Record Reviews

RAFAL DUBICKI ~ STORY ABOUT EMOTIONS SOLTAN ART GROUP 001 (Barcode: 5907648374409) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Rafal DubickiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with guitarist Michal SoltanFind albums by this artist, bassist Mateusz WozniakFind albums by this artist and veteran drummer Adam LewandowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Dubicki. This album is also the first release on a new record label founded by Soltan, called Soltan Art GroupFind albums on this label – best wishes with the new enterprise! The music is all strongly melody based mainstream Jazz, moving between ballads and Latin rhythms, definitely on the lighter side of the Jazz spectrum, which could be labeled as "late night Jazz". The music swings and is spotlessly executed by the quartet members. Dubicki has a crystal clear, somewhat "old fashioned" trumpet tone, which is sadly very rarely used today, and which brings on nostalgic memories of the Swing Era. But his soaring soli are impressive and heartwarming. Soltan is an excellent and diverse guitar player and his soli are among the highlights of the album. Wozniak sticks to the basics and offers a solid bottom layer to the music, keeping things balanced and plays just one perfectly structured bass solo and Lewandowski, as usual, is totally in charge of the rhythm department. Although this album will probably be dismissed by the Polish Jazz "critics", who will be lamenting about its straightforwardness and popular approach, albums like this are a completely valid part of the Polish Jazz scene, as long as they are as professionally put together as this one. Not everybody gets orgasmic listening to Avant-Garde doodling, and enjoying pleasant Jazz is definitely not a social crime. Overall this is a nice Jazz album offering solid compositions and performances, which will make many listeners perfectly happy, and which will hopefully launch Dubicki´s musical career in the foreseeable feature.

Updated: 31/12/2021Posted: 15/09/2019

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RAFAL DUBICKI ~ SHADOW ON THE SPACE SOLTAN ART GROUP 018 (Barcode: 5903802188585) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is the second album by young Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Rafal DubickiFind albums by this artist recorded in a classic quartet setting with the same musicians who played on his debut: guitarist Michal SoltanFind albums by this artist, bassist Mateusz WozniakFind albums by this artist and drummer Adam LewandowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions, all by the leader. Same as on the debut, Dubicki offers a delightful collection of mainstream Jazz pieces, based on excellent melodic themes, which offer diverse moods, but all swing splendidly. The quartet plays the pieces with obvious joy and all four musicians do exactly what is needed to make them sound perfect. The leader has a clear trumpet sound, which resounds with confidence and is able to create a mystic ambience of romance and anticipation as well as a burning urgency. Soltan is a wonderful guitar player and his chords lay down the entire harmonic background for this music, amicably and elegantly supported by the rhythm section. Soltan’s solos tend to slide towards Fusion, as opposed to his accompaniments, which are purely Jazzy, thus adding another dimension to the music. As a result, the entire album floats somewhere between Jazz and Fusion and even Brass Rock, despite the fact that just a single trumpet is present. As said in my review of the debut, some Jazz critics will probably find this music to be “not enough Jazz oriented”, but who gives a damn. This music is improvised, it swings like hell and is pure joy to listen to, so who cares what the Jazz snobs think. Overall, this is a sold follow up to the debut, which surely will find many listeners who love what these musicians are doing. A word of warning as to the future, since pursuing the same direction for too long might prove to be less successful, but so far so good. I simply love this stuff to bits!

Updated: 31/12/2021Posted: 31/12/2021

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MILOSZ OLENIECKI ~ SONGS FOR A SOLTAN ART GROUP 021 (Barcode: 5904433795029) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2021 This is the debut album as a leader by young Polish Jazz pianist / composer Milosz OlenieckiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a classic piano trio setting with bassist Pawel Zwierzynski-PioroFind albums by this artist and drummer Rafal DutkiewiczFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions, all by the leader. The music is all based on wonderful, highly interesting and quite “different” compositions, which manage to escape the traps of typical Polish melancholy, stunning with their diversity and cleverness. They are well based in Polish Folklore, but often touch upon contemporary Classical “trickery” with uneven rhythmic patterns and even Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist’s Spanish licks, all being unmistakably Jazzy all the way. I must say that it’s been quite a while since I have heard so much originality on a Polish Jazz debut, which means that this is definitely one of the best albums landing on my desk (or in my ears) this year. Oleniecki is also a very interesting pianist, again quite different from his colleagues, who concentrates on the delivery of his compositions rather than on playing endless arpeggios and showing off the speed of his fingers. This results on an idiosynchratic, almost minimalist at times, delivery, which leaves a lot to the listener’s imagination, rather than overloading his sensory perception. Although I am aware of two albums Oleniecki took part in before this recording, both completely different, I am not aware of any recordings by the members of the rhythm section, who contribute magnificently to the success of this album with their highly sensitive, as well as technically proficient performances. This means that the local scene has a lot of talent still waiting to be discovered. Overall, this a stunning and highly unusual debut album, which deserves all the attention it can get, as it certainly offers some new vistas on the rather conformist lately Polish Jazz scene, raising a hope that not all is lost despite the pandemic and other plagues. Hats off are in order and a lot of wishes for the future – please don’t keep us in suspense for too long. Brilliant stuff!

Updated: 31/12/2021Posted: 29/12/2021

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