Record Reviews

APOSTOLIS ANTHIMOS ~ 50 – LIVE IN NOSPR NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 5903068122774) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is a 2CD album by Polish Jazz / Fusion guitarist / drummer / composer Apostolis AnthimosFind albums by this artist, recorded live at the fabulous NOSPR concert hall in Katowice, celebrating his 50 years of musical activity. The music was recorded by a core quartet with keyboardist Piotr MatusikFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Olaf WegierFind albums by this artist and bassist Robert SzewczugaFind albums by this artist and guests: French trumpeter Erik TruffazFind albums by this artist, Polish DJ Wojciech DlugoszFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Mr. KrimeFind albums by this artist) and Dutch drummer Yoran VroomFind albums by this artist. The album presents eighteen tracks, including a repeated (six times) theme called “For 50 Years”, all composed by the leader. Although primarily know as a founding member of the legendary Polish Prog / Fusion group SBBFind albums by this artist, Anthimos cultivated a solo career in parallel to his career with SBB, recording solo albums and participating in recording of many albums by various Polish and international artists / groups, constantly shifting between Jazz, Fusion and Rock. Although usually associated with playing guitar, he is also an accomplished drummer. The album reflects all the virtues Apostolis has to offer, as a guitarist, drummer and above all as a composer. The highly melodic and yet beautifully structured tunes are perfect vehicles for the musicians to show their chops and create a smooth continuity and highly pleasant and absorbing music. The inclusion of Truffaz adds a wonderful Jazz layer to these proceedings and are a fond reminder of Anthimos’ work with Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist. Apostolis is a highly imaginative guitarist, which of course is evident throughout his entire career, and has a unique sound, which amalgamates many different elements, including his affinity to Greek music, a highly developed Jazz sensibility and the Rock elements, creating together one of the most distinguished European Fusion voices. Overall, this is a wonderful Fusion album that no fan of the genre should miss in his collection, with great music and brilliant guitar playing rarely met elsewhere. Highly recommended!

Updated: 17/12/2021Posted: 17/12/2021

CD 2 Recommend To A Friend

APOSTOLIS ANTHIMOS ~ PARALLEL WORLDS METAL MIND 0786 (Barcode: 5907785039971) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018 This is the fifth album by Polish (of Greek origins) guitarist / drummer / composer Apostolis AnthimosFind albums by this artist, mostly familiar as the lead guitarist of the legendary Polish power trio SBBFind albums by this artist, but also active in other music fields, as this album´s title perhaps suggests. On this album Anthimos plays guitar and drums and is accompanied by bassist Robert SzewczugaFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Piotr MatusikFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Olaf WegierFind albums by this artist. A couple of vocalists appear as guests on one track each. The album presents fourteen original compositions, presumably all by Anthimos, since nothing is explicitly stated on the album´s artwork. The music is quite different from what Anthimos is usually associated with, presenting mostly melodic Jazz, some Fusion and World Music, all very delicate and subdued. The focus of this album is fully directed on Anthimos the composer, especially in view of the fact that his guitar playing here is limited, and he plays drums on all tracks instead. The guitar is prominently featured mostly on the title track and sparingly on a few other tracks, which again points out, that the concept was to show a different facet of Anthimos´ Music. His fully blossomed composing skills result in a superb collection of wonderful melodies, all of which are skillfully weaved and harmonically coherent. The performances are all excellent and with the absence of Anthimos´ guitar, the soloing is mostly the responsibility of Matusik and Wegier, both of whom show exceptional skills and taste. Szewczuga lays exquisite layers of bass statements, which round up the sound of the quartet and Anthimos drives the rhythmic pulsations flawlessly. Overall this is a wonderful melodic, mostly Jazz album, with excellent compositions and outstanding performances, which should keep every Jazz connoisseur extremely happy. People used to Anthimos´ Rock and Fusion explorations might be surprised to hear this album but if they have any taste and music understanding they should accept this simply as another facet of their idol´s musical personality! Lakis ευχαριστώ for this great music!

Updated: 27/03/2018Posted: 27/03/2018

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

APOSTOLIS ANTHIMOS TRIAS ~ COME TOGETHER METAL MIND 0836 (Barcode: 5907785041288) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2023 This is the debut album by the Polish Fusion trio led by guitarist / composer Apostolis AnthimosFind albums by this artist, with bassist Robert SzewczugaFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof DziedzicFind albums by this artist. Although the trio exists since the early 2000s, this is their debut recording. The album presents ten original compositions, nine of which were composed by Anthimos (one with a little help from The BeatlesFind albums by this artist) and one was co-composed by all three members of the trio. The music is everything one would expect from a contemporary Fusion act, which has experienced and talented members and manages to avoid the usual traps, which most Fusion ensembles are unable to get free off. There are no trivial melodic ditties, which serve as vehicles for senseless guitar doodling, but rather excellent coherent compositions, which are played with great sensitivity and not one needless note to spare. Anthimos enjoys a revered status on the Polish scene after playing with Czeslaw NiemenFind albums by this artist, Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist and SBBFind albums by this artist, all legendary figures on the Polish Jazz, Fusion and Prog scenes, but his guitar playing keeps evolving and never sticks to repeating old clichés. I have had as opportunity to hear him play recently live with SBB and it was an exhilarating experience. Szewczuga is a great bass player, very melodic and imaginative and his pulsations fill the aural space with a worm, highly supportive harmonic layers, which fit like a glove to the guitar leads. Dziedzic in very energetic, but also restrained player, who never tries to dominate the proceedings, but pushes the music firmly forward. Overall, this is an excellent Fusion album, offering some first class tunes and splendid instrumental work, without sounding like another copy of endless Fusion albums one might have heard in the past. But it is also a great fun to listen to, all the way through. Highly recommended!

Updated: 21/08/2023Posted: 21/08/2023

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

BEATA PRZYBYTEK ~ THE ISLAND PRK 057 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2003 Released: 2004 This is the second album by Polish Jazz vocalist Beata PrzybytekFind albums by this artist, recorded with her quintet, which comprises of saxophonist / flautist Marcin ZupanskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Dorota ZaziabloFind albums by this artist, bassist Robert SzewczugaFind albums by this artist and drummer Ryszard BalcerFind albums by this artist. Same as its predecessor, which was recorded eighteen month earlier, this album presents nine classic Jazz vocal standards, sung in their original English version. There are no arrangement credits on the album´s liner notes. The album was recorded while Przybytek was still a student at the Academy of Music in Katowice where she studied Jazz vocals and her group comprises of her fellow students from the same school as well as students from the Academy of Music in Krakow. The result is in many respects a direct continuation of what the debut recording offered, but it is much more relaxed (and even somewhat lax), suggesting more self-confidence. Effectively it lacks the youthful enthusiasm and spontaneity and therefore also looses some of the charm of the debut album. Przybytek saves the day by exposing her ability to stretch her voice and use a husky tone most effectively, which brings her closer sonically to Soul and Blues rather than to the straight-forward Jazz format. On this album her talent obviously outgrows the abilities of her cohorts and with a different band she would have probably achieved a much better result. All in all this is still a very nice mainstream vocal Jazz album, which should make most of the fans utterly satisfied. Przybytek is a very talented singer and once she reached her full potential as singer / songwriter all her qualities came to full bloom. In the meantime this is a nice souvenir from the student days. Definitely worth investigating!

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

BEATA PRZYBYTEK ~ TODAY GIRLS DON`T CRY FLID 003 (Barcode: 5908254159718) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Soul Fusion Recorded: 2015 - 2017 Released: 2017 This is the long anticipated fifth album by Polish singer / songwriter Beata PrzybytekFind albums by this artist. It presents twelve original songs composed by Przybytek, nine of which feature English lyrics by Alicja MaciejowskaFind albums by this artist, two feature Polish lyrics by Dariusz DuszaFind albums by this artist and one features Polish lyrics by Grzegorz WasowskiFind albums by this artist. There is also a bonus track (lucky thirteen) written by Polish poet Andrzej PoniedzielskiFind albums by this artist and guitarist / composer Jakub ChmielarskiFind albums by this artist. The recording of the album lasted for almost two and a half years, spans several recording studios and features some of the best Polish Instrumentalist, many of them associated with Polish Jazz. Keyboardist Tomasz KalwakFind albums by this artist is again in charge of the arrangements and production and other musicians involved include keyboardists Boguslaw KaczmarFind albums by this artist and Pawel TomaszewskiFind albums by this artist, guitarists Damian KuraszFind albums by this artist and the a/m Jakub Chmielarski, bassists Adam KowalewskiFind albums by this artist, Robert SzewczugaFind albums by this artist and Andrzej SwiesFind albums by this artist, drummers Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist, Filip MozulFind albums by this artist and Arek SkolikFind albums by this artist, percussionist Slawomir BernyFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Marek PodkowaFind albums by this artist and Mariusz MaczkaFind albums by this artist and trumpeter Sebastian SoldrzynskiFind albums by this artist. Vocalist Beata BednarzFind albums by this artist guests on one track. About five years ago the previous album by Przybytek ("I`m Gonna Rock YouFind albums with this title") landed accidently on my desk and my enthusiastic review expressed my delight and joy experienced while listening to it, heralding her as one of the great hopes of the Polish vocal scene, despite the fact that she was almost completely unknown at the time. After a long wait it is even more delightful to hear that my "discovery" proved to be spot on and Przybytek delivered another masterpiece, not only on the Polish scale, but surely on a world scale as well. There are only a handful of other singer / songwriters active today who are able to write such wonderfully heartfelt songs and deliver them with such passion, conviction and seductive magnetism. Each and every one of these songs is an absolute gem, with no weak moments on the entire album. Although rooted in Jazz, Przybytek made a very conscious and in retrospect astute decision to move towards Soul, Rhythm And Blues and sophisticated Pop, which suit both her warm, sexy voice and obviously also her musical inclinations better than the Jazz idiom she started with. It takes a lot of intuition and self-confidence to make decisions like that, which in Przybytek´s case paved the way for her spectacular success. She truly "found herself" perfectly on this album, which directly projects on its quality, making it as "perfect" musically as albums get. Of course Przybytek´s vocals are more polished than on her earlier recordings, luckily not destroying her natural vocal qualities, which are still convincing and heartbreaking. Although I prefer her singing Polish lyrics (as usual in my case) her delivery of the English lyrics are spotless and completely natural. The instrumental work by all the musicians involved is absolutely stunning, as expected. My personal favorites are the organ parts played by Tomaszewski, who is superb as always, but the overall level of performances is simply extraordinary. This is obviously one of the best Polish albums released in 2017, regardless of what other critics may say. Over the years I have completely lost confidence in the Polish music awards scene, including the "Fryderyki", which have become a complete farce, but if any Polish album deserves the title of album of the year 2017, this is it! Przybytek is the epitome of talent and professionalism, which sadly are not in high esteem any more. Personally I wish to thank you Beata for fulfilling my belief in you, for writing such beautiful songs, for singing them so exquisitely and for making this dark, sad world a better place, even if only for some fifty six minutes and twenty two seconds ;) Go Women!

Updated: 08/05/2023Posted: 24/12/2017

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

BEATA PRZYBYTEK ~ YOU DON`T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS PRK 049 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2002 Released: 2003 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz vocalist Beata PrzybytekFind albums by this artist, recorded with her quintet, which comprises of saxophonist / flautist Marcin ZupanskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Dorota ZaziabloFind albums by this artist, bassist Robert SzewczugaFind albums by this artist and drummer Ryszard BalcerFind albums by this artist. Violinist Krzysztof MaciejowskiFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album presents nine classic Jazz vocal standards, sung in their original English version. There are no arrangement credits on the album´s liner notes. The album was recorded while Przybytek was a student at the Academy of Music in Katowice where she studied Jazz vocals and her group comprises of her fellow students from the same school as well as students from the Academy of Music in Krakow. The result is certainly well above the expectations one might have from a group of very young and inexperienced musicians. Both the vocals and the instrumental backing are quite excellent and most importantly have a unique sound and afresh approach to these standards, which have been tried countless times before. The arrangements include enough space for the instrumentalists to be able to show their skills, which they do repeatedly. Przybytek unveils her warm and expressive voice, which she playfully stretches between seductive meows and heartbreaking howls, all in good taste and with obvious talent. She does not use often the husky tone, which she utilizes on her later recordings, but her enormous potential is quite evident here. She also is one the very few Polish vocalists that can get away with singing in English without sounding utterly ridiculous, which works in her favor. Her intonation tends to be on the Gospel / Blues side, which suits her well. Overall, although not very innovative or groundbreaking, this is a very solid offering, which as a debut can be definitely regarded as an outstanding effort. Vocal Jazz fans will find this quite delightful, combining youthful enthusiasm and innocence with talent and dedication. Well done!

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

ROBERT SZEWCZUGA ~ MOONRISE METAL MIND 0788 (Barcode: 5907785039995) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Funk Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the debut album as a leader by young Polish bassist Robert SzewczugaFind albums by this artist, recorded in a trio setting with keyboardist Michal RoratFind albums by this artist and drummer Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist. Several guest musicians are featured on selected tracks. The album presents ten original compositions, presumably all by Szewczuga, although that is not mentioned on the album´s artwork. The music is all within the Fusion / Funk / Groove framework, based on solid melodies, which serve as vehicles for the lengthy improvisations, mostly by the leader. The relaxed atmosphere and beautiful sound quality add to the overall effect, creating an album that is a real pleasure to listen to from start to finish. Szewczuga makes sure that his electric bass playing remains the focal point of this recording, playing with virtuosity and vigor that bring fond memories of Jaco PastoriusFind albums by this artist´ work. Both Rorat and Dobrowolski stand shoulder to shoulder with the leader and support him exactly as appropriate within this environment, emphasizing the Funk and Groove elements. The track featuring Apostolis AnthimosFind albums by this artist on guitar is a classic Fusion tune and a great example of what can still be achieved in that idiom today. The track featuring the vocalist GhostmanFind albums by this artist is a wonderful reminder of his quality and a longing for more of his recorded work. Overall this is an excellent album, which is fun to listen to and proudly represents the role of electric bass in contemporary music, which sadly is often overlooked. Szewczuga´s exquisite sensitivity, which is well demonstrated by his work as a sideman, is even more prominent herein. For electric bassists and fans of the instrument this is an absolute must, an orgy of talent and virtuosity. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 30/03/2018Posted: 30/03/2018

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend