Joanna Duda - The Best Of (2013)

Joanna Duda (piano, keyboards)

Participation: Agim Dżeljilji, Jan Młynarski, Marek Pospieszalski, Kuba Janicki, Wojtek Mazolewski, Katarzyna Borek, Jerzy Rogiewicz, Radek Duda, Tomasz Duda

The Best Of (2013)

By Borys Kossakowski

Joanna Duda is well known for the audience as a pianist of Wojtek Mazolewski's Quintet. Five years ago no one would have thought that the punky-hairstyle Joanna is going to collect so many music creations & projects, published on her DIY produced LP "The Best Of". She grew up in a musicians family and she presents herself as composer, multiinstrumentalist, producer as well as classical music performer. You can hear all of her features on her debut album : you're gonna find there some romantic pieces of Maurice Ravel played in duo with Katarzyna Borek, as well as remixed Chopin's Polonaise A - major with some effects and analog instruments added. As an improviser, she explores huge range of options - you can find here some jazz harmony, funny melodies played on Wurlitzer electric piano or abstract sounds generated with analogue synthestizers (as in the example of J=J duo with Jan Młynarski ; you should check out their new album 2013ep ).

However "The Best Of" is not " the story of Joanna Duda" that I've been expecting. It's rather a disheveled (as her hairstyle) impression, a patchwork made of different "dudian" sounds. Joanna appears to the listener as a sensitive romantic, a laughing rascal, a piano virtuoso and a mad constructor experymenting with weird machines from some SF novels. After listening to the album, you have no doubt - Joanna Duda is simply the best!