Maciek Pysz - guitar
Daniele di Bonaventura - bandoneon, piano
Yuri Goloubev - double bass
Asaf Sirkis - drums
Yuri Goloubev - double bass
Asaf Sirkis - drums
A Journey
DOT TIME 9044
By Adam Baruch
This is the second album by Polish (resident in London) guitarist/composer Maciek Pysz, recorded in a quartet setting with celebrated Italian bandoneónist/pianist Daniele di Bonaventura, Russian bassist Yuri Goloubev and Israeli drummer Asaf Sirkis (also resident in London). The album presents twelve compositions, ten of which are originals by Pysz, one is an original co-composed with Italian guitarist Gianluca Corona and one is composed by Ralph Towner. The music was recorded at the wonderful Artesuono Studio in Italy and engineered by Stefano Amerio with spectacular sound quality.
Pysz continues the path already
established on his debut album, which presents him as a superb composer and a
virtuoso guitar player, which in spite of his young age (born 1982) propels him
directly to the very top of contemporary Jazz-World Fusion musicians. The
beauty and depth of the compositions presented on this album as well as their
extraordinary execution are simply marvelous.
The music, although obviously
deeply personal, is at the same time completely universal, crossing melodic and
rhythmic boundaries with ease and amalgamating the absolute best of the diverse
Musical cultures from all over the world. Pysz has an ability to weave exquisite
melodies, which in spite their sweetness manage to avoid completely even the
slightest suspicion of cliché and kitsch. This is a very rare gift and he uses
it exceptionally well.
The three musicians that
accompany Pysz on his journey are all top professionals: di Bonaventura provides
the perfect harmonic and melodic counterpart to the guitar parts and his
melancholy and delicate lyricism are simply ideally suited to this music, Goloubev
is one of the most sophisticated bassists in Europe, his sound is absolutely
unique and his emotional intelligence is incomparable, and finally Sirkis, who
grew "under my wings" at the early stages of his career, turned into
one of the Master drummers of our times, playing very subtly on this album, but
his sole solo spot here is such a classic of the trade that it should be studied
by all drummers.
There is no doubt that this is
an amazing album, full of musical beauty, aesthetic pleasure and extraordinary
musicianship, an album that has only a very few equals among the numerous other
albums released on a world scale. Blessed by the talent and the friendship of
his fellow musicians Pysz gives the world a brilliant gift of music, which
should leave not a soul untouched. Essential listening for Body and Soul!