Recently on occasion of writing about Wojtek Mazolewskis's very good "Smells Like Tape Spirit" (2011) album, I've complimented on pianist Joanna Duda and drummer Michał Bryndal. Here is another recording they play together with this difference that Mazolewski's bass is replaced by Maciej Szczyciński's and Joanna Duda acts as a leader. And again I can only say words of praise as far as play of the artists is concerned, but not so much about the music itself. Because it is too often irritating, though I admit that there are great moments as well. I shall be precise where which emotion prevails: while this band is mixing creatively old school funky swinging with post-disco influences of artists like Jamiroquai, I feel comfortable and enjoy this music as inteligent and autoironic show of very talented, young jazz instrumentalists. However when they try to play more seriously and add to this music some avantgarde blend, this feeling of satisfaction is changing into disappoitment as avantgarde is treated by musicians in extremely infantile way. This is old sin of many yass recordings in Poland: they are uneven, shallow, inconsistent. At such moments Duda's play is mechanical and uninspired, Bryndal's drumming schematic and Szczyciński's bass as predicatble as beats programmed by my PC.
Summarizing, I appreciate a lot rebellious and creative soul of these young musicians, I think that they were pretty close to record really good album, but eventually it is kind of unfinished work that sounds like being incomplete... Pity...
PS. Joanna Duda makes a lot of PR noise around herself. Well, I understand that it is necessary in these times to get to the public. But I feel like such focus on PR was to the detriment of the music on this album. It might be good in pop (see examples of Lady Gaga or Doda in Poland) but I doubt whether such a strategy will be effective in world of jazz...
Tune "Fitness Szmaty" from this record:
Author: Maciej Nowotny
Zastanawiałem się nad tą płytą, ale w końcu jej nie przesłuchałem. Widziałem już ten klip i nie przekonał mnie ani troche (a nawet z leksza odrzucił ;)).
OdpowiedzUsuńNiestety...a szkoda, bo gdyby nie te sztubackie wygłupy to może i byłaby to całkiem niezła płyta...
OdpowiedzUsuń"Fitness Szmaty" - ten konstrukt slowny jest autorstwa mojego kolegi, perkusisty notabene. W orginale brzmi on : polskie spoleczenstwo poczatku XXI w : "koks koala i fitnes szmaty". Liderka tej formacji zna okreslenie, poniewaz slyszala je z moich ust. Stalo sie to przy okazji, gdy opowiadalem o calej masie naszych utworow (duet perkusja i sax), a raczej o ich roboczych tytulach, które im nadajemy po prostu dla hecy. Szkoda, ze zostalo to okreslenie w sposob swiadomy nam skradzione. Mozna bylo zapytac - tym bardziej, ze wystepowala swiadomosc faktu, ze jest to tytul jednego z naszych kawalkow. Bezczelnosc.
OdpowiedzUsuńPozdrawiam i blogoslawie - Jan Pawel Boogie.
M.W.
Jan Pawel Boggie - LOL ;-)))
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