Record Reviews

PIOTR BUDNIAK ESSENTIAL GROUP ~ THE DAYS OF WINE AND NOISES NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the third album by Polish Jazz drummer / composer Piotr BudniakFind albums by this artist and his ensemble called Essential GroupFind albums by this artist, which on this album is a quintet and includes also saxophonist Wojciech LichtanskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Kajetan BorowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Piotr NarajowskiFind albums by this artist and as guest Czech guitarist David DoruzkaFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded live and presents five original compositions, all by the leader. Musically the album continues the path set by the earlier recordings by Budniak, presenting excellent compositions well within modern melodic mainstream, performed with vigor and technical proficiency. Lichtanski and Borowski have been with the ensemble since its inception and together with Budniak constitute the core of the group, which is obviously well solidified. The new young bassist has a very though pair of shoes to fit, filling in for the original member of the ensemble, the excellent Alan WykpiszFind albums by this artist, but manages to catch up nicely. Doruzka is a very accomplished player and his role on this album proves his versatility and skill, again filling in for the original member of the ensemble Szymon MikaFind albums by this artist. Once again the focus of the album is on the excellent compositions by the leader, which present a diverse palette and a wonderful sense of melody and harmony. The quintet performs the music with grace and elegance, but without any extravagant solo excursions, which is all for the best. On the down side the sound quality of the live recording is rather problematic, which limits the pleasure of listening to the music. It is not entirely sure if this album is a formal release or just a promo release added to the Polish Jazz Forum magazine, but in any case sound quality is a crucial part of any recording and in this case it is simply not up to par with the quality of the music. Overall this is another injection of good Jazz compositions by Budniak and excellent playing by his ensemble, less formally packaged and recorded, but nevertheless very enjoyable.

Updated: 04/05/2018Posted: 04/05/2018

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PRZEMYSLAW CHMIEL ~ WITCHCRAFT FSR 2020/16 (Barcode: 5905279364745) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Przemyslaw ChmielFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet format with pianist Mateusz GramburgFind albums by this artist, bassist Piotr NarajowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Michal SzeligowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Chmiel. The music is modern Jazz, very open and yet firmly based on melodic themes, which are clearly stated and returned to throughout each of the tracks. The music is well behaved despite being highly spirited, often pretty minimalist and charmingly hesitant, creating a feeling of anticipation and searching. Each of the tunes offers a process of dynamic development, changing in intensity and volume, sometimes more than once within one tune, which makes things certainly interesting and blissfully different. The most interesting facet of the music is the fact that it certainly does not sound like typical Polish Jazz, successfully avoiding the melancholic / sentimental traps, but also not succumbing to the dreaded American Jazz derivatives, which in itself is a major success. The album is dominated by the performances by the leader, which is hardly surprising under the circumstances, but all the members of the quartet get ample opportunity to show their chops. Chmiel´s youthful energy and courage is immediately obvious and his improvisational skills shine throughout the album´s duration. Perhaps not yet fully achieving a personal / identifiable voice, he is definitely a highly interesting and already unique player, with considerable potential. Gramburg manages also to show some highly unusual approach and his contributions add a massive spicing to the proceedings, which would have probably been much less successful without him. His wonderful sensitivity and ability to play around with the dynamics and intensity of his touches on the keyboards make me immediately want to hear more of his playing, hopefully soon. Narajowski, who is an excellent bassist and a pillar of stability and precision, is in charge of the quartet´s "swinging" stability. Szeligowski plays over zealously at some points, which might have been corrected by lowering the drums in the mix, but overall does a splendid job and shows that drums can be as fascinating as any other instrument. Considering that these are young and relatively little experienced players, the fact that they manage to create such a sophisticated and complex music together is awe inspiring. Kudos to the FSRFind albums on this label label, which usually releases live recordings by much more prominent names, for issuing this debut album, which of course is well deserved. The recording quality of the music could have been better, but all things considered this is surely one of the most interesting Polish Jazz debut albums released in 2020 and a nice whiff of fresh air. Well done!

Updated: 06/11/2020Posted: 06/11/2020

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PAWEL MANKA SEMIOTIC QUINTET ~ KUBIZM SJ 055 (Barcode: 5902596066680) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz quintet, named Semiotic QuintetFind albums by this artist and led by guitarist / composer Pawel MankaFind albums by this artist, which also includes other young representatives of the local scene: saxophonist Robert WypasekFind albums by this artist, pianist Franciszek RaczkowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Piotr NarajowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Stefan RaczkowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, which are all original compositions by the leader. The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, with the usual superb sound quality. The music is quite adventurous and offers a mixture of Fusion and Avant-Garde Jazz, based on sketchy compositions, which are a basis for extended, often Free improvisations by the soloists, with solid, more well-behaved rhythm section support. The result achieves a somewhat chaotic, but certainly enthralling listening experience, with an end-result delivering more of seeking than achieving, but certainly being very absorbing along the way. The leader’s guitar playing is at times somewhat detached from the rest of the ensemble, emphasizing the electric Fusion guitar sound, which clashes with the acoustic Jazzy sound of the remaining quartet, but when kept in check it is able to coexist with the quartet more amicably. This is more a “sound” / ambience problem that a musical drawback, but for the best of the quintet has to be resolved in the future. Wypasek keeps the music down to earth, offering an almost traditional jazz approach, which leaves most of the glory around Raczkowski (the pianist), who is the true spark of this recording. His work on several albums he took part in during the last few years certainly marks him as a player worth watching, yet to emerge in full glory, but his playing here if pretty amazing. The rhythm section, as already mentioned, does a wonderful job to keep the music together, which without their heroic efforts, might have disintegrated at some moments. Overall, this is a very ambitious album, which is only partly successful, but is way more interesting than most “well behaved” recordings, which dominated to Polish Jazz scene this year, perhaps partly paralyzed by the Pandemic. The daring and ambition are highly appreciated and with some “fine tuning” and discipline this quintet can certainly get places. Kudos for the effort and all the best in the future!

Updated: 30/11/2021Posted: 30/11/2021

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