Michal Urbaniak – Fusion III (Columbia Records, 1975)

Michał Urbaniak - electric violin, violin synthesizer

Urszula Dudziak - voice, percussion, electronic percussion
Wlodek Gulgowski - electric piano, Moog, and electric organ
Anthony Jackson - bass guitar
Gerald Brown - drums
Steve Gadd - drums
Larry Coryell - guitar
John Abercrombie - guitar
Joe Caro - guitar
Bernard Kafka - voice

Fusion III (Columbia Records, 1975)

This is the 3rd and last album released in the US on the Columbia label by Polish violinist / composer Michal Urbaniak. In retrospect it is also one of the best Fusion albums ever recorded on this planet. Urbaniak, a veteran of the Polish Jazz scene, first came to prominence as the member of the legendary groups led by the Godfather of Polish Jazz, pianist / composer Krzysztof Komeda. While with Komeda, Urbaniak played the saxophone and switched to violin only after founding his own group in the late 1960s, when he also changed his musical direction from Modern / Free Jazz to Fusion, inspired by the groundbreaking innovations created at the time by Miles Davis. 

In his group he included his wife, the extraordinary singer Urszula Dudziak and together they quickly developed a completely unique type of Fusion, which was light-years ahead of anything else happening in that genre at the time anywhere in the world. Mixing Jazz, Rock, Folklore and Avant-Garde vocals, they established a completely new approach to composition and multilayered complexity, as documented on the two albums the group recorded as part of the legendary "Polish Jazz" series of albums, which was simply brillant.

Frustrated by the state of affairs in his country, which suffered under a Socialist Regime and harsh economic conditions, Urbaniak, like most of his colleagues, constantly looked for an opportunity to leave Poland and establish a career behind the Iron Curtain. He managed initially to record a couple of albums in West Germany, but the real break came when Columbia offered him a recording deal. He and his wife left Poland and settled in the USA, as did several other Polish Jazz musicians at the time, like his ex group member pianist / composer Adam Makowicz for example. The three albums Urbaniak recorded for Columbia (and several more for other US labels, especially the dazzling "Funk Factory" album recorded shortly after this one and also reissued on Wounded Bird) were outstanding and simply much better than anything the local scene could muster, but unfortunately Urbaniak's US career never really took off, same as the careers of all other Polish Jazz musicians who tried to make it there, in spite of their immense talents. The reason was simply the narrow-mindedness of the US Jazz community (listeners and critics alike), which considered Jazz to be exclusively an American Art Form and failed to recognize anything originating outside of the US as artistically valid and meaningful, even if it hit them in the face. 

On this album Urbaniak is accompanied by top US Fusion players like guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Steve Gadd, as well as Polish compatriot Keyboardist Wlodek Gulgowski. Guitarist Larry Coryell guests on one track, guitarist Joe Caro guests on another and Polish vocalist Bernard Kafka guests on yet another track. Drummer Gerald Brown replaces Gadd on two tracks. Dudziak's vocals are simply out of this world and alone are worth listening to this album repeatedly. Urbaniak wrote almost all the dazzling music except for three tracks: a Dudziak improvisation, a superb composition by Polish saxophonist Zbigniew Namyslowski, which fits this album's mood like a glove and one tune by Gulgowski. As already said, this is timeless, heavenly, unparalleled music, which I've been listening to in the last almost 40 years without any trace of getting tired by it any time soon. This is an absolutely essential Fusion music, and anybody who has not heard this music does not know the true meaning of Fusion. God bless Wounded Bird for finally releasing this divine album on CD!

Track listing:
1. Chinatown (part 1) (Urbaniak)[05:24]
2. Kujaviak Goes Funky (Z. Namysłowski)[06:12]
3. Roksana (Urbaniak)[05:42]
4. Crazy Kid (Dudziak)[02:35]
5. Prehistoric Bird (Gulgowski)[05:19]
6. Bloody Kishka (Urbaniak)[04:21]
7. Cameo (Urbaniak)[04:41]
8. Stretch (Urbaniak)[06:20]
9. Metroliner (Urbaniak)[04:44]
10. Chinatown (Part II)[03:56]

By Adam Baruch
http://www.adambaruch.com/

Jerzy Milian – Orkiestra Rozrywkowa PRiTV W Katowicach (Polish Jazz Extended Vol.92, 1975)

Jerzy Milian - Conductor, Vibraphone

Orkiestra Rozrywkowa PRiTV W Katowicach (1975)

This album presents the veteran Polish Jazz vibraphonist / composer / bandleader Jerzy Milian as the founder / director / conductor of the Polish Radio and TV Orchestra in the southern Polish region of Silesia (with its capital in Katowice). This Orchestra, comprising of young musicians, mostly from the Jazz Department of the local Music Conservatory, perform original music which includes also two of Milian's compositions. Although only marginally Jazz, it is a great example of how Jazz musicians were able to find jobs in the Socialist System, playing original music. The Orchestra also includes a vocal combo, which sings in some of the tunes, stylistically resembling the famous Polish vocal ensemble NOVI. In retrospect this music is certainly not a Polish Jazz milestone recording, but is still quite fun to listen to after all these years and certainly a document of the era.

Track listing: 1. Waleczny Biedron; 2. Niedzielne Popoludnie; 3. Sloneczna Podroz; 4. Kung To Jest To; 5. Biala Magia; 6. Nie Widzisz A Widzisz; 7. Autostrada Pelna Slonca; 8. Astrobolid; 9. Nie Martw Sie O Wianek; 10. Z Nuta W Herbie; 11. Hop, Zdzis Dzis; 12. Przyjdz Z Jesienia

By Adam Baruch
www.adambaruch.com

Adam Makowicz – Live Embers (Polish Jazz Vol.43,1975)

Adam Makowicz - piano

Live Embers (Polish Jazz Vol.43, 1975)

This is the 2nd album in the legendary Polish Jazz series by the brilliant Polish pianist / composer Adam Makowicz, his first solo piano recording (a format he loves very much as documented in future recordings) and the first solo piano album in the entire series. By the time this album was recorded, Makowicz was the top piano Player on the local scene and one of the best European Jazz pianists. In the late 1970s Makowicz left Poland and settled in USA, like several other Polish Jazz players, escaping the socialist regime. His wonderful musicality, deep lyricism and typical European way to combine the Jazz tradition with the European Classical tradition (mainly Romanticism) make him a unique voice, which is always worth listening to. On this album he performs mainly his own wonderful music, spiced by his interpretation of a couple of Scott Joplin and John Coltrane tunes. This is a brilliant album and a must for Jazz piano lovers. Highly recommended!

Track listing: 01. Żarzące się węgielki I; 02. Raz tak, raz nie; 03. Passiflora; 04. Pociecha; 05. Ballada dla R; 06. Licznie do końca; 07. Tańcząca Panda; 08. Milowe Kroki; 09. Opalizacja; 10. Artysta Kabaretowy; 11. Żarzące się węgielki II




By Adam Baruch

http://adambaruch.com/

Zbigniew Namysłowski - Kuyaviak Goes Funky (Polish Jazz Vol. 46, 1975)

Zbigniew Namysłowski - alto sax
Tomasz Szukalski - tenor sax, soprano sax
Wojciech Karolak - electric piano
Paweł Jarzębski - bass
Czesław Bartkowski - drums

Polskie Nagrania, 1975

One of the best, though short-lived groups led by Namyslowski was the 1974-76 Quintet with Karolak, Szukalski, Jarzebski and Bartkowski. These excellent jazzmen were lucky to record, in March 1975, rather unusual music by Namyslowski: the highly original pieces that sparked again the touchy problem of Polish folklore presence in jazz. Namyslowski had already earlier intrigued sensitive listeners with his probably unconscious infusing into his music some characteristics of the Polish Mountainers' folklore ("Siodmawka","Piatawka"),but only now this side of his creative imagination showed itself so strongly. The centerpiece of this record is the three-movement title composition in 15/8 meter. Here we can enjoy contrasting tempos and moods, mediations and chantings, bass ostinatos, obstinate shifting of two chords, and, in the last section, rock-like repetitive rhythm-patterns, moving back into pensive, melancholy chants that finally fade away to end the piece. But even here the folk colouring stems not form any methodical background studies or intentions.

Namyslowski simply allows his musical nature to pronounce itself freely, and exactly such a spontaneity is what makes it precious from the jazz standpoint. In "Sad Little Johnny", the first pastoral section is followed by the busy funk rhythms and free sax improvisations. Also in the "Quiet Afternoon" the prolonged and beautiful immersion in poetic meditation finds its momentary contrast in the ragged alto solo, backed by electric piano and drums, after which the music returns to the dreamy mood. "Little Lamb Lost" strayed obviously somewhere in the Polish Tatra Mountains, for in spite of rock rhythms (even with their help) the motifs and scales of Podhale region are very much evident.

Small sample of magnificent music from this album:

Author of text: Andrzej Schmidt

Mieczyslaw Kosz (1975)

 

Recently I posted about Mieczysław Kosz, one of the most significant figures in history of polish jazz. Now I return to his music with disc dedicated to him issued in White Raven Of Black Vinyl Club edition of Polish Jazz Association. Last time I wrote a lot but this time I shall keep my note short because I want music to speak for itself.

We often treat jazz and classical music as somehow opposite because of the attitude toward improvisation. This is nonsense of course. There is only one music. Moreover improvisational element in music was always present. In classical music as well until very recently when it vanished and classical music became closed genre. Great pianists of romantic era for example, Chopin, Liszt or Schumann, we know it very well, all improvised. In fact in their times ability to improvise was at least equally respected as their compositional talent.

Kosz is so unique because he improvised effortlessly in all possible genres, from classical through jazz to pop music. When we look at the program of this specific album we find besides Kosz own compositions (Signals, Before Storm, Illusion, Too Late) improvisations on well known jazz standards (Summertime, Some Days My Prince Will Come), on folk tunes (Black Eyes, Hey You Forest Violet), on polish (More Birds, Two Glasses of Wine, You Shall Not Forget Me) and international pop tunes (Michelle, Rosemary's Baby, Laura, Granada). In this selection we see first the reflection of early Kosz whose career started by playing in clubs and restaurants of Kraków, Zakopane and Warsaw but also the sheer scale of his talent that covered all music that poeple were really interested in.

And to sum up Kosz story paraphrase of classical piece by Russian composer Aleksandr Borodin Polovtzian Dances in masterful jazz interpretation (from Reminiscence album):

PS. In my both notes on Kosz I used information from wonderful book of his biographer Krzysztof Karpiński titled Only Sadness Is Beautiful. Great thanks!!!