Record Reviews

BROWN / LEVIN / MAZURKIEWICZ ~ DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CITY MULTIKULTI MPI 029 (Barcode: 5907796319543) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by the US / Polish Improvising Music trio, which consists of saxophonist Rob BrownFind albums by this artist, cellist Daniel LevinFind albums by this artist and Polish bassist Jacek MazurkiewiczFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded live at three different locations during a Polish tour of the trio and presents eight improvised pieces co-credited to all the trio members. Improvised Music is by its very nature a spur of the moment occurrence and when frozen for posterity by the recording process it very rarely sustains its original meaning and only in exceptional cases turns into a meaningful piece of music, which is worthy of repeated hearing. Sadly the music herein is not one of such rare cases and although it might have been interesting when heard during a live performance, it sounds distant and introvert on record. Although all three participating musicians have a fine list of achievements, and the two Americans have recorded together before, the trio fails to impress. Improvised Music is all about cooperation, without which it sounds like a series of individual statements, which do not merge together and have only one thing in common: the fact that they happened at the same place at the same time, which this album unfortunately tends to sound like most of the time. Of course it is entirely possible that I just don´t get this music and am not able to enjoy it, in which case my opinion is completely worthless and selfish. On the other hand perhaps that kind of music making is a completely self-centered activity, which excludes listeners as superfluous? In any case it is up to the listener to decide.

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OLES BROTHERS / ROB BROWN ~ LIVE AT SJC FENOMMEDIA 008 (Barcode: 5907604327081) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2008 Released: 2009 This is a trio album by Polish Jazz heroes, brothers Marcin OlesFind albums by this artist (bass) and Bartlomiej OlesFind albums by this artist (drums) collectively known as Oles BrothersFind albums by this artist, joined by American saxophonist Rob BrownFind albums by this artist, one of the most prolific and active NY scene Free Jazz players. The album comprises of seven original compositions, the opening three being parts of a three-part suite. All the music was composed by Bartlomiej Oles except for one tune composed by Marcin Oles. The album was recorded live and is a part of the "Live Series" of releases on the Oles Brothers owned FenommediaFind albums on this label Records. The music is typical contemporary Jazz, which allows for a large degree of freedom and extended improvisation but stays within the pre-composed melodic framework. Brown dominates the album with his very busy way of playing, and the rhythm section supports him marvelously, easy changing tempi back and forth between medium to fast, like true professionals. Although the cooperation between the musicians and the individual statements are without doubt all excellent, personally I enjoy more the moments when the rhythm section plays alone rather than when the saxophone is up front. That laborious wall of sound effect, which is typical of most American Free Jazz players and which unfortunately did not evolve an inch in the last few decades, is already exhausted as far as I am concerned. I mean is anybody able to express more emotion in their music by imitating the prophets like John ColtraneFind albums by this artist or Albert AylerFind albums by this artist or Eric DolphyFind albums by this artist? Brown belongs to a large group of American improvisers, which simply is unable to rejuvenate the idea and move forward. Therefore during the moments when Brown plays sparingly and melodically, as he does on the one before last track, he is truly excellent but when he erupts into the extended, aggressive improvisations, my defense mechanism is fully deployed. All things considered this is a fine modern Jazz album, mostly due to the excellent work done by the rhythm section, which emphasizes the fact that the language of Jazz knows no geographic or political boundaries and it´s all up to people to make music together regardless of their origins. Not very innovative and sometimes a bit unnerving, but something Free Jazz fans should definitely enjoy immensely.

Updated: 02/01/2017Posted:

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