Record Reviews

SONORISMO ~ PERSONAL VOICE VOICE MUSIC 1007 (Barcode: 5906489287329) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2022 Released: 2023 This is the debut solo album by Polish Jazz drummer / percussionist / composer Krzysztof GradziukFind albums by this artist, appearing here under the SonorismoFind albums by this artist pseudonym. He is supported by his fellow partner in the RGGFind albums by this artist trio, keyboardist Lukasz OjdanaFind albums by this artist, who plays the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and Finnish saxophonist Pauli LyytinenFind albums by this artist, who is also in charge of electronics. Saxophonist Lukasz Poprawski guests on one track. The album presents fourteen tracks, some of which are composed by Gradziuk, some improvised by him and finally others are credited to all three musicians. Parts of the music was created as an improvised background soundtrack to the 1919 American silent film “The Woman Under Oath”. The album was recorded during a single session at the Tokarnia 2.0 studio and engineered by Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist. The album is dedicated to the memory of Gradziuk’s recently departed Father. Although the music is mostly improvised, it certainly offers many highly melodic themes, which create an intimate, mystical and almost meditative aura to the entire proceedings. The fact that some of the music was intended as a cinematic composition / improvisation, is in fact true to most the music on this album, which is closer to Ambient aesthetics than to Jazz per se on the majority of the tracks. All three instrumentalists perform splendidly, each in his own sphere, and together they manage to create a coherent continuity. Ojdana is in charge of most of the melodic / harmonic content, Lyytinen is the link to the Jazz ambience and Gradziuk supplies the bonding rhythmic, or rather mostly a-rhythmic pulsations, which manage to hold everything together. Despite the fact the drummer is a leader of this session, the music is certainly a combined creation by the participants, with everybody inspiring each other for the entire duration. Overall, this is a very ambitious Avant-Garde project, which should attract many listeners from various sub-genres, as it offers a wide palette of sounds and expressions, well beyond just Improvised Music / Free Jazz. Listeners, who like Jazz-Ambient Fusion should also enjoy this music, as well as Cinematic Music enthusiasts. The music demands attentive listening, in order to explore the intimate details, but can be enjoyed as well under a more relaxed circumstances, just submitting to the wonderful flow. Warmly recommended!

Updated: 03/04/2024Posted: 03/04/2024

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