Wlodek Pawlik Quartet feat. Randy Brecker - Turtles (Polonia Records, 1995)

Włodek Pawlik - piano

Randy Brecker - trumpet trąbka
Trent Kynaston - tenor sax
Thomas Knific - bass
Cezary Konrad - drums

Turtles (Polonia Records, 1995)

Pawlik's Turtles is marked by the collective assurance of the musicians, the mix of Americans (Brecker, tenor saxophonist Trent Kynaston, bassist Thomas Knific) and Poles (the pianist, drummer Cezary Konrad) having benefited from working together in Polish clubs just before their Warsaw record date. On a program of originals, Brecker gets ample feature space: His creative impulses are decisive and his commitment to the music total (as on Thanks A Million). Soloist Kynaston injects surprise into some of his lines, especially effective when revealing an edgy desperation on "Not Samba." Pawlik is an intelligent pianist who listens carefully to his colleagues; he shares a tough sort of sensitivity with Brecker on their duet "...Sailing," and he quietly and skillfully conjures complex feelings on "Moontide." Worthy of note, also, is the bracing, alert manner in which Konrad breaks up the time on "Not Samba" and the title track.

A large part of the album appeal comes from the way the players' considerable facility and complicated turns of thought are so readily translated into high-quality modern jazz.

You can skip first 1:30 of talking and then good music starts:

Frank John Hadley

Down Beat