Record Reviews

BESTER QUARTET ~ BAJGELMAN. GET TO TANGO ANAKLASIS 013 (Barcode: 5907795209739) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is an album by Polish Jazz ensemble Bester QuartetFind albums by this artist, led by accordionist / composer / bandleader Jaroslaw BesterFind albums by this artist, with violinist Dawid LubowiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej AdamczakFind albums by this artist and drummer Ryszard PalkaFind albums by this artist. The ensemble was expanded for this album to include three top Polish Jazz vocalists: Grazyna AuguscikFind albums by this artist, Dorota MiskiewiczFind albums by this artist and Jorgos SkoliasFind albums by this artist. Trumpeter Michal BylicaFind albums by this artist and cellist Krzysztof LenczowskiFind albums by this artist guest on most of the tracks. The album presents ten tracks, one instrumental and nine songs, all composed by the Jewish / Polish violinist / composer / songwriter / bandleader Dawid BajgelmanFind albums by this artist, with words (originally in Yiddish, except for one in Polish) by himself and other lyricists. This studio recording is a documentation of a special concert originally performed in 2018 as part of the anniversary commemorating the liquidation of the Lodz Ghetto in 1944, with was devised and produced by Miron ZajfertFind albums by this artist. The album was released by the prestigious Polish AnaklasisFind albums on this label label as part of its “Revisions” series. Jaroslaw Bester was one of the first Polish musicians to accept the challenge of treating seriously the Jewish Music created in Poland during the centuries of Jewish presence on the Polish soil. Sadly, most of the attempts to deal with Jewish Music border between kitsch and chaltura, but Bester managed consistently to avoid falling into this trap over the years. He founded the Cracow Klezmer BandFind albums by this artist in 1997, which later morphed into the Bester Quartet, with a long series of successful recordings to his credit. Following the initial period of focus on the Klezmer tradition, he expanded his vision to include other musical traditions, especially the tango, which became his passion in more recent years. Jewish Music and tango come together hand in hand on this album, since the secular Jewish Music in Poland, during the period between the two great wars, was fascinated with the tango as well. The life’s story of Dawid Bajgelman is easily divided between his meteoric career before WWII, which found him as a highly successful composer and songwriter, with his songs performed by the most popular Polish singers at the time, but in parallel his massive composing legacy for local Jewish cultural life in Lodz, at the time the second biggest urban Jewish community after Warsaw, and of course his activity in the Lodz Ghetto during the Holocaust period, which came to the end with his tragic death in Auschwitz, cynical and absurd, just a few days after the camp’s liberation. His songs, written in the ghetto, are some of the most expressive manifestations of the horror and misery of that time. Although Bester’s role on this album seems somewhat less illustrious than on his other recordings, limited to arrangements and leadership of the project, he does an absolutely splendid job herein. The music is brilliantly executed by all the participants, the recording offers a high quality sound and the entire project offers a deeply moving aesthetic experience. The vocalists are amongst the finest Polish Jazz Artists, quite different from each other in every possible sense, and yet they manage to cooperate perfectly when singing duets or trios, in addition to their solo parts. They also manage to handle the Yiddish lyrics reasonably well, but the four texts translated into Polish and the original Polish lyrics are of course as perfect as one might expect from such pros. The vocalese, although used sparingly, is also just right. The instrumental parts are all superbly done, with the new lineup of the Bester Quartet reaching a level of coherence higher than ever before. The trumpet is a nice touch, building an imaginary bridge to the original sound of these songs. Overall, this is a beautiful album, full of heartbreaking nostalgia and a proper, wonderfully conceived and executed tribute to the great contribution of the Polish / Jewish composer Dawid Bajgelman to the Polish Culture, one of so many so often forgotten Polish Jews, who shaped contemporary Polish identity, whether one likes it or not. My personal thanks to Miron Zajfert, who shares my passion of exposing our proud legacy, and of course to all the participants, who are amongst my favorite Polish musicians. May the Force be with you!

Updated: 17/02/2023Posted: 17/02/2023

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BESTER QUARTET ~ HUSTLE AND BUSTLE FOR TUNE 0161 (Barcode: 5906395808762) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 The release of this album marks the 25th Anniversary of the Polish Bester QuartetFind albums by this artist, founded in 1997 by accordionist / composer Jaroslaw BesterFind albums by this artist and initially called The Cracow Klezmer BandFind albums by this artist. The current lineup of the quartet includes also violinist Dawid LubowiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej AdamczakFind albums by this artist and drummer Ryszard PalkaFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by the leader. On this album Bester takes the listeners on a musical World Tour, which spans between Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and eventually reaches the shores of NY. Rather that concentrating on one musical milieu, like Jewish Music or the Tango, which were his earlier fascinations, this time Bester summarizes his experiences over a quarter of a Century, and explores diverse influences, which results in an album offing a much more varied aural experience. The new compositions are blessed with wonderful musicality and melodic depth, and the expanded horizons suit the total result in full. Another aspect of this album is the increased soloing duty taken over by Lubowicz, who obviously became an “equal partner”, richly deserved by his virtuosic ability and musical sensibility. As a result, the music on the last three albums since the new lineup of the quartet crystalized, offers gradually more improvising depth and tension than the earlier releases. The new rhythm section is also more spirited and supportive, pushing the two soloists even further in their explorations. Together the four members of the quartet are able to create a unison rarely achieved by other ensembles of this kind. Overall, this is a beautiful, deeply rewarding musical experience, elegantly performed by the quartet members, full of heartfelt dedication and aesthetic involvement. Older and mature and then ever, Bester Quartet is a synthesis of years of experience, education, talent and most of all passion. This is music that heals broken hearts and charges weakened souls, for which we can only be grateful. Thank you Gentlemen and hats off!

Updated: 09/01/2023Posted: 09/01/2023

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BESTER QUARTET ~ PIAZZOLLA ANGELS FOR TUNE 0153 (Barcode: 5906395808687) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is the twelfth album (second on For TuneFind albums on this label Records) by Polish ensemble Bester QuartetFind albums by this artist, formed in 1997 by accordionist / composer Jaroslaw BesterFind albums by this artist as Cracow Klezmer BandFind albums by this artist. The current lineup also includes violinist Dawid LubowiczFind albums by this artist (see Atom String QuartetFind albums by this artist), bassist Maciej AdamczakFind albums by this artist and drummer Ryszard PalkaFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, eight of which are compositions by Astor PiazzollaFind albums by this artist and one by Carlos GardelFind albums by this artist, the most famous Tango singer of all time and composer of several famous Tangos. All the music is arranged by Bester. Considering the fact that all eleven albums recorded by Bester before this one were one way another connected to the Polish “Jewish” / “Klezmer” tradition, the sudden move towards the Argentinean Tango is quite a surprising one. In the liner notes of the album Bester describes his long fascination with the music of Astor Piazzolla and, as far as I understand, it was the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which made him realize it is now or never to turn his dream into reality. Since I am pretty familiar with many interpretations of Piazzolla’s music, especially those by musicians connected with Jazz, I am happy to say that Bester manages to avoid the worse possible traps connected with such projects. First and foremost, the refuses to mimic or copy Piazzolla’s music and try to sound like a genuine Tango musician, which of course is simply impossible. He takes a lot of liberties with the original music, admittedly all in in good taste, transporting it into much more European Jazz flavored environment and even a modest smile. The resulting music is obviously clearly infused with Piazzolla’s spirit but has its own aesthetics. Although Bester’s accordion sounds still similar to the sound of the bandoneon, the violin parts are full of European lyricism deeply rooted in Classical music, and the rhythm section adds the Jazzy spice to the proceedings, which is completely absent in the Tango idiom, which uses guitar and piano all absent here. Even the “Funky” mandolin works fine ;) Of course one might question these liberties, but as long as Bester is not claiming to play like Piazzolla, but only submit to his magic and insert his own interpretation, for me these liberties work well and are not offending or sacrilegious. Combined with the superb musicianship this album boasts with, I’d say that there is very little of “not to like” here. Piazzolla’s genius is so overwhelming, that it manages to withstand much more abusive treatment than what was applied here. Overall, this is a pleasant, beautifully played and recorded tribute to one of the greatest geniuses of 20th Century music, which comes here with a Polish “twist”, which I find quite entertaining and tasteful, and which is surely one of Bester’s best achievements so far.

Updated: 15/12/2021Posted: 10/12/2021

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