Record Reviews

MIKOLAJ TRZASKA ~ DOM ZLY (SOUNDTRACK) KILOGRAM 018 (Barcode: 5907577284169) ~ POLAND ~ Soundtracks Recorded: 2009 Released: 2010 Polish musician / composer Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist is an iconic figure on the local scene and one of the most influential trend setters in the last two decades. Starting with the pioneering ensemble MiloscFind albums by this artist, which defined the concept / genre called Yass, shaking the local scene profoundly and making many musician to re-examine their paths and return to experimentation and exploration, which was always associated with the Jazz idiom. In time Trzaska became one of the leaders of the Polish musical Avant-Garde / Free Jazz / Improvised Music movement and by mid-2000s he shifted his attention again discovering the Jewish musical tradition and incorporating it in his milieu. The music included on this album was created as a soundtrack of the sinister thriller directed by Wojciech SmarzowskiFind albums by this artist and called "Dom Zly" or "The Dark House" in English. Therefore listening to the music separated from its cinematic reference is a priori problematic or at least should be judged by completely different set of parameters. The album includes ten tracks most of which are sub-divided into several sub-motifs, which together create a collage of short themes following each other rapidly. The music was created by a quintet with Trzaska playing saxophones, clarinets and keyboards, with cellist Clementine GasserFind albums by this artist, pianist Tomasz SzwelnikFind albums by this artist, bassist Clayton ThomasFind albums by this artist and drummer Michael ZerangFind albums by this artist. Not all the players participate on all the tracks and Trzaska is the primary performer as well as the composer of all the pieces. Stylistically the album covers a wide range of diverse sub-genres, like Musique concrète, Ambient, Free Jazz, Experimental, Industrial and other Avant-Garde soundscapes. There is very little melodic content per se or conventional soloing or playing for that matter. Like with abstract painting, where the Artists uses patches of shapes and colors combining them on a canvas and playing with their aesthetic relationships on a two-dimensional plane, Trzaska plays with sounds and tones and time, to create a sonic "picture" in the listener´s brain, which either works of doesn´t, depending on the listener, his momentarily moods and reflections. It works for me, but it might not work for others. This music is obviously not for everybody, not even for most people who listen to music on a regular basis. Many listeners might enjoy this as part of a cinematic experience, heard in the background, but might find this extremely difficult on its own. This does not mean, of course, that Trzaska is not entitled to experiment and do his own thing – au contraire he should be praised for doing just that. A healthy Culture has always space for being different and the ability to embrace those who are different. Life would be simply unbearable if everybody would just play the same music.

Updated: 19/02/2020Posted:

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MIKOLAJ TRZASKA ~ KLER (SOUNDTRACK) KILOGRAM 039 ~ POLAND ~ Soundtracks Recorded: 2017 - 2018 Released: 2019 The close cooperation between a film director and a cinematic music composer, which last for many years, is quite a common phenomenon in the Film industry, and of course has its long tradition in Polish cinema as well. Such famous couplings include Roman PolanskiFind albums by this artist – Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist, Krzysztof KieslowskiFind albums by this artist – Zbigniew PreisnerFind albums by this artist and of course also Wojciech SmarzowskiFind albums by this artist – Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist. Trzaska wrote the music for all the films by Smarzowski ("Dom Zly", "Roza", "Drogowka", "Pod Mocnym Aniolem", "Wolyn" and "Kler"), except for his debut film ("Wesele"). Trzaska, one of the leaders of Polish Free Jazz / Avant-Garde / Improvised Music scene, seems to find himself at ease with writing music for films, which of course works quite differently than his usual modus operandi on stage or in the studio, surrounded by other improvisers. The magic that happens when Smarzowski´s often harsh, shocking and deeply troubling visual expressionism gets combined with Trzaska´s music, and the two fit together perfectly, as if created in one mind. Trzaska, who plays saxophones and clarinets, involved in creating this music the "usual suspects", i.e. artists he worked with earlier, like clarinetist Pawel SzamburskiFind albums by this artist, Danish vibraphonist / drummer Peter Ole JorgensenFind albums by this artist, multimedia Artist / musician Marek RogulskiFind albums by this artist and The Sejny Theater Klezmer OrchestraFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Trzaska, which last together for almost thirty seven minutes, and served as a source of the incidental music incorporated within the film. As usual in the case of film soundtracks released as stand alone albums the crucial test is if the music is able to hold its ground on its own, without the presence of the visual element being involved. Trzaska managed to achieve this with his previous cinematic projects and he does not disappoint here as well. The album delivers a coherent, quite diverse series of atmospheric / ambient pieces, which are a fascinating journey, and the listener is able to create his own scenography and plot on the fly or simple accept the music on a purely emotional plane. Although not involved directly with Jazz per se, the spirit of improvisation is an integral part of this music, as appropriate for Trzaska and his usual sound environment. It takes a while to enter this enigmatic world of sounds, but the more one listens to this music the more addictive it becomes. I have but to agree with Smarzowski (who writes so on the album´s cover) that this album is very much different from the film, which of course is pretty obvious, but the overall effect of Trzaska´s music is absolutely phenomenal on its own. I am grateful to be able to call this great Artist a Friend!

Updated: 19/02/2020Posted: 19/02/2020

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MIKOLAJ TRZASKA ~ WOLYN (SOUNDTRACK) POLSKIE RADIO 2056 (Barcode: 5907812246853) ~ POLAND ~ Soundtracks Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the soundtrack album with music from the film "Wolyn", directed by the cult Polish screenwriter / director Wojciech SmarzowskiFind albums by this artist, composed by Polish saxophonist / clarinetist / composer Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist and recorded by Trzaska, bassist Jacek MazurkiewiczFind albums by this artist and an orchestra called The Klezmer Orchestra of Pogranicze TheaterFind albums by this artist, which is located in a small town of Sejny close to the borders between Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. Trzaska wrote the music for all the films by Smarzowski ("Dom Zly", "Roza", "Drogowka", "Pod Mocnym Aniolem" and "Wolyn"), except for his debut film ("Wesele"). The most important aspect of cinematographic music is of course its relevance to the film, of which it is an integral part. The question if the music is able to be relevant as an auditory experience, unrelated to the visual dimension, is very complex. In most cases soundtracks lose their relevance completely, when placed on an audio record. In some relatively rare cases, the music assumes an independent identity from the film and proposes a relevant and coherent audible experience. In extremely rare cases the music is not only able to stand alone but constitutes a musical masterpiece if its own right. This is definitely one of those extraordinary events. The music combines a multitude of sources originating in the extremely rich Polish Music tradition, which over a thousand of years amalgamated dozens of Slavic Folkloristic styles, Jewish Klezmer music, European Classical Music and of course also Jazz, which in Polish Culture has probably a more direct influence than anywhere else in Europe or the entire world for that matter. Trzaska, who is one of the pioneers of contemporary Jewish Music renaissance in Poland, is of course one of the most successful sorcerers where it comes to updating and transforming Jewish rooted music into modernist stylistic amalgams, which include a variety of Jazz sub-genres with an emphasis on Free Jazz and Improvised Music. These Jazz influences are perhaps less noticeable in this music, especially for listeners not familiar with them in depth, but it is there at all times, at the deep foundations of the music. The overall somber and grave atmosphere of this music is of course related directly to the film´s heartbreaking subject matter, but might be also related to more contemporary aspects of life, which influence us all. Trzaska, a deeply sensitive human being, projects his personality into his music, as all great Artists do, and yet his music becomes more universal because of it, rather than self-centered, as might be expected. This is a very unique music, which could have only been created by a unique composer and the unique circumstances that influenced it: the convoluted history of the Polish People, their rich and complex Cultural background and the immense depth of their catastrophic experiences as a Nation. The decision the release this music on an album is very commendable. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 17/01/2017Posted: 17/01/2017

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