Record Reviews

BESTER QUARTET ~ THE GOLDEN LAND TZADIK 8178 (Barcode: 702397817826) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2013 Released: 2013 The Polish / Jewish poet / songwriter Mordechai GebirtigFind albums by this artist was born, raised and lived in Krakow, where he also found his tragic death from a Nazi bullet in the Krakow Ghetto in 1942. His vast legacy proves he was the preeminent Yiddish songwriter of his time, but more importantly his prophetic vision of the Jewish fate in Europe is truly astounding in retrospect. This album presents a collection of ten songs written by Gebirtig and performed by the Bester QuartetFind albums by this artist, a Polish ensemble, which also comes from Krakow. The ensemble was originally formed as the Cracow Klezmer BandFind albums by this artist in 1997 and later on changed its name to Bester Quartet. The songs were arranged by the leader of the Bester Quartet, accordionist / composer Jaroslaw BesterFind albums by this artist. The remaining members of the quartet are violinist Jaroslaw TyralaFind albums by this artist, multi-instrumentalist Oleg DyyakFind albums by this artist and bassist Mikolaj PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist. On this album the lineup also features three guest musicians: trumpeter Tomasz ZietekFind albums by this artist, cellist Magdalena PlutaFind albums by this artist (from SamechFind albums by this artist) and bass clarinetist Marcin MalinowskiFind albums by this artist. The Cracow Klezmer Band / Bester Quartet released eight (including this one) albums on the prestigious TzadikFind albums on this label label, as part of the "Radical Jewish Culture" series, which marks them as the heroes of the Jewish Cultural Renaissance in Poland, which is now in its second decade. Some people, me included, find this "Renaissance" somewhat perplexing, intriguing and even a bit ridiculous, especially in view of the fact that there are practically no Jews left in Poland and the infamous Polish anti-Semitism is still looming in the background. But a thousand years of Jewish presence in Poland can be still traced and the fact that some artists are interested in preservation of this lost Culture is wonderful regardless of the circumstances. Bester and his companions are all truly wonderful musicians and his skillful arrangements are delightful and quite sophisticated. I would have enjoyed this music much more if it wasn´t pre-sold under the Jewish tag, as honestly there is very little left of the original Eastern-European Jewish feel herein. Yes there are some sentimental violin or clarinet parts, and other typical shticks but overall this is simply some great Jazz-World Fusion, which sounds Argentinean, Parisian, Balkan or whatever, and honestly since I know these songs in their original versions since my early childhood, I´m not sure Gebirtig himself would have recognized them as his own. Nevertheless this music deserves to be heard and can be enjoyed by music connoisseurs anywhere in the world. The level of performances and execution is definitely first-class and there is so much beauty and deep melancholy in this music that nobody should be left cold. Personally some other releases in the Radical Jewish Culture series on Tzadik made a much stronger impact on me than this release, but I can still appreciate the dedication and talent that went into making this recording. A bi gezunt!

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SAMECH ~ QUACHATTA TZADIK 8169 (Barcode: 702397816928) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2011 Released: 2012 This is a debut album by the Polish Jazz-World Fusion quartet SamechFind albums by this artist, which consists basically of a string trio: Anna OstachowskaFind albums by this artist who plays voila, Magdalena PlutaFind albums by this artist who plays cello and Marek LewandowskiFind albums by this artist, who plays double bass with percussionist Robert SztorcFind albums by this artist (who in his distant past was a member of the Prog outfit T.A.O.Find albums by this artist). The quartet plays acoustic music, which to some extent is based on Jewish and Klezmer music elements, but takes the music much further into Medieval European music, Turkish swirling rhythms, Sephardic, rather than Ashkenazi musical tradition and the Iberian Peninsula Moorish heritage. The album consists of ten wonderful pieces, seven of which are written by Ostachowska or co-written / co-arranged with Agata KrauzFind albums by this artist, one is by Krauz herself, one is co-written by Pluta and Lewandowski and the remaining one is by the DavkaFind albums by this artist ensemble (another great Jewish Music ensemble, from US, which also records for the TzadikFind albums on this label label). The incredible sound of the viola and cello combined with the bass pulsations and mostly Oriental percussion is simply stunning and completely unique, which immediately places Samech in a class of its own. The performances are all very exciting and manage to keep the listener on his toes through the entire duration of the album. The overall sound is well balanced with all four instruments clearly audible, which is such a relief opposite the much cluttered sound one comes across so often in contemporary recordings. This is a perfect example of innovation rather than imitation, which of course is highly commendable. The album should delight many quite diverse audiences, as it speaks to World Music, Classical and Jazz connoisseurs alike and is of course highly recommended. Hopefully the ensemble will follow the superb debut effort with additional future achievements. Well done indeed!

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