Record Reviews

POLISH RADIO JAZZ ORCHESTRA / ANDRZEJ KURYLEWICZ ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.23 POLSKIE RADIO 1875 (Barcode: 5907812248758) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1964 Released: 2015 This is the twenty-third installment in the series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings from the radio vaults. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The nineteen tracks collected here were recorded in 1964 by the Polish Radio Jazz OrchestraFind albums by this artist conducted by pianist / trumpeter / trombonist / composer Andrzej KurylewiczFind albums by this artist. Sixteen tracks were recorded by the Polish Radio Studio during various sessions and three were recorded live during the seventh Jazz Jamboree Festival. The orchestra included at the time several well known musicians, like saxophonists Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist and Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist, vibraphonist Jerzy MilianFind albums by this artist and others. The material is a mixture of Jazz standards (five tracks) and original compositions by Polish Jazz composers: Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist (six tracks), Jerzy Milian (three tracks), Andrzej Trzaskowski (two tracks), Edward DylagFind albums by this artist (two tracks) and Michal Urbaniak (one track). The arrangements and orchestrations are firmly based in the American Big Band tradition, but the overall sound of the orchestra already shows the European approach and the majority of original compositions reflects the tendency to find a new path, which will take big format Jazz another step forward in the years to follow. Of course the individual performances, soloing and orchestral harmonization are all top-notch. In the historic perspective this is a superb document of the transition between the American influenced Jazz and the emancipated European Jazz that is about to erupt, including the big format Jazz environment. Trzaskowski, of course, was definitely one of the pioneers of this new movement, and his influence was crucial as far as the Polish Jazz is concerned, prompting and leading it to make the shift. The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.21 POLSKIE RADIO 1873 (Barcode: 5907812248734) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1964 Released: 2015 This is the twenty-first installment in the series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings from the radio vaults. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The seventeen tracks collected here were recorded during the seventh Jazz Jamboree Festival, which took place between October 24 and 26 1964 in Warsaw. This is second part of the Jazz Jamboree 1964 recordings. The music was performed by four different ensembles, which are: the Polish Radio Jazz OrchestraFind albums by this artist conducted by Andrzej KurylewiczFind albums by this artist (four tracks), the Czechoslovak Gustav Brom OrchestraFind albums by this artist (five tracks), the Polish Traditional Jazz ensemble Warsaw StompersFind albums by this artist (three tracks) and finally the Dutch singer Rita ReysFind albums by this artist accompanied by a trio led by her husband pianist Pim JacobsFind albums by this artist with his brother Ruud JacobsFind albums by this artist on bass and guitarist Wim OvergaauwFind albums by this artist (five tracks). Most of the music consists of standards, but the Polish Radio Orchestra plays two, the Gustav Brom Orchestra four and the Warsaw Stompers one original composition. The music performed by the Gustav Brom Orchestra is by far the most interesting part of this album, and includes very advanced modern compositions, arrangements and individual performances. The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

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JAN PTASZYN WROBLEWSKI ~ SPRZEDAWCY GLONOW (POLISH JAZZ VOL.90 DELUXE) MUZA 1090 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1971 - 1973 Released: 2006 This relatively little known brilliant album presents Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer / arranger / bandleader Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist mainly in the capacity as the director of the Polish Radio Jazz OrchestraFind albums by this artist, a superb collection of top musicians, which functioned as a catalyst and incubator to generations of Polish Jazz musicians as well as a first rate workshop and recording platform. Wroblewski, one of Polish Jazz veterans and Godfathers, led the orchestra for many years with great success and these recordings prove how great it really was. He also composed three of the six extended compositions included here with the other three composed by Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist, Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist and Andrzej TrzaskowskiFind albums by this artist each contributing one composition. The arrangements are absolutely brilliant as are the performances, with the orchestra fronted as such first rate soloists like Stanko, Namyslowski, Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist (playing sax on one track and violin on another), Tomasz SzukalskiFind albums by this artist, Adam MakowiczFind albums by this artist, Marek BlizinskiFind albums by this artist, Wojciech KarolakFind albums by this artist, Zbigniew SeifertFind albums by this artist and of course Wroblewski himself, in short the crème de la crème of the Polish Jazz scene at the time. The music is very modern and even borders on Free at times, presenting very rare examples of Jazz orchestra accompanying a freely improvising soloist. This album is an absolute must to all Polish Jazz lovers and in retrospect is of the best Polish Jazz albums ever recorded. Grab it!

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