Record Reviews

MICHAL URBANIAK ~ URBANIAK INNER CITY 1036 (Barcode: 077712710367) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Funk Fusion Recorded: 1977 Released: 2008 This is a reissue of the only album recorded by the Polish Jazz violinist / saxophonist / composer / bandleader Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist for the American Inner CityFind albums on this label label, which followed his stint with ColumbiaFind albums on this label. He is accompanied by his wife at the time, vocalist Urszula DudziakFind albums by this artist and Polish saxophonist / composer Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist. The rest of the band comprised of American musicians: keyboardist Kenny KirklandFind albums by this artist, bassist Tony BunnFind albums by this artist and drummer Lurenda FeatherstoneFind albums by this artist. Both Dudziak and Namyslowski also released albums on Inner City. The album presents seven original compositions, three by Urbaniak and four by Namyslowski. The music is a direct continuation of the innovative music Urbaniak recorded at the time, which combined Jazz, Funk and Polish Folklore. All the compositions are absolutely brilliant, since Namyslowski was also an excellent / prolific composer and followed a similar musical path at that time. The performances are also excellent, blending superb violin, vocalese and saxophone parts with the rest of the instrumental work. The rhythm section adds a Funky beat and both Urbaniak and Namyslowski play excellent solo parts throughout. Overall, this is a brilliant album, which withstands the test of time without any problem. It documents the attempt of Polish Jazz musicians to develop a career in the USA, which in retrospect achieved a very limited success, and led to almost all of them returning to Poland, leaving no impact whatsoever on the American Jazz scene, which of course is hardly surprising. However, it produced some memorable recordings, this being one of them. For Polish Jazz fans this is a gem worth visiting!

Updated: 02/06/2022Posted: 21/05/2022

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

ZBIGNIEW NAMYSLOWSKI ~ NAMYSLOVSKI INNER CITY 1048 (Barcode: 077712710480) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Funk Fusion Recorded: 1977 Released: 2010 This is a reissue of the first of the two albums by the Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer / bandleader Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist released by the American Inner CityFind albums on this label label. He is accompanied by Polish Jazz musicians: pianist Slawomir KulpowiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel JarzebskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Janusz StefanskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Namyslowski. Namyslowski, who was one of the Godfathers of the modern Polish Jazz scene and remained one of its prominent leaders for decades, was a musical pioneer, who introduced into Polish Jazz innovations such as Jazz-World Fusion and other attempts to fuse Jazz with different musical genres. He was a prolific composer and an educator, and his groups were one of the most important “stables’, producing generation after generation of young Polish Jazz musicians. The music on this album presents some of his cross-genre explorations, and of course the incredibly high level of the Polish Jazz musicians, which was a complete surprise for American Jazz listeners, who mostly completely dismissed Jazz originating from outside of the US. Namyslowski was brought to the attention of the Inner City label by Michal UrbaniakFind albums by this artist, who recorded an album for the label a short time before this album was released. Overall, this is a brilliant album, which withstands the test of time without any problem. It documents the attempt of Polish Jazz musicians to develop a career in the USA, which in retrospect achieved a very limited success, and led to almost all of them returning to Poland, leaving no impact whatsoever on the American Jazz scene, which of course is hardly surprising. However, it produced some memorable recordings, this being one of them. For Polish Jazz fans this is a gem worth visiting!

Updated: 23/05/2022Posted: 23/05/2022

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

ZBIGNIEW NAMYSLOWSKI ~ AIR CONDITION POLJAZZ / ANEX 317 (Barcode: 5907513047728) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1980 Released: 2009 One of the Godfathers of Polish Jazz, saxophonist Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist, remained firmly in the position of the leading Jazz figure in his country for several generations. Starting in the early 1960s as member of the legendary Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist quintet and later leading his own groups, Namyslowski kept his ears open constantly to follow the developments on the ever changing worldwide Jazz scene and his groups always included young talented players, who became his disciples. The group Air ConditionFind albums by this artist included the immensely talented keyboardist Wladyslaw SendeckiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Dariusz KozakiewiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Krzysztof ScieranskiFind albums by this artist and an extended percussion section, and played a kind of Jazz-Funk, which could move an elephant´s ass, not falling behind any of the US groups playing in the same vein. This album was intended for the US market, where it was released (along with several other Polish Jazz albums) by the Inner CityFind albums on this label label, admittedly without much commercial success. As usual, Americans were simply not ready to recognize any kind of Jazz happening outside of their home turf. In retrospect, this album is still a lot of fun and as Funky as they get. Sendecki´s keyboard wizardry is stunning, as always, and the leader plays plenty of nasty sax chops. Recommended!

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend