William's Things - A Soul Not All Of Wood (2019)

William's Things

Michał Górczyński - contrabass clarinet
Sean Palmer - vocals
Tomasz Wiracki - piano

A Soul Not All Of Wood

MULTIKULTI MPO 003



By Adam Baruch

This is the second album by the trio comprising of Polish Jazz clarinetist/composer Michał Górczyński, British (resident in Warsaw) actor/vocalist Sean Palmer and Polish pianist Tomasz Wiracki, which apparently decided to call the trio William`s Things after the name of their debut album. Same as with the debut, this is also a kind of Jazz & Poetry project, this time based on the writings of the American poet/philosopher Henry David Thoreau. The album presents eleven compositions, all by Górczyński, to texts by Thoreau, a pioneering environmentalist and ecologist.

In complete contrast to the debut album, the musical approach on this album is almost completely "conventional", with all the pieces being basically melodic songs, in most cases accompanied only by the piano and with minimal instrumental contributions by Górczyński. Having said that, the music and the entire concept are excellent from start to finish and Górczyński again proves to be a superb weaver of melodies and moods and an Artistic spirit of great importance on the local scene.

The minimalistic approach is also present in Wiracki's playing, which is devout of any improvisation and offers harmonic chord accompaniment to the singing only. As a result the focus of this album lands almost entirely on Palmer's shoulders, and he uses his theatric training and abilities to express the deeply emotional charge of some of these pieces, although most of the songs are contemplative and calm.

Overall this is a very powerful piece of music, even if most of it reserved and minimalist, exemplifying the "less is more" concept to the max. Even if the English texts somewhat limit the audience to English native speakers, which on the Polish scene is a bit problematic, as usual with Poetry & Jazz projects these limitations can be transcended by the sheer Artistic power of the music. The trio manages to create a distinct niche for its Artistic endeavors, which is highly commendable.