Jazzpospolita - Impulse (2012) by Adam Baruch

Jazzpospolita (band)

Stefan Nowakowski – bass
Wojtek Oleksiak – drums
Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer – guitar
Michał Załęski – keyboard

Impulse (2012)

This is the 2nd album (not counting their early EP) by the young Polish ensemble Jazzpospolita (Jazz Republic in Polish), one of the many very interesting ensembles emerging recently on the local scene. The current lineup of the group includes guitarist Michal Przerwa-Tetmajer, keyboardist Michal Zaleski, bassist Stefan Nowakowski and drummer Wojciech Oleksiak. The album consists of eight tracks, which are all original compositions (no compositional credits are given on the album's packaging).

Although obviously deeply rooted in the Jazz tradition (as their name suggests), the group expands their influences into other areas as well, including Rock, electronic and ambient. The music includes plenty of improvisation, but the overall sound is pretty metallic and electronic, which is quite innovative on one hand but often difficult to swallow on the other. They are clearly cross-genre, still searching for a unique identity, but their path of experimentation and reaching beyond the obvious is commendable.

In the more "conventional" pieces they sound pretty much Jazz-Rock, but on the more advanced / experimental pieces their sound could be called Psychedelic and even Spacey. Obviously there is a lot of versatility herein and listeners, who like to be surprised and kept in suspense, will enjoy this immensely.

The nature of the music makes it quite difficult to estimate the individual talents and abilities of the ensemble members; well perhaps it is for the best, as the ensemble sound is exactly their forte. Whatever one thinks about this music, one thing is sure: these young musicians do their thing, which is more that most of their contemporaries do.

This album is highly recommended to the more adventurous listeners, who are not afraid to struggle with first impressions and harsh sounds, and are willing to give this music a second chance. Eventually there is a high probability this will become some of their favorite music in the long term. Impressive stuff!

By Adam Baruch

http://www.adambaruch.com/ 

 

Track listing: 1 03:09 Co Myslisz O Wandalizmie? 2 04:09 Czerwona Flaga (Ale Ja Sie Kapie) 3 07:23 Pasazer U-Boota 4 05:18 Pobudzenie 5 05:08 Ciezkie Powietrze 6 04:59 Grzyb 7 07:17 Nigdy Nie Pada Na Gornym Mokotowie 8 08:32 Protest Song?