Janusz Zdunek / Marienburg – Miasto Nic (2008)

Janusz Zdunek - trumpet
Mariusz Godzina - bass clarinet
Ireneusz Kaczmar - bass
Rafal Baca - drums

OKNO 102







By Adam Baruch

This is the 2^nd album by Polish trumpeter / keyboardist / composer Janusz Zdunek and his ensemble Marienburg, which usually includes bassist Ireneusz Kaczmar and drummer Rafal Baca, but here also includes the bass clarinet player Mariusz Godzina. The seven tracks on the album were all composed by Zdunek.

Faithfull to the principles of the Yass movement, which flourished in Poland in the 1990s and still has a significant following today, Zdunek creates instrumental music which mixes elements of Jazz, Rock and other genres, which serve as a foundation for expanded improvisation, which in turn is kept well within the basic melody lines and original chord changes. The rhythmic patters are often funky and even danceable (well, depending of how many substances were consumed) but always stable and repetitive, with minimal, if any, change within one particular tune. The intrinsic tension between the rigid framework and the improvised motifs is basically what makes this music tick.

Zdunek is obviously a very proficient trumpeter and his technical skills are remarkable, but this kind of music makes it difficult to fully appreciate them. This music is more about atmosphere and ambience than outward expression, and should be accepted for what it is.

This kind of music usually divides the audiences into the love it / hate it camps with very few listeners left in the limbo, which is perfectly fine. So if you know this music and belong to any of the a.m. crowds, there is little that can be added here. If you don't know this music, you owe it to yourself to try it out, in case it's exactly what the doctor prescribed in your case.