Slow – Songs For Everyone (2015)

Slow

Tomasz Kaczmarczyk - guitar
Krzysztof Wermiński - keyboards
Kamil Pełka - bass
Marcin Rak - drums

Songs For Everyone

V 008


By Adam Baruch

This is the second album by Polish Smooth Jazz ensemble Slow, led by guitarist/composer Tomasz Kaczmarczyk and keyboardist/composer Krzysztof Wermiński. They are supported by bassist Kamil Pełka, drummer Marcin Rak and several additional musicians, which include two female vocalists, a string quartet and others. Paweł Konikiewicz is in charge of the musical production. The album presents ten original compositions, four of which are songs with lyrics, all co-composed by the two leaders.

The music, as appropriate for the Smooth Jazz milieu, is based on catchy melodic tunes, perfectly executed by the crew, quite jazzy and yet not complicated enough to bring on a headache, in short music that, as the title suggests, can and should be enjoyed by everyone. The only "problem" with this album is that it is probably too "good" for the average Smooth Jazz listener.

There is plenty of great musicianship on this album; the nice but not cheesy compositions, the elegant instrumental parts, the vocals and the jazzy arrangements; in short it is obvious that these people are good musicians who know exactly what they are doing. It is definitely a great example of how the easy side of the Jazz spectrum can offer quality entertainment and how unjustly Smooth Jazz is often belittled by critics with narrow horizons and closed minds.

This music is meant to entertain people who like music but approach it on a less intellectual plane. There is absolutely nothing wrong with such attitude. I must admit that I had a great fun listening to this album, which is also superbly recorded and can be used as a great test device for your stereo system.