Record Reviews

INNERCITY ENSEMBLE ~ II INSTANT CLASSIC 019 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the second album by the Polish Improvised Music group Innercity EnsembleFind albums by this artist, which comprises of trumpeter Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist, guitarists Artur MackowiakFind albums by this artist and Jakub ZiolekFind albums by this artist, drummer Tomasz PopowskiFind albums by this artist and percussionist Rafal IwanskiFind albums by this artist, Rafal KolackiFind albums by this artist and Radek DziubekFind albums by this artist, who is also in charge of electronics. A guest percussionist Witold BargielFind albums by this artist also participates. The double CD album documents the output created during three-day long meeting dedicated to spontaneous improvisations and the six tracks on CD one and five tracks on CD two are all improvisations not credited to any specific musicians and are therefore assumed to be co-composed by all the participants. The music is a wonderful amalgam of Ambient / Electronic / Industrial / Jazz / World Music and a plethora of other influences, all combined to create dreamy sound vistas and atmospheric soundtracks, which flow gently influencing a serene and relaxed feeling of Nirvana. The music is completely non-aggressive and accommodating, which is a rarity as far as Improvised Music is concerned. Jachna plays some remarkable trumpet parts all along the developing pieces and his contributions are of course the most distinctive, whereas the rest of the musicians are more subdued into the amalgamated multilayered background. As I have already stated in the past Innercity Ensemble is one of the most original and interesting Polish acts of this kind and all three of their albums so far are absolutely worth getting and should bring a lot of joy to open minded listeners.

Updated: 10/05/2017Posted: 10/05/2017

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WACLAW ZIMPEL ~ LINES INSTANT CLASSIC 042 ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the first solo album by veteran Polish Jazz / Avant-Garde clarinetist / composer Waclaw ZimpelFind albums by this artist. He plays different clarinets and keyboards and performs six pieces, five of which are his original compositions and one is a renaissance cannon. The music is almost entirely written, as opposed to Zimpel´s usual modus operandi, which primarily involves improvisation. The affiliation with minimal music is felt very strongly and familiar patterns appearing in the works of American composers like La Monte YoungFind albums by this artist, Terry RileyFind albums by this artist, Steve ReichFind albums by this artist or Philip GlassFind albums by this artist can be also heard here. This does not imply of course that Zimpel uses ideas created by others, but the resemblance, both aesthetically and sonorically, is very audible. The music is also very contemplative and monotonic, which of course is rather difficult for listeners not familiar with this musical idiom. Zimpel´s usage of several overdubbed instruments to create an almost orchestral effect is the most interesting aspect of this album, which is fully explored in the title track. All of the tracks use the same technique of overdubbing, which is of course possible due to the fact that the music is written and not spontaneously improvised. One has to respect Zimpel for his consistency and desire to create his own unique music, even if this means that his audience will be rather limited. Also the support he gets from small independent labels, like Instant ClassicFind albums on this label which released this album, is very significant to his career and development. Overall this is an album intended to be listened to by connoisseurs of minimal music or people looking for adventurous and unusually sounding recordings. With certain open-mindedness this music can bring many surprisingly pleasing musical moments amid its weirdness.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 02/01/2017

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JACHNA / MAZURKIEWICZ / BUHL ~ DZWIEKI UKRYTE INSTANT CLASSIC 044 ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Polish trio comprising of trumpeter Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist, bassist Jacek MazurkiewiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Jacek BuhlFind albums by this artist. Jachna and Buhl recorded several albums earlier on as a duo but this is their first encounter in a trio setting. Mazurkiewicz is active on the Polish Improvised Music scene since several years. The trio performs eight improvised pieces, spontaneously composed during the performance in a Synagogue in Bydgoszcz. The music, which also uses some electronic effects, is mostly very introvert, subdued and in a strange way melancholic. Obviously improvised, it displays clear melodic motifs and regular rhythmic patterns, which makes it remarkably accessible in contrast to its complexity and sophistication. This music is a wonderful example of freedom, which does not transform into anarchy. Jachna is of course one of the top Polish trumpet players and his numerous recordings present an Artist of remarkable consistency and enormous talent. Following several years of searching, he now has an individual sound and phrasing, which make his playing instantly recognizable. His performances on this album are all breathtakingly beautiful and prove that he finally reached the level of confidence and maturity that fully fits his artistry. Mazurkiewicz and Buhl also play splendidly, as expected from highly talented and professional musicians. They become an integral part of the trio functioning symbiotically with each other and contributing many remarkable solos and interplays. In many respects they are ideal partners for Jachna in this specific setting and hopefully this trio will record more music together in the future. Overall this is a wonderful example of Improvised Music, which manages to continue its existence beyond the moment of creation, which happens very rarely. Elegant and contemplative, moving and absorbing, this is Improvised Music at its best, and I honestly wish that many other musicians would follow this as an example. An absolute must to all Polish Jazz / Improvised Music connoisseurs!

Updated: 23/05/2016Posted: 23/05/2016

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LAM ~ LAM INSTANT CLASSIC 048 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Polish Improvising Music trio LamFind albums by this artist, which comprises of veteran Polish Avant-Garde activists: clarinetist / composer Waclaw ZimpelFind albums by this artist, pianist Krzysztof DysFind albums by this artist and drummer Hubert ZemlerFind albums by this artist. Berlin based producer moorycFind albums by this artist, who was involved with the production, adds some electronic sounds. Together they present seven original compositions, all composed by Zimpel, two of which were co-composed by mooryc. Listeners familiar with the music of Zimpel will find this album closely following his usual concept of contemplative, meditative music, which develops painfully slowly and progresses on a very limited emotional level, almost like the music of Far Eastern cultures, which serves mostly for meditation and prayer. This music has a restricted melodic content, with short melodic themes, which are then repeated in an endless cycle, changing only marginally within each piece. Of course serial, cyclic, minimalistic and repetitive music techniques exist also in the Western Classical Music idiom, but Zimpel´s music has more affinity to the folkloristic directions. Personally this is not a kind of music I´d listen to intentionally, as usually I find it rather limited and annoying. Nevertheless this particular album is an exception, as I quite enjoyed the music herein and listened to the entire album with interest and pleasure. Zimpel´s highly emotional and expressive playing on one of the pieces is the absolute highlight of the entire album and justifies getting a copy of it. Dys, who is a brilliant piano virtuoso, sadly has little opportunity to show his super technique and exceptional ability, staying mostly in the background. Same applies to Zemler, who is a very creative drummer but this music hardly allows him to show his entire arsenal of possibilities. But all the limitations are balanced by a tight correlation between the musicians and the aesthetics of the musical concept, which inspires calm personal introspection, which perhaps is the main purpose of this music. Not for everybody of course, but Zimpel has many fans on the Polish scene, who will welcome this album openheartedly, which is always a good thing. Personally I´d love to hear Zimpel playing other kind of music for a change, perhaps more Jazz oriented, but I respect his consistency and obvious talent.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 08/11/2016

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SAAGARA ~ SAAGARA 2 INSTANT CLASSIC 059 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2017 This is the second album by the Jazz-World Fusion ensemble SaagaraFind albums by this artist led by Polish clarinetist / composer Waclaw ZimpelFind albums by this artist and including several traditional Indian musicians. On this album Zimpel again cooperates with the Berlin based producer moorycFind albums by this artist, who mixed the album. The album presents eight original compositions, all composed by Zimpel except one which was co-composed by him, mooryc and Sara KaluznaFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded in India. This album marks a change of direction for the ensemble and in contrast to the debut album´s traditional Indian Music orientation this album tries to create an amalgam with more Western Music involvement. As a result it is overall more Jazz oriented and certainly much more open to a wider music-loving audience. Although Zimpel certainly did not invent the concept of interaction between Indian and European Music, which has already been attempted by many excellent musicians since the early 1960s, his approach to the process of amalgamation is in many respects much more organic, and as a result the music on this album does not sound like an artificial effort to force two dissimilar musical traditions to coexist, but more like a new music born in the process. Zimpel, who has always displayed an affinity or even an obsession with drone-like repetitive musical elements, finds a gentle version of these reverberations which are an intrinsic element of Indian music, and uses them most effectively. His Jazzy solos and melodic improvisations feel also completely at ease with the rest of the instruments. Overall this is a superb World-Jazz Fusion album, definitely one of the best such endeavors on the Polish scene in the last few years. It is also one of the best Zimpel´s recordings as a clarinetist in a while. It is a delightful musical experience from start to finish and has a tendency to keep growing on the listener with each listening session. Most warmly recommended!

Updated: 21/04/2017Posted: 21/04/2017

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ZIMPEL / ZIOLEK ~ ZIMPEL / ZIOLEK INSTANT CLASSIC 063 (Barcode: 5902693140955) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by the Polish duo comprising of Waclaw ZimpelFind albums by this artist and Jakub ZiolekFind albums by this artist, two prominent names on the Polish / European Avant-Garde scene since years. Zimpel produced a plethora of recordings in various musical environments like Jazz and World Music and Ziolek is predominantly known as a member of the Innercity Ensemble and other Rock oriented projects. On this album both musicians play a multitude of instruments each: Zimpel various clarinets and keyboards and Ziolek guitars, synthesizers as well as performs the vocals. The album presents just four compositions, three of which feature English lyrics (i.e. are songs of sort), one composed by Ziolek and three co-composed by Zimpel and Ziolek. The music is much more tamed, melodic and "conventional" than one might expect from these two musicians. Heavily soaked in World Music, with Far East and Mediterranean sonic vistas dominating the proceedings, the complex multilayered musical fabric is gentle and as usual with Zimpel based on cyclic repetitions a la serial music and minimalism. The resulting kaleidoscope of sounds is breathtakingly beautiful and absorbing, meditative and enthralling. Zimpel plays several exquisite clarinet solos, which sound superbly evocative backed by layers of synthesized reverberations. His power of expression is stunningly articulated throughout and is one of the key foci of this music, but certainly not the only one. This music works so well since it is a sum of many different ingredients, some acoustic and other electronic, which magically complement each other, creating a result that is greater than the sum of these parts. Ziolek sings the vocal parts like some of the Progressive Rock heroes of the 1970s, with a reverberating (almost) falsetto. These vocal parts and the synthesizer work in the background, as well as the overall feel of this music would have earned it a prominent place on the Prog scene, if this album was recorded fifty years earlier. Perhaps this is the true New Prog, not the dreadful Neo-Prog that some people are trying to create? This album is a very powerful musical experience, in every respect. It has taken me by surprise, which happens very rarely, and I am sure many other people will share this opinion as well. It is definitely one of the strongest musical statements of 2017, way beyond any genre classification or attempt to describe it. It is in fact so powerful and meaningful, that my puny attempt to convey the meaning of this music is somewhat pathetic. Just get this wondrous album ASAP and dive in unreservedly!

Updated: 21/09/2021Posted: 28/10/2017

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