Jerry Bergonzi, Jacek Kochan, Piotr Lemańczyk - Three Point Shot (2010)

After last year excellent Naha (featuring Tim Hagans) Piotr Lemańczyk recorded no less attractive Three Point Show this year. His play on double bass makes great impression on me and reminds me of the giants of this instrument like Dave Holland, Gary Peacock or Steve Swallow. His sound is round, deep and fully controlled, he is virtuoso in the best possible meaning of this word. 

Of course best known among these three musicians is Jerry Bergonzi. We all remember him from long collaboration with Dave Brubeck but he also recorded for Blue Note with Joey Calderazzo and  for Italian Red Records. This second cooperation was especially fruitful which is evidenced by his albums for this company recorded with such its renowned artists like Adam Nussbaum, Bobby Watson or Fred Hersch. I must say that his style full of technical fireworks and simultaneously of great musicality reminds me very much of the style of those three aforementioned great artists. Bergonzi has incredible narrative power and he is telling us his own, fascinating story from the very first note of this album. 

Jacek Kochan, playing on drums, perfectly matches Bergonzi and Lemańczyk with his sophisticated style reminding me such masters of this instrument as above mentioned Adam Nussbaum, Peter Erskine or Brian Blade. He is less providing simple rhythm but rather defining his own ideas about this music, creating little cameos of melody and stressing elements in his partners play that he regards as most significant.

Yes, this music is for jazz brainiacs (I must admit I am one of them) who would listen to this CD over over again relishing upon smallest details proving infinite virtuosity of players. It is like jazz riddle with thousand possible solutions, addictive and rewarding for anyone who is in jazz for highest quality musicianship. And finally what is most surprising that its style is as much mainstream as avant-garde with its constant swirls of rhythm and melody. Highly recommendable!

Please, visit Piotr Lemańczyk sites to listen to samples of music from this album:     

http://www.myspace.com/lemanczykpiotr or http://www.piotrlemanczyk.com/index4.php.

By Maciej Nowotny
http://kochamjazz.blox.pl/html