Staniecki/Jachna - Two Souls (2020)

Staniecki/Jachna

Maciej Staniecki - guitar, loops
Wojciech Jachna - trumpet, loops

Two Souls

REQUIEM 194

 

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by the duo comprising of Polish guitarist/composer Maciej Staniecki and Jazz trumpeter/composer Wojciech Jachna. The album presents nine pieces, not credited on the album’s artwork and assumed to be co-created by the two musicians. The music is an amalgam of Electronic/Ambient layers of background sounds and trumpet improvisations floating on top of this background, creating a relaxed, almost lethargic atmosphere of contemplation and bordering on cinematic aural excursions.

As I have already stated repeatedly, there seems to be a distinct movement in Polish music lately, which offers a "protest" / counterbalance attitude, characterized by minimalistic / subdued musical forms, as a reaction to the incisive noise (musical or otherwise), that we are all drenched in and which completely blocks our contact with the world and other humans around us. This album is a "classic" representative of this new wave.

Although the layers of sound created by Staniecki are very creative and often inspiring, the focus of this album is naturally on the wonderful performances by Jachna, who perfected his sound and intrinsic lyricism over the years, bringing it to such unprecedented level, that today there are but just a few other trumpeters on the European scene with equal capabilities. Combined with his improvisational strength, Jachna is a poet of his instrument and every moment of his playing on this album is a pure aesthetic delight.

With well over twenty excellent albums recorded in the last decade, spanning a wide and diverse stylistic range between modern Jazz and Avant-Garde, Jachna steadily climbs to the position of top Polish Jazz trumpeter, and this album is a clear example of his genius.

This album, although fully immersed in Jazz, is likely to find its way to a large audience of listeners, who do not listen to Jazz on a regular basis. The music works like a balsam for every human soul, inspiring healing and inward escape away from our troubles. This is truly an outstanding offering of music, which deserves to be embraced by us all.