Maciej Sadowski Kwadrat - Jazz Dla Zwierząt (2019)

Maciej Sadowski Kwadrat

Dawid Lipka - trumpet
Michał Jan Ciesielski - saxophone
Marcin Gałązka - guitar (4)
Maciej Sadowski - bass
Tomasz Koper - drums

Jazz Dla Zwierząt




EASTRINGS 0001

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album as a leader by Polish bassist/composer Maciej Sadowski, recorded with his quartet called Kwadrat (square in English, clearly alluding to the quartet), which also includes trumpeter Dawid Lipka, saxophonist Michał Jan Ciesielski and drummer Tomasz Koper. Guitarist Marcin Gałązka guests on one track. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Sadowski.

The music, although melody based, is very original and moves freely across several genres, touching on Rock, Fusion, Groove, mainstream Jazz and even Improvised Music. The compositions are the absolute focus of this album, although the instrumentalists are all extremely effective. Sadowski is an experienced player with an impressive portfolio of recording as a sideman and studio musician and he shines on this album as well. The most fascinating aspect of the music is the central role of the bass and a strong polyrhythmic diversity excellently handled by the drummer. But of course the trumpeter and saxophonist offer impressive soloing all the way through and contribute to the overall success.

Although seemingly an acoustic quartet, there is an extensive use of electronic devices, adding sheets of sound behind the instruments and creating a very impressive and unusual overall sound. One could say that these effects serve as an additional member of the quartet playing the synthesizer. On the track featuring the guitar player his guitar also sounds almost entirely like a synthesizer. The most extraordinary synthesizer effects are associated with the bass, which sounds often like a bass clarinet when playing arco. In short this album offers really innovative approach to playing the instruments, and combined with the superb and unique compositions the overall result is absolutely refreshing.

Overall this is definitely a surprisingly excellent debut album, which deserves a lot of attention and again shows that the new generation of Polish Jazz players possesses unlimited creativity, rarely found elsewhere. Absolutely delightful listening experience - Hats off!