Mikrokolektyw - Revisit (Delmark, 2010) by Adam Baruch

Mikrokolektyw (band)

Jakub Suchar - drums, electronics
Artur Majewski - trumpet, electronics

Revisit (Delmark, 2010)

This is the debut album by Polish Jazz duo Mikrokolektyw, which includes trumpeter Artur Majewski and drummer Kuba Suchar. Both musicians play also electronic keyboards. The album includes eleven tracks, all composed by the duo members, either individually or collectively. The album was released on the veteran US (Chicago) Delmark label and was the label's first release by Eastern European Jazz musicians.

Mikrokolektyw creates a wonderful musical world of their own, with the trumpet and drums becoming one as if fused together and the electronic effects and sounds provide a background upon with the melodic content is spread. Although very close to Free Jazz, the music is lyrical and surprisingly melodic, not crossing over to the spontaneous Improvised Music territory. It is obvious that the music is carefully planned, before being executed, but during the actual performance a wide range of musical freedom is involved.

Although the concept of a trumpet / drums duo is seldom seen in Jazz, the Polish Jazz scene seems to be an exception, with several such duos active on the local scene. The excellent Wojciech Jachna / Jacek Buhl album "Niedokonczone Ksiazki" is in fact quite similar to this album, but there are several others. Of course one can always go back to the roots and seek out the Don Cherry / Ed Blackwell collaboration "Mu".

Of course the music of Mikrokolektyw is well based on the Jazz tradition, but tries to innovate on many fronts, including the electro-acoustic sound and the World Music influences. They also display a phenomenal level of communication with each other, which is essential especially in an intimate setting like a duo.

Overall this album is a great example of Jazz being alive and kicking, developing and growing, with an interesting future ahead. Hopefully other US and European labels will decide to release more albums originating in Poland, as that country seems to have more to offer than most others these days.

Jazz enthusiasts, who like their music with an interesting twist, will have a field day with this album!

By Adam Baruch

http://www.adambaruch.com/

Tracklisting: 1. Revisit 2. Rocket Street 3. Running Without Effort 4. Tiring Holiday 5. Almost a Good Mood 6. Attention! 7. Lipuko 8. Casio 9. Tar Man 10. Watermelon From the 80s 11. Gift