Kamil Piotrowicz - Piano
Erik Kimestad - Trumpet
Simon Albertsen - Drums
album's title: The President
Fundacja Słuchaj (2024)
Album's link: https://sluchaj.bandcamp.com/album/the-president
Review author: Viačeslavas Gliožeris
I like the Polish label's Fundacja Słuchaj releases – guys there aren't afraid to make mistakes and often offer some more interesting and unexpected music from the country's jazz scene. “The President” is a good example, confirming the rule. A multi-national trio of young Polish pianist Kamil Piotrowicz and two Norwegians (trumpeter Erik Kimestad and drummer Simon Albertsen) plays fresh jazz without posing and with a brave and open vision.
Unorthodox line-up (with trumpeter Erik Kimestad instead of a more traditional bassist) from the very start demonstrates “wide-open eyes” jazz, rather light, but full of energy, searching for new horizons. There are no real leaders on this recording; all three musicians equally participate in creating knotty but quite accessible music.
For an experienced ear, two things are obvious about this music – it is a “young blood jazz”, and the music is strongly influenced by the Nordic jazz school. Trumpeter Erik Kimestad pulls out from the very first sounds and doesn't slow down till the very end. I really like his flying trumpet, venturesome and a bit rowdy, but never aggressive or heavy. He sounds like a young guy who looks at the world around him with his eyes wide open, full of faith in a hopeful future. Yes, some might call it naive, but I'm almost jealous – there's not even a single trace of skepticism or a burden of knowledgeable maturity in this music, only bare-naked energy and optimism. And that feeling is contagious, listening to the album, one starts to believe (even if just for a moment or a few) that the world around us is generally a great place to be, and the future is promising. I believe we really need more music like this nowadays.
Even if, from the first impression, it looks like piano and drums are both a bit in the back, it's a mistake. Kamil Piotrowicz plays tasteful piano solos, successfully balancing between melodic and innovative elements. Even if the album's music sounds mostly like spontaneous improvisation, there are some melodic snippets there. In a few places, Kamil adds almost a Chopin-like melancholic tune, Erik's trumpet catches it and continues at the very same moment. Kamil plays a lot of intelligent piano soloing, which is usually a bit on the back, but improves the music greatly.
Simon Albertsen is a creative drummer who fits perfectly into the trio's music. His drums are not a rhythm machine, but in a Paul Motian manner, create an independent, colorful rhythmic painting. Three skilled and creative young talents play the music, which demonstrates in the best way that the spirit of jazz is alive, and the young generation of artists is capable of keeping it at the highest standard level.
In a Nordic jazz tradition, the music is dense but aerial, lots of sounds fill the space, but there is no heaviness at all. The album is perfectly recorded and mixed in the best “old school” key – soft, deep, separated sound made my old but still reliable Danish “Jamo” speakers sound unspeakably happy.
Taking into account that it is the debut album of young artists, I would call it a true success. Great done! You guys keep the jazz alive. I listened to “The President” a few times in a row and without a doubt will return to it more than once.
If I needed to find the only word to tag the music presented on “The President”, this word would be “carelessness”. Listening to it, I feel (without even traces of nostalgia) like the world around me and I are both much younger again. What a great and unique feeling!
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