Piotr Budniak Essential Group feat. David Doružka - The Days Of Wine And Noises (2018)

Piotr Budniak Essential Group feat. David Doružka

Wojciech Lichtański - alto saxophone
David Doružka - guitar
Kajetan Borowski - piano
Piotr Narajowski - double bass
Piotr Budniak - drums

The Days Of Wine And Noises


PRIVATE EDITION

By Adam Baruch

This is the third album by Polish Jazz drummer/composer Piotr Budniak and his ensemble called Essential Group, which on this album is a quintet and includes also saxophonist Wojciech Lichtański, pianist Kajetan Borowski, bassist Piotr Narajowski and as guest Czech guitarist David Doružka. The album was recorded live and presents five original compositions, all by the leader.

Musically the album continues the path set by the earlier recordings by Budniak, presenting excellent compositions well within modern melodic mainstream, performed with vigor and technical proficiency. Lichtański and Borowski have been with the ensemble since its inception and together with Budniak constitute the core of the group, which is obviously well solidified. The new young bassist has a very though pair of shoes to fit, filling in for the original member of the ensemble, the excellent Alan Wykpisz, but manages to catch up nicely. Doružka is a very accomplished player and his role on this album proves his versatility and skill, again filling in for the original member of the ensemble Szymon Mika.

Once again the focus of the album is on the excellent compositions by the leader, which present a diverse palette and a wonderful sense of melody and harmony. The quintet performs the music with grace and elegance, but without any extravagant solo excursions, which is all for the best.

On the down side the sound quality of the live recording is rather problematic, which limits the pleasure of listening to the music. It is not entirely sure if this album is a formal release or just a promo release added to the Polish Jazz Forum magazine, but in any case sound quality is a crucial part of any recording and in this case it is simply not up to par with the quality of the music. Overall this is another injection of good Jazz compositions by Budniak and excellent playing by his ensemble, less formally packaged and recorded, but nevertheless very enjoyable.