Record Reviews

JAZZBLASTER ~ NIGHT OUT V 017 (Barcode: 5903111377168) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Pop Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the second album by Polish ensemble JazzBlasterFind albums by this artist, which comprises of trumpeter / vocalist Tadeusz KulasFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Piotr RachonFind albums by this artist, violinist Dominik BienczyckiFind albums by this artist, bassist Roland AbreuFind albums by this artist and drummer Marcin RakFind albums by this artist. Bassist Wojciech BerganderFind albums by this artist plays on one track and additional synthesizers are played by Pawel KonikiewiczFind albums by this artist, who was also involved in the recording process. The album presents eight original tracks all composed by Rachon (except one co-composed with Kulas) and all texts (in English) are by Kulas. The music moves away from Jazz even more significantly than on the debut album and the overall sound and musical direction of the ensemble are entirely Pop / Rock oriented with the Jazz accents present only within the instrumental passages, which are sadly less prominent on this album. Kulas almost completely resigned from his role as a trumpeter and is manly featured as vocalist. As it usually happens with Polish vocalists singing in English, his accent and pronunciation are really unacceptable, but perhaps on the local Polish scene this is less noticeable. I wander if JazzBlaster and EABSFind albums by this artist are about to create the Wroclaw sound, as there are strong similarities between these two young bands´ sound? Having said all that, the album does have its moments and the overall Punkish attitude probably does it for the younger generation of the Polish listeners. The heavy bass sound and presence of the bass up front in the mix creates a trance like somewhat Funky mood, which is quite effective. The piano parts are all very well played and the addition of the violin also enriches the sonic ambience. The trumpet, when finally played, is also pretty helpful. To sum it up, take away the vocals (or perhaps make them wordless vocalese) and what is left becomes quite a tasty piece of youthful Funky / Punk Jazz, which is danceable and overall quite entertaining. Sorry guys that I can´t be more enthusiastic, but as usual to each his own. The music shows tons of potential for sure, and just a little push in the right direction and everything will click!

Updated: 17/03/2020Posted: 22/09/2019

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

JAZZBLASTER ~ PLAYS DEPECHE MODE V 012 (Barcode: 590311137712) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Pop Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by a young Polish Jazz quartet JazzBlasterFind albums by this artist, which comprises of trumpeter / vocalist Tadeusz KulasFind albums by this artist, pianist Piotr RachonFind albums by this artist, bassist Eugeniusz BetlinskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Marcin RakFind albums by this artist. Vocalist Adriana StyrczFind albums by this artist guests on a couple of tracks. The album was recorded live at the Vertigo Jazz Club in Wroclaw. As the title suggests, the album presents eight songs written by Martin GoreFind albums by this artist, the leader of British electronic Pop / New Wave group Depeche ModeFind albums by this artist, arranged for the Jazz idiom by Rachon. Personally I have never been a great fan of the New Wave many groups, Depeche Mode included, founding their music rather limited and honestly boring, suffering from the post-Punk trauma. As such my approach to this album was a priori extremely cautious. I am glad to say that overall the album has many wonderful moments and surprises, which is more that I expected. The positive thing about this music is its originality and the attempt to bridge between genres, which is its essence. On the other hand there are many problems, the main of which is the clarity of its statement, i.e. at times the music sounds like electronic Pop which has nothing to do with Jazz and at others it sounds like a modern Jazz quartet which has nothing to do with Depeche Mode except for the rhythmic parts. In short the proposed amalgam has not been fully achieved. But these young musicians can play, that is for sure. All four of them display excellent technique and fire and the Jazz oriented parts swing beautifully. Kulas plays some truly wonderful trumpet parts, Rachon is a superb pianist, which I hope to hear more of in a different environment, Betlinski singlehandedly holds this music together by his superb bass parts and Rak adds the kick this music needs. Overall take away the vocals (which are not up to par with the instrumental parts) and you get an entertaining Jazz-Pop Fusion album, which is fun to listen to, but nothing that breaks significant new ground; well done and passionate, but still very ambivalent. But there is a lot of great potential for sure, which hopefully will come to fruition in the future. A little more modesty on the album´s liner notes is also advised ;)

Updated: 09/02/2018Posted: 09/02/2018

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

MAZZ BOXX ~ MAZZ BOXX AUDIO CAVE 2021/009 (Barcode: 5908298549322) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Ambient Fusion Recorded: 2008 - 2011 Released: 2021 This is an archival album recorded live in 2008 by various ensembles led by Polish Avant-Garde clarinetist / composer Jerzy MazzollFind albums by this artist and including contributions by pianist Joanna DudaFind albums by this artist and Piotr RachonFind albums by this artist, bassist Ju GhanFind albums by this artist, drummers Piotr PodgorskiFind albums by this artist and Filip DanielakFind albums by this artist, percussionist Tomasz AntonowiczFind albums by this artist and others. In 2010 Mazzoll gave the recorded materials to producer Igor BoxxFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Igor PudloFind albums by this artist) to select an album’s worth of material, but Boxx took the job much further and deconstructed / manipulated the material in 2011 into a new shape and form, which resulted in ten tracks based on the original compositions by Mazzoll and which are presented herein. The material waited for ten years to be finally released by the excellent Audio CaveFind albums on this label label. Personally I’d love this album to be a double, with one album including the original recorded material, before it was electronically manipulated, and then the material presented here appearing on the second album, but alas this did not happen. Therefore, I can only imagine how the original material sounded. Mazzoll is a Free Jazz / Improvised Music icon on the Polish scene, and as a result the ambient music present on this album is a bit difficult to be directly associated with his image. Especially since it is much beautified / simplified in its current shape, sounding almost like New Age music at times. Mazzoll’s virtuosic clarinet performances are almost completely hidden and the looping effects and distorted sounds fit electronic Pop and Ambient music much more effectively than doing a service to Mazzoll’s music. Overall, this album is of interest to Ambient / Electronic music fans rather than Jazz / Improvised Music / Avant-Garde listeners, which of course does not mean the music has no merit, it is simply oriented for different audiences than Mazzoll’s output so far.

Updated: 15/09/2021Posted: 15/09/2021

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

PIOTR RACHON QUARTET ~ AMAZONIA V 020 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2021 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Piotr RachonFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with guitarist and electronics manipulator Vojto MonteurFind albums by this artist (of EABSFind albums by this artist fame), bassist Jakub OlejnikFind albums by this artist and drummer Pawel NienadowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents six lengthy tracks, all about ten minutes in duration, all composed by the leader, one based on a classical piece and two based on traditional Mongolian melodies. The music floats somewhere between modern Jazz and Fusion, depending how much guitar and electronics are involved at a given moment. The piano parts are definitely more Jazz associated, whereas the guitar has a distinct Fusion sound and feel. But the collective result is quite interesting and lively, although the entire album somewhat lacks a clear musical focus, perhaps searching for a direction, hopefully to be better nailed on the next recording. Another problem (at least for me) is the strange muffled sound of the recording with a bizarre balance, which places the bass right up in the mix. Olejnik’s bass playing is absolutely fine on the album, but he is dominating the entire proceeding, simply being up front at all time. I suppose the mix is intentional and a matter of taste, but it is certainly disturbing for me. But with all these minor glitches aside, this is still a very interesting piece of music, which can be enjoyable to a wide audience and certainly holds the attention of the listener for the entire duration. Both Rachon and Monteur play excellent solo parts and the rhythm section is up to par with the challenges, with Olejnik’s superb bass pulsations pushing the music steadily forward. Overall, this is an interesting debut effort for the leader and the quartet as a whole, with interesting compositions, excellent performances and an unusual sound, which is certainly a matter of acquired taste. Well done!

Updated: 21/04/2024Posted: 19/04/2024

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

JORGOS SKOLIAS / PIOTR RACHON ~ FREE V 014 (Barcode: 5903111377137) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by Polish duo comprising of vocalist Jorgos SkoliasFind albums by this artist and pianist Piotr RachonFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten original compositions, spontaneously created during the recording session and credited to both participants, with the "lyrics" credited to Skolias. The album was recorded at the Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, with the expected superb sound quality. From the very onset of the music it becomes immediately obvious that this album is unlike anything one might have come across before. As the album´s title suggests, this music is completely free from any preconceptions and genre limitations. Skolias and Rachon let themselves to be led by their respective instincts and the telepathic rapport they manage to establish during the session´s duration. They are clearly listening to each other very carefully, and yet they take turns in pushing the music from one plane to another, moving forward and backwards and sideways constantly. Despite the seemingly directionless aura, the music is perfectly coherent and even "organized" and "melodic" most of the time, certainly in the abstract gist of these idioms. With Skolias using almost completely unconventional vocal techniques, Rachon sticks to almost conventional chords and scales, keeping the overall result "in check", which helps to avoid havoc and confusion. Both players are of course equally inventive at all times. Skolias uses his voice in a multilayered and multidirectional manner, utilizing single words and phrases, Multilanguage and gibberish, natural and distorted vocals and harmonized vocal effects, screams and whispers, in short an amazing array of human-produced natural and unnatural effects, which only he is capable of creating. Rachon skillfully and incredibly sensibly manages to insert his piano sounds to harmonize perfectly with the barrage of sounds produced by Skolias, creating a symbiotic whole. In fact describing this music in words is an a priori futile effort, and listening to it is the only proper way to treat it. Having said that, one must admit that this music is so extraordinary and Avant-Garde that it can be considered groundbreaking, certainly as far as Improvised Vocal Music is concerned. The Giant Step taken by Skolias from his Rock, Blues and Jazz roots towards this revolutionary modus operandi is astonishing in its boldness and ingenuity. Although I have always considered Skolias as a superbly talented and multifaceted artist, this time he truly managed to knock my socks off! Hats off to you my Friend!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 19/11/2018

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend