Łukasz Pawlik – Lonely Journey (2016)

Łukasz Pawlik

Łukasz Pawlik - piano, synthesizers
Dawid Główczewski - alto & soprano saxophones
Michael "Patches" Stewart - trumpet
Mike Stern - guitar
Paweł Pańta - bass guitar
Cezary Konrad - drums


Lonely Journey

PAWLIK RELATIONS 011

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album as a leader by Polish keyboardist/composer Łukasz Pawlik, recorded with saxophonist Dawid Główczewski, bassist Paweł Pańta and drummer Cezary Konrad. The polish team is joined by American guitarist Mike Stern on one track and trumpeter Michael "Patches" Stewart on three tracks. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Pawlik.

The music is a slick, melodic Jazz-Funk/Groove/Smooth Jazz, similar to countless other albums of this sort. It is very well performed by all participants, who are true pros, and makes your feet tap, but once it's over there is nothing left. The compositions are all pretty good, but again, hardly remarkable or memorable.

Why on earth would a talented Polish young musician play music, which others (yes Americans) have been playing ad nauseam since the 1970s, not moving an inch forward in the last almost 50 years. Admittedly the Polish team is in every respect as good as their American counterparts, so what? Although this kind of music has its followers, which of course is fine, this is only very marginally, if at all, Jazz and should not be labeled as such.

Overall this is a good Funk/Groove album, very well played, which lovers of the genre should enjoy in full, but definitely not something a Jazz connoisseur would listen to. And yes, Stern's solo is as good as one might expect.