he reached herein his maturity as a composer. This album also marks the position of the trio as a close musical unit, way more prominently than on the earlier recordings, which were dominated by the piano parts. On this album the music features the piano and the rhythm section side by side as equal partners. Although the melodic content is obviously stated by the piano, the bass and the drums are clearly present all along the way, recorded on the same level and being inseparable from the piano parts. Although the music is only somewhat related to Jazz, being intrinsically quite distant from the mainstream Jazz idiom, the Jazz listeners are probably the most immediate audience, to which this music should speak straightforwardly. But of course any open-minded and sensitive music lover should be able to enjoy it to the max. In spite of its seemingly easy nature, this music requires serious and attentive listening and a lot of patience, as it utilizes nontrivial harmonic structures and odd meters, quirky tempo alterations and other compositional tricks of the trade. Overall this is by far the most interesting offering by Tubis to date, a mature, coherent piece of music, which clearly presents him and his cohorts as a slick musical unit and offers his compositional vision in full bloom. Warmly recommended!

Updated: 20/10/2018Posted: 16/10/2018

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TUBIS TRIO ~ SO US AUDIO CAVE 2019/015 (Barcode: 5905669566872) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the fifth album by Polish piano trio called Tubis TrioFind albums by this artist, led by pianist / composer Maciej TubisFind albums by this artist and including bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw PacanFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by the leader. The music is melody based, with emphasis on long cyclic repetitions of the themes with little variance and subtle dynamic changes. The powerful piano parts are dominating the proceedings almost completely, which leaves very little space for the rhythm section to add anything except rhythmic assistance. As a result the trio functions as a very tight musical unit, producing an intense, almost wall of sound effect. It is difficult to classify this music as strict Jazz, in spite of the fact that it does include improvisations, since its ambience is closer to Classical Music in many respects and its rhythmic elements do not swing in a classic Jazzy way. But regardless of what on tries to classify it as, it can be very appealing to Jazz lovers as well. Tubis piano playing is certainly impressive enough to keep piano lovers happy. The only problem with this album, as far as I am concerned, is the fact that all the albums by the trio (except for the album that precedes this one, which was a special project) are very similar in sound and structure, and do not show a clear path towards new ventures, which naturally slips dangerously into the déjà vu area, so much so that the album´s title is almost ominous. Hopefully this will change with the trio´s next album.

Updated: 13/01/2020Posted: 13/01/2020

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TUBIS TRIO ~ SYGNOWANO BAJGELMAN: IMPRESJE NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the fourth album by Polish Jazz piano trio (Tubis TrioFind albums by this artist) led by pianist / composer Maciej TubisFind albums by this artist with bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw PacanFind albums by this artist. The album is a tribute to the Jewish violinist / conductor / composer Dawid BajgelmanFind albums by this artist, who was the director of the Lodz Yiddish Theater and who composed music for many Yiddish theatre plays, including S. Ansky´s "The Dybbuk", as well as many popular songs. Bajgelman was a prominent figure in the cultural life of the flourishing Jewish community of Lodz in the period between the two World Wars. He was interned in the Lodz ghetto in 1940 where he lived until 1944, and was sent by the last transport from the ghetto to Auschwitz, where he died in early 1945 shortly before the liberation. The album, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the liquidation of the Lodz ghetto, presents Jazz arrangements by Tubis of seven songs composed by Bajgelman. Tubis made a remarkable job in transporting Bajgelman´s music almost a Century forward in time, proving how timeless and universal the music was to start with. The trio performs the music with passion and elegance, expressing the mixture of joy and melancholy that Jewish music is always immersed in, reflecting Jewish passion for life, which often is met with harsh reality. The trio members are all seasoned musicians and their instrumental performances are all, as expected, beyond reproach. The ensemble performances sound as if performed by one spiritual body of music-makers, and the dynamics and sensitivity in relation to the original music is truly superbly expressed. Listeners familiar with the original songs will be able to recognize the motifs of course, but one can assume that Bajgelman´s music is not easily found these days, and therefore this album serves a great opportunity to re-discover this immensely talented composer. Although inevitably soaked in the Holocaust historic setting, the music is a celebration of life and creativity and a wonderful tribute to Jewish Culture and tradition. Thank you Maciej for undertaking this challenging project and putting so much soul into making it come true!

Updated: 18/09/2019Posted: 18/09/2019

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TUBIS TRIO ~ THE TRUTH CHALLENGE 73445 (Barcode: 608917344523) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the second album by Polish Jazz piano trio (Tubis TrioFind albums by this artist) led by pianist / composer Maciej TubisFind albums by this artist, with bassist Pawel PuszczaloFind albums by this artist, who replaced the original bassist Marcin LamchFind albums by this artist, and drummer Przemyslaw PacanFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, all by Tubis. The album was recorded at the excellent RecPublica Studios in Poland, and presents a superb sonic quality with a somewhat unusual timbre and was released by the prestigious Dutch ChallengeFind albums on this label Records label. This album follows the debut album "Live In LuxembourgFind albums with this title", which was recorded nine and released seven years earlier, and which achieved some international acclaim. The music is in fact only partly directly connected with the Jazz idiom, and belongs to the modern European instrumental music variety, which is strongly based on deeply melodic themes and lengthy lyrical, somewhat introvert improvisations, which use typical European harmonic approach, creating a manner similar to many other contemporary pianists, who record for the ECMFind albums on this label, ACTFind albums on this label and related labels. In most cases the compositions are slow and melancholic, with just a few of the album´s tracks using an up tempo pace. The music is dominated by the piano parts and the rhythm section has limited opportunity to show off, but supports the leader very solidly and amicably. The bass provides the bottom notes all the way and its pulsations are vital to this music. The drums provide a steady rhythmic support, which suits this music perfectly. The instrumental performances are of course first class from start to finish. Overall this is an excellent example of contemporary instrumental music, which is accessible to a wide audience without making any compromises as far as the music quality is concerned. This Polish trio proves again that Poland is a reliable source of great European music, which is on par with anything being created beyond its borders, usually quite ahead of the pack. This is definitely a welcome comeback, which hopefully will not be followed by another long term of silence.

Updated: 27/06/2018Posted: 11/09/2017

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