Record Reviews

KLARA CLOUD & THE VULTURES ~ VAUNA CHALLENGE 73476 (Barcode: 608917347623) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz ensemble Klara Cloud & The VulturesFind albums by this artist which comprises of vocalist Sylwia Klara ZasempaFind albums by this artist, violinist Bartosz DworakFind albums by this artist, pianist Mateusz GawedaFind albums by this artist, bassist Adam TadelFind albums by this artist and drummers Piotr BudniakFind albums by this artist and Sebastian KuchczynskiFind albums by this artist. Legendary guitarist Apostolis AnthimosFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album presents ten tracks, eight of which are original compositions mostly by Zasempa and some created with the help of the entire ensemble (the two instrumental tracks) and finally two are traditional. Most of the lyrics are also by Zasempa. The subject matter of the album refers to Nature, wildlife and harmonious coexistence. The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, with the usual superb sound quality. The music offers a fascinating concept, combing Jazz-World Music Fusion with Free Jazz, which is quite striking. Although Polish Jazz often sources Slavic music, typical Polish melancholy and Polish Folklore, amalgamating it usually with original mainstream Jazz, but rather rarely so with more adventurous forms, which makes this music immediately outstanding. This does not mean that the music loses contact with melody per se, but the improvisations offer a wide range of freedom, both rhythmically and harmonically, which are not usually found within the Jazz-World Fusion idiom. Dworak and Gaweda, who are amongst the most celebrated young Polish Jazz players, have plenty of opportunity to show their chops on this album, standing up to the expectations in full. The reinforced rhythm section, with the polyrhythmic double drums (in stereo) and solid bass pulsations, pushes the music steadily forward and serves as an anchor for the listener to keep his bearings. The guitar solo by Anthimos on the final track is simply divine. Of course the vocals are the epicenter of this music and Zasempa stands up to the challenge with flying colors. She keeps to the basics, avoiding unnecessary theatrics and meanderings, and invests directly in the delivery of the lyrics, often improvising in the process. She does not use vocalese extensively, preferring to "play with the words" rather than with the sounds, but when she does, it works perfectly and hopefully will be used more in future projects. Zasempa is a "total" musician, being obviously the leader, the composer, the lyricist and the main soloist – Woman power incarnate. Overall this is a beautiful piece of music, excellently put together and executed, original, ambitious and intelligent. Definitely one of the most interesting Polish Jazz releases of 2019. It is also the fifth album by young Polish Jazz musicians to be released on the prestigious Dutch Challenge label, which proves that this music is being recognized beyond the local market and steadily captures the position it truly deserves. Well done Lady and Gentlemen!

Updated: 10/11/2019Posted: 10/11/2019

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ROBERT SWISTELNICKI ~ PIOSENKI MULTIKULTI MPO 005 (Barcode: 5903068680137) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz guitarist / composer / lyricist Robert SwistelnickiFind albums by this artist, recorded with his sextet, which also includes trumpeter Pawel PalcowskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Adam BlawickiFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Kajetan BorowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej KitajewskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Piotr BudniakFind albums by this artist. Vocalists Klara CloudFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Sylwia Klara ZasempaFind albums by this artist) and Lukasz LipskiFind albums by this artist guest on one track. The album presents nine original compositions and texts, all by Swistelnicki, recorded at the legendary Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, with the usual splendid sound quality. The album falls into the Jazz & Poetry idiom, although Swistelnicki recites his texts / poems / songs (the album’s title) on top of the music, rather than singing them, coming back to the early days of the Jazz & Poetry movement of the Beat Generation in America in the 1950s, when Allen GinsbergFind albums by this artist and others recited their revolutionary poetry accompanied by Jazz bands. A decade later the idiom appeared also in Europe, in London, Paris and other European cities, spilling over the Iron Curtain like molten lava and soon popped up in Poland and Czechoslovakia, despite the political regime’s censorship. Therefore, this album definitely has its nostalgic / retro aspects, although there are some important stylistic differences, both literary and musical. The texts are highly personal and reflect the alienation of contemporary human condition, as often reflected in contemporary Rap music, rather than social / political / ideological rebellion, which was the essence of the Beatniks. The music is also much more tamed and mainstream oriented, mixing elements of Jazz with Rock and even Pop, rather than Bebop or early Free Jazz. But notwithstanding nostalgia, etc. this is quite a remarkable album in many respects, with offers some excellent musical ideas and (retro) innovative approach to the Jazz & Poetry idiom, which surely proves open-mindedness and courage. The musicianship is of course beyond reproach, which is hardly surprising, and the listeners are offered a diverse collection of compositions and non-trivial texts, which elegantly kick the butt. Overall, this is an impressive debut album, which hopefully will be followed by future achievements by Swistelnicki and his colleagues. Kudos to the MultikultiFind albums on this label label, which bravely keeps releasing unusual / pioneering projects against all (mostly economic) odds. Well done everybody!

Updated: 20/12/2022Posted: 20/12/2022

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ROBERT SWISTELNICKI ~ PIOSENKI MILOSNE WCZESNEJ POSTKOMUNY I POZNEGO KAPITALIZMU I SJ 075 (Barcode: 5905489720409) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2022 - 2023 Released: 2023 This is an album by Polish multi-instrumentalist / songwriter Robert SwistelnickiFind albums by this artist, featuring five top Polish Jazz vocalists: Grazyna AuguscikFind albums by this artist, Jorgos SkoliasFind albums by this artist, Natalia KordiakFind albums by this artist, Wojciech MyrczekFind albums by this artist and Klara CloudFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Sylwia Klara ZasempaFind albums by this artist) and instrumentalists: Swistelnicki on piano, vibraphonist Marcin PaterFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Pawel PalcowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej KitajewskiFind albums by this artist and guitarist Pawel UrbanskiFind albums by this artist. Several additional musicians participate on selected tracks. The album presents fifteen tracks, with all lyrics and most compositions by Swistelnicki, except three composed by Palcowski and one by Piotr BudniakFind albums by this artist. The concept is obviously a Jazz & Poetry presentation, although the music floats all over the place, from Blues via mainstream Jazz and a few almost Avant-Garde pieces. The vocal and instrumental performances are all as good as one might expect from these highly experienced singers and talented young musicians, but the scope might have been miscalculated to a degree, especially in comparison to Swistelnicki’s debut album “PiosenkiFind albums with this title”, which is way more coherent. There is simply way too much going on here musically, which combined with the complex and often vague lyrical layer, makes this album difficult to embrace, certainly on the first attempt. Of course one should appreciate the complexity of pulling such a project off. The somewhat murky sound quality does not help as well. Since the Jazz & Poetry idiom is by far one of my favorites, I pondered at length why this specific album failed to win my immediate approval, listening to it repeatedly several times. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it per se, but the abundance of musical ideas, which don’t have a clear continuity of focus is probably what causes my reservations. Also, it is difficult to hear clearly the lyrics, which in a project like this are an absolutely essential ingredient. A booklet with the lyrics might have saved the day perhaps, but alas it is not included. On the positive side, the trumpet playing by Palcowski is nothing short of sensational and the soul-shaking vocals by Skolias are simply exquisite. Overall, this is a highly ambitious Jazz & Poetry project, excellently sung and played by talented musicians, which should be very interesting to the Polish aficionados of the idiom. It is probably a matter of personal taste to decide if it fulfills all the potential expected from such a gathering of distinguished Polish Jazz Artists.

Updated: 30/10/2023Posted: 30/10/2023

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