Record Reviews

WARSAW IMPROVISERS ORCHESTRA ~ CSW 14_03_2015 FSR 2016/08 (Barcode: 5905279364127) ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Warsaw Improvisers OrchestraFind albums by this artist, a loose gathering of about fifty musicians living in or around Warsaw, twenty nine of which (I count thirty names) participate in this live recording, which resulted in three long freely improvised pieces. The orchestra was conducted on two of these pieces by British, resident in Warsaw, saxophonist Ray DickatyFind albums by this artist and on the third one by violinist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, and the compositions are credited to all the participants. The music is quite predictable, as similar attempts to create music by large improvising ensembles were already tried in the past many times. If fact the term "music" is principally applicable here only due to the fact that the participants are using musical instruments (or human voice), but otherwise does not describe what most people recognize as music. Improvised music is complex enough when created by an intimate solo / duo / trio format, but when attempted by such a large gathering, even when not all the musicians are plying at once, is simply too much. However, listeners interested in sound experimentation and imaginary soundscapes would probably be able to listen to this album with interest. There are moments of tension and buildup, intense climaxes and long quiet passages, so there is at least dynamics and evolution, which defuses boredom. But ultimately this all does not add to a musical statement, as such. As much as I love experimentation, this particular album seems to be an attempt to create quality by quantity, which simply fails. As usual in such cases, it was probably great fun to record this music and perhaps also listening to it while being recorded, but sadly after it was transferred to a piece of plastic, it lost all of its charm and wind. I can hardly imagine anybody listening to this at home more than once. Of course this is, as always, only me…

Updated: 19/12/2016Posted: 19/12/2016

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