Record Reviews

WLODZIMIERZ NAHORNY ~ JEJ PORTRET GAD 006 (Barcode: 5901549197051) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1965 - 1970 Released: 2013 This is a reissue of an album recorded by the saxophonist / flautist / pianist / composer Wlodzimierz NahornyFind albums by this artist, one of the Godfathers of modern Polish Jazz, who is still active on the local scene. This particular album presents the lyrical side of Nahorny, which is quite different from his Jazz activities, but not really surprising considering his diversity and affinity to different music genres, as demonstrated for example by his association with the Blues-Rock group BreakoutFind albums by this artist, which happened at the same period this album was recorded. The concept behind this album was to present Nahorny as an instrumentalist playing piano, saxophone and flute and supported by a large orchestra conducted by another Polish Jazz legend: Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist. The material, which comprised of a selection of Polish Pop songs popular at the time, was carefully arranged by three arrangers: Wroblewski, Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist and Tomasz OchalskiFind albums by this artist, who also contributed one original composition each, as did Nahorny himself. The resulting material was a mixture or some excellent lyrical songs written by some of the best Polish songwriters at the time and some melodic Jazz compositions composed for the occasion. Although obviously a commercial enterprise, this album was still pretty serious music making, with sophisticated, elegant and clever arrangements, superb solos by Nahorny and excellent music, which sounds quite impressive forty and change years later. This reissue adds six bonus tracks, all of which are radio recordings done by Nahorny between 1965 and 1970, which also reflect his involvement with the lighter side of Jazz, rather than the Avant-Garde Jazz he was mainly associated with at the time. All the music was beautifully remastered and the sound is really excellent. Considering the fact that this album appears here on CD for the first time and is by itself a pretty extraordinary episode on the local scene, this album is an important piece of modern Polish Jazz history and should be considered as a part of every serious music collection of the genre. Of course it is also a great fun to listen to. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

NOVI ~ FIVE, FOUR, THREE GAD 025 (Barcode: 5901549197310) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1974 - 1975 Released: 2015 This is a reissue of the fifth album by the Polish Jazz vocal ensemble NOVIFind albums by this artist, recorded after the ensemble´s founder / leader / primary composer / arranger Bernard KawkaFind albums by this artist left Poland for the greener pastures of the Big Apple, following a whole wave of his compatriots, like Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist, Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist, Adam MakowiczFind albums by this artist and others. Kawka´s departure seemed to have little impact on the remaining three members of the ensemble: Ewa WanatFind albums by this artist, Janusz MychFind albums by this artist and Waldemar ParzynskiFind albums by this artist. They immediately embarked upon the recording of this album, which as usual included original material, composed by Parzynski (seven of the nine compositions on this album) and Mych (the other two compositions). Three of the compositions included also lyrics (in English). The ensemble was accompanied by an instrumental combo, which featured top Polish Jazz musicians: keyboardist Wojciech KarolakFind albums by this artist, guitarist Marek BlizinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel JarzebskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Czeslaw BartkowskiFind albums by this artist, and the Polish Radio Jazz Studio OrchestraFind albums by this artist conducted by Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist. In addition to the original album, this remastered edition includes four bonus tracks, two of which feature the vocalist Tomasz OchalskiFind albums by this artist, who expanded the ensemble to the original quartet lineup for a brief period. The original album was released only three years after it was recorded, which was an example of how political bureaucracy dictated the fate of musicians behind the Iron Curtain. Musically this album was a continuation of the fantastic work they did on the previous releases, but the stress of loosing their leader and the confusion that followed is pretty obvious. The selection of material and inclusion of songs is obviously a step towards commercialism, but the album still presents several top-notch numbers, beautifully and skillfully executed, which stand up to par with their earlier work. But overall the glory days of NOVI were over and although they would record a couple of additional albums, they were moving further away from the revolutionary and innovative vocal achievements of their early days. Considering the fact that this music has been unavailable for such a long time this is definitely another project by GADFind albums on this label Records, which deserves to be praised. NOVI fans will find this an indispensable part of their collection and hopefully we will get a complete set of NOVI reissues sometime in the future.

Updated: 13/10/2016Posted:

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

S.P.P.T. CHALTURNIK ~ CHALTURNIK (POLISH JAZZ VOL.95 DELUXE) MUZA 1095 (Barcode: 5907783420955) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1974 Released: 2007 This wonderful album is the debut recording by the S.P.P.T. ChalturnikFind albums by this artist ensemble, invented, founded and led by saxophonist / composer / bandleader Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist. As the title suggest, the idea behind this ensemble is all about humor in Jazz, a relatively rare attitude in modern Jazz but something quite common in traditional Jazz. The ensemble consisted of the crème de la crème of the Polish Jazz scene: saxophonists Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist, Janusz MuniakFind albums by this artist and Tomasz SzukalskiFind albums by this artist, tuba player Zdzislaw PiernikFind albums by this artist, pianist Jan JarczykFind albums by this artist (replaced by Tomasz OchalskiFind albums by this artist on two tracks), bassist Bronislaw SuchanekFind albums by this artist and drummer Jerzy BezuchaFind albums by this artist, with the leader playing saxophone and a "mouth synthesizer" (i.e. a comb) and contributing four of his original compositions. The rest of the music comes from various sources, including even one theme by Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist (obviously a tongue in cheek towards modern Jazz). Although the humorous approach to the music is easily detected, the perfect performances and the wonderful arrangements turn this album a true gem. These great musicians prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that sometimes it pays to take a slightly relaxed approach to music. Great stuff!

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend