Record Reviews

GRZEGORZ ROGALA PROJECT ~ ENTHUZJAZZM SOLITON 030 (Barcode: 5901549899306) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 The incredible Renaissance of Jewish Culture, which erupted in recent years in Poland, the country which hosted Jews for centuries and then witnessed their extermination during the Holocaust, is truly wondrous and unprecedented. The renewed interest in Jewish Culture and Tradition has its musical sides of course, like Jewish Music Festivals and smaller, more intimate projects like this one - a Jazz quartet which brings together three Polish and one Israeli Jazz musicians: trombonist Grzegorz RogalaFind albums by this artist, bassist Lukasz BorowieckiFind albums by this artist, drummer Michal BryndalFind albums by this artist and female saxophonist Sagit ZilbermanFind albums by this artist. An oud player and a rapper guest on one track each. Together they perform seven compositions, which combine Jazz with Jewish folklore (and Polish folklore as well) – not a new concept, but certainly one which is able to produce very interesting results. Of the seven compositions three are by Rogala, two by John ZornFind albums by this artist (the legendary pioneer of the Radical Jewish Jazz movement), one by Zilberman and one is a standard arranged by Zilberman. The overall sound and musical approach of the quartet is very original and unique, with the two soloists improvising on top of a very solid rhythmic background provided by the rhythm section. In fact the bass player holds the music together in a truly admirable way. The quartet is not trying to play another version of Klezmer / Hasidic Jazz mixture, which has already been explored by many other ensembles, but creates their own stylistic approach, which although not completely Free, has a lot of freedom and space, which allows individual expression. Overall the album sounds fresh, interesting and unique, which doesn´t happen too often these days. Definitely worth investigating!

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GRZEGORZ ROGALA PROJECT / SAGIT ZILBERMAN ~ POEZJAZZ SOLITON 382 (Barcode: 5901571093826) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 This is the second album by the Polish / Israeli ensemble, co-led by Polish trombonist Grzegorz RogalaFind albums by this artist and Israeli saxophonist Sagit ZilbermanFind albums by this artist. The ensemble includes also pianist Witold JaniakFind albums by this artist, bassist Wojciech PulcynFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof SzmandaFind albums by this artist. Two vocalists also take part in this recording: Barbara RogalaFind albums by this artist, who sings (in Hebrew) on one track and Malgorzata HutekFind albums by this artist, who sings (in Polish) on two other tracks. The album presents seven original compositions, five of which were composed by Rogala, two were composed by Zilberman and the remaining track is a traditional melody arranged by Rogala. The lyrics of two of the vocal tracks are by the Polish / Jewish writer Bruno Schultz, murdered during the Holocaust, and the third vocal track uses the Biblical text taken from the "Song of Songs". The album was recorded at the excellent Studio Tokarnia, with Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist presiding, which of course is a trademark of excellent sound quality. The album´s title is misleading, as it implies that the entire album belongs to the Jazz & Poetry sub-genre, which of course is more popular in Polish Jazz than anywhere else on this planet. However since only the three vocal tracks fall within the idiom´s boundaries, this extrapolation is unjustified and confusing. The album presents a series of fine mainstream compositions, mostly well built and quite interesting, all very well executed by the musicians, who are all professional and talented. Rogala is the main soloist and his trombone parts are always a pleasure to listen to, displaying sparks of virtuosity and highly personal stylistic approach. The rest of the instrumental parts are, as already stated, well done, but somewhat lack a flicker of inspiration or luster, which would make this music truly exciting. The vocal parts don´t work very well, as the singers struggle with the text trying to fit it within the complex melodic and harmonic structure of the songs or with a language (Hebrew) they are not familiar with, but of course are by and large acceptable. In short this is a nice album, which many listeners will find satisfactory, but considering the incredible high level of albums released in Poland these days, it certainly does not reach the level of excellence one would hope for.

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