Record Reviews

SABINA MECK ~ LOVE IS HERE FOR TUNE 0090 (Barcode: 5902768701821) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 - 2015 Released: 2016 The new generation of Polish Jazz musicians, which swept the local scene like a tsunami with the onset on the 21st Century, produced a staggering number of superb instrumentalists: trumpeters, saxophonists, pianists, bassists and drummers, but sadly almost no significant discoveries in vocal Jazz arrived on the scene, with just a very few exceptions. There are many possible explanations why this has happened: the crisis in the vocal Jazz idiom in general, the fact that vocalists born in Poland are not native English speakers, yet they tenaciously insist on singing in English even when it works against them, and most importantly the fact that the human voice is not only the most beautiful and limitless instrument, but also the most difficult one. Therefore listening to this album by the young Sabina MeckFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Sabina MyrczekFind albums by this artist) one can finally release a sigh of relief saying "it´s finally happening". Not only does she sing fabulously but she also wrote all the music and the lyrics on this album, which is almost too good to be true. The whole thing sounds like a classic vocal Jazz album, featuring a set of carefully selected standards; anything but a debut album. Meck selected the accompaniment of a classic piano trio, which is classy, elegant and minimalistic, but also incredibly bold. There is no electric trickery to hide imperfection, but there is a challenging need to combine forces with the trio members at all times. The trio´s performance is by all means as spectacular in every respect as the vocals. The upcoming and still very young Aga DerlakFind albums by this artist on piano is absolutely brilliant as an accompanist and together with the singer they are in a perfect Ying and Yang harmony. The rhythm section, bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Bartosz SzablowskiFind albums by this artist, adds its support amicably and very skillfully, with nothing short of flawlessness. The insiders of the Polish Jazz scene will of course notice immediately that Sabina Meck is the sister of the incredibly talented vocalist Wojciech MyrczekFind albums by this artist. It will be completely unfair to treat her just as "the sister of", since although she shares with her brother the gene pool of the highly gifted Myrczek clan, this album proves that she is a greatly talented Artist in her own right. Hopefully this is just the first of many wondrous albums to come. You’ve got it, my Fair Lady; you certainly have got what it takes! Side Note The above are my liner notes included on this album's artwork. I am honored when asked by the Artists to write liner notes for their albums, always hoping that my words reflect the true spirit of the music. This is also a symbol of our mutual respect and friendship developed over the years. The same is also true when Record Labels ask me to write liner notes for their releases, mostly in the case of reissues of archival albums, which is a symbol of their appreciation of my knowledge and historical perspective and my recognition of their dedication to the preservation of the history of recorded music and the effort to keep human Culture and Aesthetics alive.

Updated: 19/09/2018Posted: 06/05/2016

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SABINA MECK ~ SLOWO NA T SJ 048 (Barcode: 5912596066849) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the third album by Polish Jazz vocalist / songwriter Sabina MeckFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Sabina MyrczekFind albums by this artist), recorded in a sextet setting with saxophonist Przemyslaw ChmielFind albums by this artist, guitarist Lukasz KokoszkoFind albums by this artist, pianist Michal JakubczakFind albums by this artist, bassist Piotr NajarowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Szymon MadejFind albums by this artist. Sabina´s brother vocalist Wojciech MyrczekFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album presents ten original songs, all written (music and lyrics, all bar one in Polish language) by Meck. The album was recorded at the Monochrome Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist with excellent, as usual, sound quality. The album is a perfect document of the process Meck completed in the first five years of her career, both as vocalist and even more so as songwriter. The choices she made here to sing only original material and finally singing in Polish prove to be the right ones in every respect, as this album is definitely the most advanced and sophisticated achievement she made so far, even though the two previous albums were already remarkable by any standard. The most striking quality of this album is the quality of the compositions, which is nothing short of astounding. Although hey are all full of beautiful melodies, they also dare to explore much less conventional areas, sometimes even bordering on Free. The rhythmic patterns are often unusual and convoluted as well. As a result musically the album enters another dimension entirely, stepping beyond what is expected from "song oriented" music. Meck utilizes all her wonderful vocal abilities augmented by an extensive technical range, singing both lyrics and vocalese, spoken word and theatrical phrasing, each and every time perfectly appropriate to the given musical setting. Singing in Polish allows her to emphasize the dramatic qualities of her lyrics, which adds another layer to the songs´ overall effectiveness. She is beautifully supported by the five instrumentalists, who spice the proceedings with superb soloing and steady rhythmic flow, which is extremely important in this complex music. The young generation of Polish Jazz musicians is so full of wonderfully talented people that we take this level of quality for granted, but in fact this is true miracle. 2019 finally proved to be a remarkably fruitful year for Polish vocal Jazz albums after many decades of relative stagnation. This album is certainly one of most impressive of these albums, deserving as much love and attention as possible. I am happy so see that my high hopes and expectations from Sabina Meck, from the moment I first heard her, proved to be justified and it makes me extremely happy to see her consistently reaching for the stars. You make me proud my Dear!

Updated: 26/12/2019Posted: 26/12/2019

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MYRCZEK & SCHMIDT QUINTET ~ MLYNARSKI. BYNAJMNIEJ. SJ 080 (Barcode: 5905489720904) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2024 Released: 2024 This is an album by a Polish Jazz quintet co-led by vocalist Wojciech MyrczekFind albums by this artist and trumpeter Piotr SchmidtFind albums by this artist, which also includes pianist Krzysztof HerdzinFind albums by this artist, bassist Andrzej SwiesFind albums by this artist and drummer Sebastian FrankiewiczFind albums by this artist. French percussionist Mino CineluFind albums by this artist guests on five tracks and the AUKSO Chamber OrchestraFind albums by this artist, conducted by Marek MosFind albums by this artist, performs the strings arrangements. The album presents nine tracks, composed by various Polish composers and arranged by Herdzin (six tracks), Sabina MeckFind albums by this artist (two tracks) and Joanna SzymalaFind albums by this artist (one track), all with the lyrics by Wojciech MlynarskiFind albums by this artist, a distinguished Polish lyricist, who contributed lyrics to numerous classic Polish songs, whose talent this album celebrates by presenting them in a Jazzy framework. The music is all absolutely perfectly suited to the purpose, with superb arrangements that go hand in hand with these mostly highly lyrical / romantic songs, emphasizing their beauty. Myrczek, often called “the Polish Frank Sinatra” which is not entirely without a basis, is absolutely ideal for the job. Schmidt ornaments the songs by his short, concise but again perfectly crafted soli, and the rest of the participants are all Masters of their trade, and as usual do all in their power to make everything work as planned. Encrusted with the delicate string arrangements, this music is a true “whole package” in every sense. Of course I can only pity all my friends, who are not Polish language speakers, who are obviously destined to miss the pleasure of enjoying these sophisticated, intelligent and masterly woven lyrics by Mlynarski, but on the other hand my better half, whose knowledge of the Polish language is limited to “pierogi” and “prosze Pani”, loves this album and anything else by Myrczek, she just ignores the lyrics and enjoys the velvety voice, so here you are. This honestly is a universal piece of music. Overall, this is a beautiful vocal Jazz album, which borders on “Jazz & Poetry” due to Mlynarski’s sublime lyrics, with superb instrumental parts performed by some of the best Polish Jazz players, masterfully arranged and altogether delightful. What a joy!

Updated: 07/02/2025Posted: 07/02/2025

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SOUNDMECK ~ ERUPTION POLSKIE RADIO 2109 (Barcode: 5907812244972) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the second album by Polish Jazz vocalist / composer / lyricist Sabina MeckFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Sabina MyrczekFind albums by this artist) and the first under the ensemble moniker SoundmeckFind albums by this artist, a quintet led by Meck and also including trumpeter Pawel SurmanFind albums by this artist, guitarist Lukasz KokoszkoFind albums by this artist, bassist Adam TadelFind albums by this artist and drummer Szymon MadejFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original songs, one of which has a short instrumental introduction. Seven of the songs feature lyrics in English and one song has lyrics in Polish. Meck wrote all the music and the lyrics. The music on this album is quite different from what Meck presented on her sensational debut a year earlier. The ensemble has a much richer sound than the previously featured classic piano trio and the sound is much more contemporary, electric, vibrant and sparkling. The music, although still very much Jazzy, opens out to other directions, like Pop, Rock, Cabaret and other genres. Meck´s songwriting reaches here the full bloom and presents her as a diverse, sensitive and sophisticated songweaver. Meck´s vocal performances on this album are also a major step forward, again presenting a wider, much more varied vocal technique, use of vocalese and theatrical trickery, which is fascinating and extremely attractive. She handles the English lyrics well, perhaps not completely "properly" as far as the pronunciation is concerned, but her idiosyncrasies are charming rather than problematic. Personally I still love the song with the Polish lyrics best, but that is just me. The accompanying quartet´s instrumental performances are all absolutely brilliant. Kokoszko plays a really tasty guitar and solos abundantly and it is his stylistic diversity that takes the music out of the strict Jazz environment into other areas. His Rock oriented solo on one of the tracks is one of the best Rock guitar solos I came across in a long time. Surman plays less up front, but his unisono parts with Meck are exquisite and are one of the trademarks of the music presented on this album. The rhythm section is also superb all along, keeping the complex music afloat and supporting the vocals amicably, always with grace and elegance. It is remarkable to hear the delicate balance between the vocals and the instrumental work on this album, one of the best examples of such cooperation. There is an implicit sharing of responsibilities between the ensemble members, mutual respect and a sense of common goal. The time span of vocal and instrumental parts is beautifully balanced, which of course emphasizes the ensemble effect. Overall this is a remarkable and outstanding album in every respect, definitely one of the best Polish Jazz (and beyond) vocal albums so far this year and a giant step forward for Meck and her compadres. The average age of these musicians is nothing short of astounding and the proportion between their ages and abilities is frightening – in the best way of course. A brilliant piece of music from start to finish, which deserves nothing but praise and respect!

Updated: 10/06/2017Posted: 10/06/2017

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