Tatvamasi – Dyliżans Siedmiu (2016)

Tatvamasi

Tomasz Piątek - tenor saxophone
Yedo Gibson - tenor & soprano saxophones, piccolo
Jan Michalec - trumpet
Grzegorz Lesiak - guitar
Łukasz Downar - bass
Krzysztof Redas - drums
Vasco Trilla - drums, percussion



Dyliżans Siedmiu

AUDIO CAVE 2016

By Adam Baruch

This is the third album by Polish ensemble Tatvamasi, led by guitarist/composer Grzegorz Lesiak. On this album the quintet lineup, which also included trumpeter Jan Michalec, saxophonist Tomasz Piątek, bassist Łukasz Downar and drummer Krzysztof Redas, was expended to a septet with the addition of Brazilian saxophonist Yedo Gibson and Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla. The album presents just three expanded original compositions (two lasting over twelve minutes and one over sixteen minutes), all composed by Lesiak. The album was recorded shortly after the recording of their previous album a couple of years back and released only now.

The music is as unexpected as one might expect from Tatvamasi, presenting a wonderful amalgam of Rock, Funk, Free Jazz, Psychedelia, World, Electronic and Ambient influences. The three tracks are extended jams, which basically provide a platform for all the participants to play extended solos over a steady beat. Most of the solos by brass instruments are pretty Free Jazz oriented, while the guitar playing is more Rocky and Ambient. Several musicians solo simultaneously, conversing between themselves and getting involved into group improvisation. The guitar solos take the music back on track and serve as a buffer between the multilayered Jazzy parts. As usual this music simply shuns classification. To listeners familiar with the work of Miles Davis, this music is conceptually similar to the Miles "electric period", which featured electric guitar as a centerpiece of his ensembles.

It seems that this album is more of an experimental recording of a pre-planned jam session rather than a full-fledged new studio album by the ensemble, which is hopefully following soon. Nevertheless it is a superb piece of music, which has very few equals in its category in Poland or anywhere else for that matter.

The music, being pretty esoteric, might not be easily accessible to a wide audience and is definitely way to open and Jazzy for the average Fusion fans, but on the other hand it offers so much more intellectual stimuli that an effort to listen to it open-headedly is definitely worthwhile. Wholeheartedly recommended!