Miłosz Pieczonka - saxophone
Tymon Kosma - vibraphone
Bartłomiej Lucjan - bass
Jan Pieniążek - drums
Album's title : "Sorry, nie tu"
U JAZZ ME Records (2024)
Review author: Viačeslavas Gliožeris
The unorthodox quartet (sax & vibes plus rhythm section) from Warsaw „Kosmonauci“ calls themselves „a boys band“. Don't be fooled by the name – they don't sound like „Take That“ or „Backstreet Boys“. Instead, they sound like North European nu jazzers from the first decade of the New Millennium.
I am more familiar with some beautiful cafes around Krakowskie Przedmieście or even the streets of Stara Praga than nowadays Warsaw youth sub-cultures. Still, based on a wider knowledge of street cultures of some other European cities, I would classify „Kosmonauci“ as typical neo-hipsters. Middle-class classically trained young musicians pretend they are hip-hop rebels, but are too intelligent, too well educated, and not enough angry to be true gangsters. They are not angry at all (even if some songs' titles and lyrics sound different). I believe guys simply playing “bad boys” the same way they are playing “boys band”(sort of parody).
Two decades ago Scandinavia-born nu jazz – a hip, often groovless tuneful aerial music, played by jazz musicians the way as if they are in a rock band – took London by storm. It gave birth to a dozen extremely successful bands and influenced different aspects of youth sub-culture as well.
Later nu jazz evolved towards more deeply orchestrated, or more electronica-influenced sound. But this early nu jazz – unrepentant, light as a summer breeze, tuneful and uncomplicated, and often quite naive, I like a lot. It contains that early jazz spirit which too often is lost nowadays.
„Kosmonauci“ on their debut album plays excellent tuneful songs with a vibraphone on the front. The acoustic rhythm section tastefully anchors the sound with sax soloing adding a lot of meat and blood. Many songs have a touch of classics (and/or minimalism), which is often an inherent component of the genre. Musicians are playful, elegant, and tasteful and they enjoy their musicianship. The album's songs are centered around „Fakda“ - an interesting r'n'b piece, recorded with guest vocalist Paulina Przybysz
„Kosmonauci“ takes early nu jazz(which already mostly disappeared from the scenes of Old Europe) and adds there a doze of adventurousness – freer and heavier soloing, some more complex structures. Still, their final sound is almost as pleasant and careless as if they come right from the year 2004. And there is a good thing – they bring one of the most beautiful jazz music to a new generation of young listeners. For me, they present a moment or few of some emotively colored memories from the not-so-far past.
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