Olbrzym i Kurdupel - Work (2014)

Olbrzym i Kurdupel

Tomasz Gadecki - tenor saxophone
Marcin Bożek - bass guitar

Work

1KG 028




By Dirk Blasejezak

I was very enthusiastic about the last album by the duo ("Six philosophical games"), an album that was really fun to listen to and above all one that made me want more! When I received this CD and listened to the first 10-15 minutes, I switched it off and didn't put it on for almost two weeks. I simply was disappointed! After those 2 weeks I've once again ventured, simply because I could not believe that Tomek Gadecki and Marcin Bożek could create something that I really wouldn't like. So I waited for a moment when I really felt like listening to their music and I was bound and determined to listen until the end this time ... and it was worth it.

I'm still not particularly fond of the first two pieces, in particular Part I is just too bulky. It reveals itself only with great difficulty. And not only because of the length, but also because of the many substantive motive changes, those come along more like several independent pieces put together into one. As presented here Part I clearly seems too long.

It also seems at the first listening of Part I and II as if the two do not as closely interact with each other as they could, there are many more solo parts - in Part II Marcin Bożek steps in to the background so much that I initially thought this is a solo part for saxophone. Undeniably, every piece shows their technical brilliance, their uniqueness as a duo unfortunately emerges only from Part III onward though.

In Part III their rhythmic interplay is much more intense - a powerful inferno! This part or the following one would be my recommendations as a first listening. Part IV sounds almost filigree compared to Part III, with finely nuanced breaks, showing how close the interplay between the two is after all. This is also reflected in the two following Parts: Part V, the petite elegy giving the listener time to take a deep breath and dream a bit, and Part VI, the almost serene end which finally reconciled me with this album and showed me that the two are not only having fun for themselves, but also give it to the listener.

Overall, beginning with Part III the album is even more catchy than its predecessor - if only the entry wouldn’t be so difficult. In Parts I and II two soloists shine at the highest level, but only from Part III onward two congenial musicians play together as a duo! So my conclusion is somewhat mixed, but I’d still say this is a very good album!

It should be mentioned that this is a live recording from February, 24th 2013 taken in the "Alchemia" club in Krakow and that concert is even as a video in parts. The section below shows that Tomek Gadecki and Marcin Bożek offer an extraordinary live experience - and I would most likely have enjoyed the first two parts much better, if I had been on the spot. Very often in Free Jazz the music only reveals its full potential live, so have a look for yourself.

Lotto - Ask The Dust (2014)

Lotto

Łukasz Rychlicki - guitar
Mike Majkowski - double bass
Paweł Szpura - drums

Ask The Dust

Lado ABC C/21




By Dirk Blasejezak

When I received this record to review I didn’t know anything about Mike Majkowski (shame on me), this is even more surprising since he has been around in Berlin for a while and has chosen this as his second home, and he is of course often playing live here. Fortunately only a few days later I had the opportunity to see him play live – that evening with his Fabric Trio (together with the German saxophonist Frank Paul Schubert and Greek drummer Yorgos Dimitriadis, as well as two guest musicians) – and it was a great concert during which his ingenuity enormously impressed me.

While researching I noticed that he was also part of the great album "Nature Moves" by the Wacław Zimpel To Tu Orchestra. Incidentally there was also a second member of the trio involved: Paweł Szpura. Both also know each other from "Mikołaj Trzaska Gra Roze" (dating from 2013). Paweł Szpura is of course well known as he played on some of my favorite records by Hera and Cukunft. Only about Łukasz Rychlicki I know nothing to say. It seems he is not to be heard on many albums yet, but I very much hope that this will change soon. I'm generally not a very big fan of jazz guitar, but that's what I like about Łukasz Rychlicki: his playing doesn’t sound like one of those boringly strummed guitars, instead he plays a very rocking guitar, distorted and very variable.

The recordings for "Ask The Dusk" took place in August 2013, after the final mix a year later, a limited number of 300 vinyl copies were released in December 2014. A digital version can of course be downloaded from the bandcamp page of the band (see below). Naturally, in such a trio the guitar is the dominant instrument (or the piano in "Gremlin-prone"). And on a first listening of this album too, bass and drums remain in the background. However, it is worthwhile to listen to it more closely, because the two do much more than just accompany. Overall I would range in the sound somewhere between Suicide and Desert Rock, in the context of jazz, of course. An impression, the rhythm section strongly supports. The trio doesn’t produce "Walls of Sound", but instead a rhythmically sophisticated framework. It also reminds me a bit of Loskot’s “Sun”.

Maybe the strong emphasis on rhythm is also one of the weaknesses of the album (if you want to call it weakness), as unfortunately it lacks melodies – I’m not sure though if you would necessarily need melodies here, but every now and then the recognition value gets lost. Nevertheless, this record is a great example of the possibilities that can arise when open minds combine jazz and rock!

Gorzycki & Dobie – Nothing (2015)

Gorzycki & Dobie

Rafał Gorzycki - drums
Jonathan Dobie - guitar

Nothing

REQUIEM 86/2015





By Dirk Blasejezak

Again a duo, and again a great one! It is indeed astounding how many good duos were coming from Poland in recent years. This time it’s a Polish/English duo with Rafał Gorzycki on drums and percussion as the Polish participant who is not only in Poland very well known and the likewise known Jonathan Dobie from Great Britain. Rafał Gorzycki made himself a name with projects like Sing Sing Penelope the Ecstacy Project, both with heavy influences on the Polish Jazz scene, while Jonathan Dobie already worked with familiar stars like Shoji Hano and Peter Brötzmann. 

With this album Rafał Gorzycki rounds up his trilogy of duo recordings, after issuing “Experimental Psychology” (with Sebastian Gruchot on violin) and “Therapy” (with Kamil Pater, who plays the guitar as well). The result of this third part is a duo of particular depth and warmth. 

The album starts like the opening of a board game, in “Full of…” both musicians position their pieces. Despite of the partly harsh changes the track is characterised by high mutual respect, both receive all the time they need to make their turn. After that it gets a little more relaxed, the front lines are clear – also for the listener – and both start playing together. Their play is in songs like “Ballad for Joanna” and “Sooper Looper” particularly melodic. 

All in all this is one of the specialties of this album: although it’s obviously free improvisation the whole recording feels very harmonic. And a track like “Call it anything” even get’s kind of like a blues. Here Jonathan Dobie plays out his strength – he cultivates an personal playing style and follows a clear concept, he showcases his very individual language that might as in this case even sound bluesy. And with a congenial partner like Rafał Gorzycki this adds to something very enjoyable!

And to round up the picture of the board game: At the end we have a draw, but one were not only both players win – but with them the listeners!

3FoNIA Jacek Mazurkiewicz Solo - Chosen Poems (2014)

3FoNIA Jacek Mazurkiewicz

Jacek Mazurkiewicz - contrabass, piezo fork synth, looper

Chosen Poems

Multikulti MPLE 002




By Dirk Blasejezak

This is a solo album by a double bass player! You can not repeat this often enough. You should also make it aware to yourself with each piece anew! Here stands a man with his bass and plays - and while he plays, he turns a lot of knobs and buttons on many small units, which he has arranged around himself. But in the end it remains a solo album. Jacek Mazurkiewicz plays these pieces also live, so it's not that he's using a 4- or 8-track-recorder to overdub everything neatly in succession - these are the outpourings of a live recorded, and enormously talented musician.

We could hear his talent only on a few albums yet, for instance on Andrzej Przybielski's "Tren Zalobny" in 2011 or on the album "Roots" by Maciej Trifonidis published in the same year. This year he has only worked on two albums so far, which I enjoyed very differently: The trio with Rob Brown and Daniel Levin ("Day In The Life Of A City") could not really convince me, while the new Pulsarus is for me one of the best records of 2014. Otherwise, there are only very few recordings with Jacek Mazurkiewicz I know of: some live recordings or short videos (eg. a great one with Mikołaj Trzaska). The more amazing it seems that he chooses a solo album as the first album under his own name. But maybe that makes sense, as the complexity, he creates on his own makes it difficult to imagine how this could be complemented by other musicians.

For the listener this album is quite demanding too if you want to understand how the individual pieces were created. The album kicks off with a relatively sophisticated piece about "Lady Midday" (Południca), which clearly shows that Jacek Mazurkiewicz feels at home in free jazz and avant-garde as well. The following two pieces give the audience a little rest, in particular "For people like you" could be a perfect entry point for lovers of the "classical" double bass. After these it gets more free again; his homage to Zbigniew Karkowski might represent a challenge for many - this clearly demonstrates his affairs in avant-garde. Here again, one must always keep in mind that this is a solo album!

The recording technique can be observed particularly well in "For you," one of my favorite tracks on this album. He begins (and ends) with an strongly accelerated sequence of the then following ostinato bass, which he fades in slowly after the intro in order to develop the actual piece over this bass line. With more and more voices coming he weaves those looped voices into an increasingly complex web that has a very meditative effect (at least on me). There are certainly very different opinions on the use of the looper in music, I've seen some very disappointing concerts using it, but Jacek Mazurkiewicz does not used it to simply underpin a beat, instead he plays with the loops, he distorts and alters them and turns the transformed loops into an additional instrument. A very nice documentation of his approach can be seen in the video below.

Unfortunately, the album already ends after two more rather futuristic, and quieter pieces. I would have liked some more of this. I really hope we get to hear more, and that he finds some like-minded musicians with whom he can produce equally unstrained modern music.

Wacław Zimpel To Tu Orchestra - Nature Moves (2014)

Wacław Zimpel To Tu Orchestra

Wacław Zimpel - A, Bb & alto clarinets

Paweł Postaremczak - tenor & soprano saxophones

Dominik Strycharski - alto & tenor flutes

Jacek Kita - upright piano

Maciej Cierliński - hurdy-gurdy

Wojtek Traczyk - double bass

Mike Majkowski - double bass

Paweł Szpura - drums

Hubert Zemler - drums, metallophone

Nature Moves

FOR TUNE 0036

By Dirk Blasejezak

A small orchestra actually appears as a logical next step for Wacław Zimpel. For me he is one of the outstanding artists in Poland as I have already written in my review on "Stone Fog". And although that last one was a pleasure to listen to, it still did not completely convince me - but that's totally different here. I would describe "Nature Moves" as his masterpiece so far! Surely some fans of his projects like Hera or Undivided will not agree as here many traditional elements of (Free) Jazz are missing - or not so obvious. Instead, the whole album is more of a consistent composition whose title seems to fit quite perfectly. Therefore traditional jazz fans should be careful: It takes a lot of openness to approach this piece of work. In many parts it is more a reminiscence to minimalists such as Steve Reich or Terry Riley than to the american jazz tradition. But it seems as if those borders are at the moment extended very much, especially in contemporary Polish jazz. As an example the recently released album by Trzy Tony ("Efekt Księżyca", Requiem Records) might be cited. Personally, I like these transgressions very much.

As a listener you can expect long repetitive passages, just as known from minimalism. Impressive is the incredibly harmonious sound of the To To Orchestra though. Most of the musicians already know each other from previous projects, but nonetheless this harmony is an evidence of the huge dedication to the work. The backbone of the orchestra are the musicians of Hera (Paweł Postaremczak, Maciej Cierliński, Paweł Szpura and of course Wacław Zimpel). Wojtek Traczyk is known from his solo work but also through his bass playing in "The Light" - another project with Wacław Zimpel. Added to this is Jacek Kita, the pianist of one my favorite bands: Levity; and Dominik Strycharski, who just recently convinced with his play on Pulsarus. Hubert Zemler played in a variety of projects in the last years in which some of the here assembled musicians were involved too. Solely Mike Majkowski I only know from one collaboration with Mikołaj Trzaska ... But what's indeed amazing is that on these recordings Wacław Zimpel actually managed to combine those nine musicians into a uniform orchestral body to create a wonderful work of incredible harmony. That's also the reason why it's so difficult to tell something about the individual musicians - everyone seems to blend seamlessly into the collective.

For the impatient jazz fans I recommend track 3 ("Dry Landscape"), and the closing "Where The Prairie Meets The Mountains." Both pieces offer more traditional jazz elements than the other tracks on this album, while still not falling out of the line. For all other listeners I would absolutely recommend to listen to this album quietly in its entirety. The quietness is especially important. If you listen to this record on the side it might appear monotonous. The subtle nuances during the development of the individual pieces will become apparent only with due attention. But if you pay the attention it deserves to this album, you will be rewarded with a truly special listening experience.

There is one last thing I would like to say: I have deliberately avoided a comparison with "Alaman" as the approach is a completely different one here. I still mention it though, to point out that this is yet another outstanding example of a great intercourse with the "Big Band" that has become slightly dusty in recent decades. It’s in particular the differences between these two wonderful recordings that show what is possible with this ensemble! And even though I’m aware that it requires not only outstanding musicians and orchestra leaders, but that it's also a huge logistical challenge, I sincerely hope that more will dare follow this path!

Rob Brown/Daniel Levin/Jacek Mazurkiewicz - Day In The Life Of A City (2014)

Rob Brown/Daniel Levin/Jacek Mazurkiewicz

Rob Brown - alto saxophone
Daniel Levin - cello
Jacek Mazurkiewcz - contrabass

Day In The Life Of A City

MPI029



By Dirk Blasejezak

I really like the cello in jazz music. The Enterout Trio is even after five years still on heavy rotation at my player. For this reason, I was really looking forward to this album, for not only the cello is unusual, but also the very general formation you probably won't find very often.

I was especially interested in Jacek Mazurkiewicz. His innovative - but fortunately not destructive - handling of the bass had me noticing him a while ago, even though he didn't appear on many recordings. This however has changed with the latest Pulsarus ... and 3FoNIA I'm very much anticipating! Rob Brown certainly doesn't have to be introduced and Daniel Levin, with whom Rob Brown has often collaborated in recent years, is an internationally acknowledged musician.

Nevertheless, I was somehow disappointed by this album. The pieces seem to lack a concept. And I mean that as Free Jazz fan. It makes a difference whether you improvise together freely or whether you play side by side without listining to each other. But that is exactly the impression I get here on the majority of the tracks. There are fortunately exceptions: "Friction" or "Stretchy" are examples of songs that I like. Here the three created something together, something I rarely experience on the other tracks of this album. The quieter pieces seem to suit the trio more. Maybe it's the sparse use of the saxophone on these tracks, or maybe the “younger ones” simply have more in common, especially a musical language. All in all I had hoped for much more of this album.

Trzy Tony - Efekt Księżyca (2014)

Trzy Tony

Tomasz Pawlicki - flute, computer
Mateusz Szwankowski - clarinet, bass clarinet
Jacek Buhl - drums, percussion

Efekt Księżyca

REQUIEM 75/2014



By Dirk Blasejezak

The moon seems to have a very calming effect on this trio. The introduction into the album makes you feel as if you slowly sink into the darkness. On top of the immensely soothing music of the first pieces appear sounds and noises that are hard to identify and yet do not provoke any anxiety. And although there are faster pieces waiting in the course of the album, the overall impression is a very relaxed, but never boring one.

These are wonderful and unusual pieces, each of which receives the time it takes to fully develop. That way the three musicians are able to dive into all levels of the individual pieces, to lay open the finest nuances and to weave complex sound patterns. Because of its artistic complexity the music on this album may well be compared with chamber music. It shows how fine the line in art often is, as you can safely play this album to a friend of contemporary classical music - the difference lies almost solely in the composition technique. On the one hand you have the individual composer, providing note for note for all the instruments, on the other hand we have these three musicians playing together and composing - everyone for his own instrument but still as a group. That's why musical improvisation is often also called "instant composing"...

And even if the band's name allows associations with the tritone, the diabolus in musica, you have to have no fear that it is too straining, because this is one of the rare examples where the musicians develop a wonderful whole with free play. Of course we are already used to this from Jacek Buhl and his great collaborations with Wojtek Jachna and also from Tomasz Pawlicki’s contributions to the Ecstasy Project or Maestro Trytony. Only Mateusz Szwankowski didn't appear that often yet, but still he seems to be exactly right one for this shot. Especially his bass clarinet is in many parts responsible for the slightly dark foundation of the pieces, but often he also accounts for the surprising accents. This album is an unconditional recommendation to everyone for whom Jazz doesn't necessarily have to swing and for those who are open to more demanding notes.

Second Exit - Spoon (ForTune, 2014)

Second Exit (band)

Piotr Łyszkiewicz - tenor & soprano saxophones, percussion
Ove Volquartz - contrabass clarinet, soprano saxophone
Piotr Zabrodzki - bass guitar, synthesizer, piano
Michał Trela - drums, percussion

Spoon (ForTune, 2014)


By Dirk Blasejezak

This album took me a bit, but it was more than worth it! I can only advise anybody to take the time and let this album sink in, then it will reveal it's depth.

I am particularly pleased that it is finally once again a Polish-German production, which has led to such a great result. Ove Volquartz as the German representative (from Göttingen) and Piotr Łyszkiewicz, of course, stood out on first listening - especially in the first piece: the duel of two soprano saxophones is very demanding for the listener with its intensity and the relentlessness of both musicians. On the other tracks too the two reeds mostly come as a pair and enclose each other in an extremely exciting way. I have to admit though that I'm always positively biased when someone unboxes a contrabass clarinet. 

Only on the second listening of "Well Ride" I noticed the work of Piotr Zabrodzki in the background. Of the four musicians, he is probably best known to the Polish audience. His work includes highs (Trylobit, Baaba Kulka) as well as lows (LXMP), but with this album it has definitely reached a new peak. Here his incredible versatility is visible or better audible in each track. In "Well Ride" he adds, through his synthesizer sounds, to the above mentioned depth; in "Mysterious Colours" he plays the bass guitar - starting around minute 18:00 you can very well get a picture of his skills on this instrument. And in the last piece ("Some message from Olivier (ECPM)"), he sits on one of the solo instruments: the piano. And in all three roles you have the feeling as if he had never done anything else. Wonderful!

However, I also have to say a few words to Michał Trela - that he is the last to write about is not to be understood as a rating. Quite the contrary: His hard, rocking, and extremely precise play (his solo in "Ride Well", I think, makes clear what I mean) gives the music in many parts an entirely new note, it’s changing the direction. I like this style very much; especially in collective improvisations I always feel comfortable when one of the musicians builds some kind of a handrail for me to stroll along. To my regret, I did not know him yet, but he has recently (again on ForTune) released an album with the "Erase" quartet, that I just have not yet had the chance to listen to. I am particularly curious about his future projects.

On the whole, this is a record of exceptional quality, an absolute recommendation. Among the authors of the Polish Jazz blog there even was a discussion about making this album the Album of the Month - I voted against it. Maybe I even regret it a little, after listening to it a few times. The main reason for my decision was not that this record would not have deserved it (I’m certain that in 10 out of 12 months of any year I would have agreed without hesitation!), but that there are simply several outstanding albums this month. How happy the jazz scene can be about that - especially if, as in this case, those are the scenes of two countries.

Bałdych & Herman Duo Art - The New Tradition (2014)

Bałdych & Herman Duo Art 

Adam Bałdych - violin
Yaron Herman - piano

The New Tradition (ACT, 2014)

By Dirk Blasejezak

This is a truly unique recording. One of a kind you seldomly hear. But I hope that the title provides the direction and that it actually initiates a New Tradition. Although sonatas for piano and violin used to be one of the most popular musical forms, they were almost completely forgotten during the last 100 years. During their time they allowed the two musicians much more freedom and many more opportunities to express themselves than other compositional forms.

And now Adam Bałdych on the violin and Yaron Herman on the piano try to establish a new tradition for this again. And it fits our time that it wasn’t composers of "serious music" that hark back, but that two jazz musicians try to accomplish this task. In recent years one could find especially in the Polish Jazz an increase of recordings in duets, but no one dared to attempt the classic duo of piano and violin. Certainly one of the main reasons is that there are only very few violinists in jazz nowadays, and in this special case we have to admit that there are even less violinists with the exploratory urge like Adam Bałdych, who recognises an opportunity when he sees it and is than able to seize it.

For this album it was once again Siggi Loch of the label ACT who had a hunch (or maybe a vision) and presented these two musicians together on the stage at the Jazz at the Philharmonic Berlin. That was in March 2013 – and according to Adam Bałdych it was: “an extraordinary, magical moment for me. I felt as if I have taken a deep breath and have found new impulses. A very classic duo of violin and piano turned out to be astonishingly fresh and opened up new creative possibilities for me.” Knowing this it was almost imperative that in the same year Siggi Loch brought the two together into one studio (actually into two: RecPublica Studios, Lubrza, Polen and Emil Berliner Studios, Berlin, Germany).

The result offers a rare “otherness.” This record stands out in many ways. In a majority of the tracks you hear strong allusions to folk harmonies even though only two of the pieces ("Lamentation Of Jeremiah" and "Canticles Of Ecstasy") are actually traditionals. Adam Bałdych, who is responsible for all original compositions seems to be very strongly committed to his own traditions, which is also supported by the choice of pieces that are not original compositions - they stem from Krzysztof Komeda ("Sleep Safe And Warm") and, of course, one wants to say, from Zbigniew Seifert ("Quo Vadis"). So he’s working here on his Polish roots in folk music as well as in Jazz and uses the duet form known to him from the classical violinist education. We listeners can be glad that he found with Yaron Herman a congenial partner, who gives him space and supports him in a very unselfish way during all his maneuvers. Especially his left hand creates a wonderful background for both on which Bałdych’s violin and Herman’s right hand can walk like on fresh moss.

If there’s actually someone who doesn’t know Yaron Herman, I highly recommend beginning with another duet, as he recorded his own debut album in 2003 together with Sylvain Ghio on the drums: "Takes 2 To Know 1". Also on the ACT label he published the album "Follow The White Rabbit" (in 2010) that probably everybody has on his or her shelf as it hit very high waves - quite rightly.

This album too is likely to cause some resonance despite its sometimes elegiac, but always very melodious moods, as it walks on old paths in very new shoes. And as I said, I really hope it will indeed establish a New Tradition!

Track list:

01 Riverendings 5:21
02 Legenda 7:50
03 Sleep Safe And Warm (K. Komeda) 4:10
04 Letter For E 6:01
05 June 4:39
06 Quo Vadis (Z. Seifert) 5:29
07 Lamentation Of Jeremiah (Th. Tallis, arr. by Bałdych) 5:13
08 Relativities 2:10
09 Canticles Of Ecstasy (H. von Bingen, arr. by the artists) 5:08

A short film with footage from the tour in February 2014:

Oleś Brothers & Jorgos Skolias - Sefardix (ForTune, 2013) ****

Oleś Brothers & Jorgos Skolias

Jorgos Skolias - voice
Marcin Oleś - double bass
Bartłomiej Brat Oleś - drums

Sefardix (ForTune, 2013)





By Dirk Blasejezak

So it’s the Oleś Brothers again… My relationship with the two brothers is a very special one. There is probably no Polish Jazz formation I've seen more often performing live and in different combinations. Nonetheless, I'm still not sure what I to think of the two. After each concert and all I hear from them I think: "That was all right," but there is also a tiny voice saying "but there could be more."

I suspect everyone knows one artist of which he or she expects exactly that one piece of art he/she’s been waiting for. For me those are the Oleś Brothers! Maybe that’s the reason I judge them so hard, it’s simply that I expect from them no less than my future favorite album for the next few years - the downside is: they just do not give it to me! Everything about them: style, attitude, expression, non-conformism - everything I want from my favorite band, but the result never completely convinced me yet.

Unfortunately this record neither is the one. The reason for this is Jorgos Skolias - but please don’t understand this a negative rating! His special way to use his voice and the compositions on this album are simply too dominant, the Oleś Brothers degenerate here in most cases to a mere rhythm section. Last year I had already the opportunity to see these three live and had there a very similar impression. There too it appeared to me that Brat Oleś played very reserved, long passages he played his drumheads with his bare hands (of course with the self-assurance he’s showing all the time). And only Marcin can excel at the bass here and there and set some accents. Of course this is higly subjective and caused solely by my expectations described above. Jorgos Skolias has an inimitable style to use his voice, or his whole body as an instrument, which you won’t find often in this form. However, if you - like me - expected a Polish jazz disk, you will surely be disappointed, because the pieces on this album are simply too “Greek” - even if this is too generalised. If the disk title is not to be misleading, the tradition of Jorgos Skolias’ singing might be the Sephardic music, based on the culture of a Jewish diaspora originally at home on the Iberian peninsula, which had a large community in Greece up to World War II.

To round this review up: Please try it yourself, this album is different! Personally I look at this album with an auspicious and a dropping eye. On the one hand it’s a wonderful album with some great melodies (you’ll hum all day) played and recorded perfectly that introduced me to a unique singer and to a culture I didn’t know, but on the other hand it seems I will have to go on waiting for my favorite record by the Oleś Brothers...

Daktari - I Travel Within My Dreams With A German Passport (2013) ****

Daktari (band)

Olgierd Dokalski - trumpet
Mateusz Franczak - tenor saxophone
Tomi Simatupang - guitar
Miron Grzegorkiewicz - guitar
Maciej Szczepański - bass
Robert Alabrudziński - drums

I Travel Within My Dreams With A German Passport (2013)

By Dirk Blasejezak

The good news first: the Polish-German relations won’t be negatively affected by this album. When I heard the title of the record for the first time, I was actually concerned that the whole thing would be a nightmare. After all, I suspect that still many Polish feel at least uneasy about us Germans. But this album might suggest that there is maybe less bias among the younger Polish population.

The next irritation I had when looking at the cover: The album shows a passport of the former GDR - I assume that the musicians will get much trouble on every border they come to in their dreams...

And there’s something more German about the album, as it was recorded at the Butterama Recording Center in Berlin in November 2012. Shortly after that sessions Daktari had an interesting appearance at the Berlin Jazz Festival, where I saw them for the first time.

But then there is an inconsistency - Rutger Hauer is Dutch, but during his career he had to play for a number of times the blond and blue-eyed German so we can probably count him in as well...

What I musically noticed at the first glance were the two guitars. I usually don’t like the sound of jazz guitar in particular, so I was pretty skeptical at first with even two guitars here. But it works, and actually pretty good! The reason is probably that the guitars are in most jazz recordings mixed very soft and clear, but not here. Furthermore they do not try to get in the foreground too much, but rather create a whimsical background. A jiggling frame - partially inclined or even strenuous, but enthralling. Along with the drums and the bass this creates the framework in which trumpet and saxophone can let off steam. Interestingly, it is not only the lead instruments that unfold freely, but the whole band is in a permanent joint improvisation, which can not be described as free jazz though. The interaction works on a level that you would not expect from musicians of this young age!

Adding to that the record offers some very nice riffs that almost invite to hum, a thing that one rarely encounters in contemporary jazz. Some harmonies I would rather expect in pop or rock music (e.g. "Eine kleine Weltschmerz"). Particularly nice melodies you find in the first song (“Little Hollow”) and in the title track, which is found in two versions on the disk. I particularly like the first version of "I travel within my dreams with a German passport", since it provides something special: There are various electronic sounds included, that give the music a lot of momentum and dynamics. Just compare this version with the alternative take of this song or with the other songs on the record to see how well electronics can fit to jazz. Maybe this might be a way for Daktari, I can only recommend it to them, as they have a good attitude towards it. A bit surprising for me is the fact that the trumpet and the saxophone are on that version clear - you can say acoustically too. Certainly, they form an interesting counterpoint to the distorted instruments and the synthetic supplements, but I’d have liked some more experimentation here a lot. But I know as well as anyone else interested in that field of jazz, were the musicians try to integrate electronica into classic jazz, how hard that is and how narrow the ridge is where the musician (and producers) stroll along - they could have, just for "safety reasons", called this version the alternative take then.

But also in this respect I find this album more than pleasant! Perhaps because the musicians are still very young and approach the subject impartially, you find no reservation. One senses that it can work out if young people blend the music of their time with jazz. Exactly this kind of albums make me feel confident that jazz has a future - a future where we will not only have to listen to the standards from the American Songbook over and over again or watch musicians in a wild cacophony (as much as I like that too though).

This record is fun, it is exciting without being exhausting and it is catchy without becoming boring at any time. Definitely a recommendation!

(Editor) In case you want to buy this record please write at: daktaripl@gmail.com

The promo video for this record (also from an East German film):

Hunger Pangs - Meet Meat (ForTune Records, 2013)

Hunger Pangs (band)

Marek Kądziela - guitar
Tomasz Dąbrowski - trumpet, microKORG, balkan horn
Kasper Tom Christiansen - drums

Meet Meat (ForTune Records, 2013)

By Dirk Blasejezak

Actually, I did not want to discuss the name, because I do not think (i.e. hope) that the musicians of this trio from Poland and Denmark have to fight with significant consequences of hunger.

Nevertheless, the first association of course is that of the hunger for personal development, for art and creativity. It can indeed lead to mental and physical problems when someone is hindered in his self-unfolding - maybe that can be called pain too. But even here the band members should not be affected as they are touring for several years in many different formations in Poland, Denmark and Germany and have already been mentioned many times on this blog. The liner notes then indeed clarify that the name of the trio stems from a book.

You can feel though that on this album three came together who are bound and determined. Uncompromisingly they lay before the listener their own compositions, most of which were written by Marek Kądziela. From the first song onward it is clear that the three are not here to produce a "nice" album - these songs had to get out.

Marek Kądziela and Kasper Tom Christiansen were mentioned together on this blog before with their band "K.R.A.N." - at that time still caught in the mainstream (see: http://polish-jazz.blogspot.de/2011/11/kran-kran-gateway-music-2009.html), a conception which I could verify for myself at a concert some years ago. However, specifically Kasper Tom Christiansen has remained in my memory, and also the very unexcited, but very variable play of Marek Kądziela. I am glad that these two are back together here and could get Tomasz Dabrowski (Tom Trio), one of the most exciting trumpeters of Poland, into the boat (Tomasz and Marek already know each other from other projects, e.g. Off Quartet). And the result is a real gem!

It is not free jazz, but it is free from conventions. Many changes, mostly in fast tempos and a stunning interplay. Either the three have practiced together for a very, very long time or they understand each other instinctively. They definitely play on the same wavelength and so it doesn’t matter that there is no bass player to be found on any of the recordings - either Marek Kądziela fulfills that part or Tomasz Dabrowski creates the missing depth with the microKORG.

I particularly like the first part of the record as towards the end the songs are too tightly composed. Although the compositions themselves are far from being boring, the flow gets a little lost and the musicians receive significantly fewer space for their own solo play. But that does not at all becloud the overall impression, as the entire album is just too strong! Especially if you consider this a debut album. An unconditional recommendation and certainly one of the albums, that at the end of the year will be in the top lists of many jazz fans.

A short look into the recording sessions in 2010:

Waclaw Zimpel Quartet – Stone Fog (2013)

Wacław Zimpel Quartet 

Wacław Zimpel - bass clarinet, alto & Bb clarinet, tarogato, overtone flute
Krzysztof Dys - piano
Christian Ramond - double bass
Klaus Kugel - drums, percussion

Stone Fog (For Tune, 2013)

By Dirk Blasejezak

Despite his young age Wacław Zimpel for me is one of the most important personalities in the field of free and improvised jazz in Poland. And this is not only because of his many collaborations with Polish and international artists, but above all because of his special style. Already with the first songs I heard from him I got the feeling that this must be something special, and since then I have been following his development with greatest interest.

Wacław Zimpel’s compositions outline in a very profound way emotions or ideas of which the listener gets a very precise idea from with just the first few bars. And that applies not only to the recordings on "Stone Fog" but runs through all his work. Despite the precise notion he always leaves some space - not because he could not spin the particular thought to the end or wouldn’t like to describe the emotion to the last detail - but because every emotion and every idea needs a context. And this context he creates with his fellow musicians during the improvisations in the studio and on stage - especially in his solos. There he formulates any emotion out in an incredibly captivating way. If he wants to transmit a feeling, one cannot avoid empathy since he unlike many other musicians in Free Jazz stays within his compositions - he doesn’t stick to strict notation but to the underlying idea. His solos are not identical, they are not schematically - they are actually free. And yet you know at all times what he wanted to say at the beginning of a piece. He always seems to attempt that you as a listener understand him - there aren’t many musicians that have the desire or perhaps the ability to transport something with their music. The wonderful thing about this is that you do not even have to force yourself to listen to him through to the end - you just want to know exactly what he tries to say. It is simply a pleasure to enjoy free improvisation with such depth. This depth can be heard especially well on this album as it appears to me, despite the described similarities with his other work, more harmoniously - perhaps more private.

If you want to learn more about his background and his technical approach, you should definitely read the interview by Bartek Adamczak (http://polish-jazz.blogspot.de/2012/02/waclaw-zimpel-interviewed-by-bartek.html)! And if you don’t know the earlier works of Wacław Zimpel, I recommend the self-titled "Hera" - for me, this album remains one of the best albums of the year 2010! But of course his other projects like "The Light" and "Undivided" should be part of every collection. It’s also from the latter band "Undivided" that Wacław Zimpel and Klaus Kugel know each other. And their collaboration seems to work out quite well, as in the above interview, Wacław Zimpel told Bartek Adamczak about his plans for a new project with him. Also discussed on this blog ist another work of these two: "Tyle Tego Ty" (Milobedzka / Zimpel - http://polish-jazz.blogspot.de/2012/12/milobedzka-zimpel-tyle-tego-ty-2012.html), a project where they could gain experience with the bassist Christian Ramond, that apparently went so well that he too was involved in the quartet for "Stone Fog". The only new member in this circle is Krzysztof Dys who gathered fame mainly with "Soundcheck".

So Wacław Zimpel compiled for the first project that carries his name a Polish-German-quartet that blends together very well indeed. (Although there were some minor coordination problems at the record release concert in Berlin, but that was probably because it was the first concert of this formation and because of the rather small audience.) I'm pretty sure that this record will help to acquaint the name of this quartet and thus its leader to a wider audience outside of Poland. A recommendation is this album by all means!

Male Instrumenty - Katarynka (2012)

Małe Instrumenty (band):

Paweł Romańczuk
Marcin Ożóg
Tomasz Orszulak
Jędrek Kuziela
Maciek Bączyk

Katarynka (2012)



By Dirk Blasejezak

If you unpack the small cardboard box you’ll find a little hand organ (Katarynka) inside. And underneath that organ is the - of course small - CD. Because of the size the length is somewhat limited too, the whole record has a duration of slightly over 20 minutes … and those 20 minutes are split into 19 (!) pieces (to speak of songs would be a bit over the top, since more than half of the tracks are shorter than a minute)

But still - this album represents a lot of what Małe Instrumenty is about - one could even call it a signature album. All songs are centered around hand organs (hence the title), according to the accompanying text there were 63 hand organs used to create the music on this album. So not everything is small about Małe Instrumenty - at least their collection of small instruments seems to be huge!

About the music I have to repeat what I already wrote about their last album (“Chemia i Fizyka”) - despite using toy-like instruments this is in no way childish music. Quite the contrary! Every one of the 19 tracks is a little gem - somehow the musicians managed to get in tune with the little organs and find a way to implement the very short melodies of the hand organs of two to five or maybe six individual notes into a whole. Sometimes this produces a minimalistic impression and sometimes it’s indeed fun. And from all those short tracks - I wouldn’t speak of sketches although they are short, since they’re finely composed - the band forms a homogeneous piece of art. It’s really a pity that the hand organs are so small so that there only fits a 3.5” CD underneath...

Of course one must think twice before spending money for 20 minutes of music - but you get your own instrument that not only looks great among your records but that somehow makes you part of the experience as you can accompany the band when you play the CD.

Here’s a short video about the record and it’s unusual packaging:

Jachna / Buhl - Tapes (2013)

Jachna/Buhl

Wojtek Jachna - trumpet, flugelhorn, electronics
Jacek Buhl - drums, percussion

Tapes (2013)

By Dirk Blasejezak

2013 already has a gem - although it's actually not really a new one. But this collection of ”old” tapes by Wojtek Jachna and Jacek Buhl comes along so fresh and wild it has to be covered here. (“Old” means the material was recorded between 2009 and 2011.)

Right from the start one gets caught with a song (“Czarny koń Bruce”) that sounds like an homage to the Roaring Twenties. Wojtek Jachna takes the listener back in time without any digression while maintaining contact to the present and to contemporary free jazz. The second song comprises two parts and the first part (“Klub łańcuszka na talerzu”) starts off like a tour de force. This is Jacek Buhl’s no-holds-barred playing - no compromise just hitting (by no means mechanical though).

And this is just how it goes on - the whole album is an experimental site for two free minds. Even though this is only a collection of older material from the rehearsal room you won’t find anything that’s not showing two excellent musicians playing with an overwhelming inspiration. Innovative yet appealing. And again a splendid example of great Polish jazz duos that seem to be more and more in vogue recently. 

The two musicians are known from many projects and bands like Contemporary Noise Sextet, Sing Sing Penelope (Wojtek Jachna) and 4 Syfon, Variete, The Cyklist (Jacek Buhl) - but with this duo it seems that both go beyond their usual borders. And we should be thankful - this is pure pleasure and enjoyment for anybody who likes some ludic drive in free jazz.

Speaking of free it is to say that this album is available at no charge on Bandcamp - so this could be the perfect starting point for anybody who never heard of Jachna/Buhl (you will of course love to get their other two albums too!). This is probably not only a promotional action but also due to the sometimes rather mediocre sound quality. Marcin Dymiter did a good job in recovering the recordings from the tapes but you shouldn’t expect too much. Still this is great music and definitely a recommendation!

Innercity Ensemble - Katahdin (2012)

Innercity Ensemble

personnel:

Radek Dziubek - laptop, pady
Rafał Iwański - gongs, percussion
Wojtek Jachna - trumpet, flugelhorn
Rafał Kołacki - gongs, percussion
Artur Maćkowiak - guitar, synthesizer
Tomek Popowski - drums, percussion
Kuba Ziołek - guitar, sampler, voice

guests:
Tomek Pawlicki - flute on Ołowiane słońce
Antek Majewski - cello on Niedzieli Życia III

Katahdin (2012)

By Dirk Blasejezak

“This album was recorded in three days during an improvisational meeting in Mózg, Bydgoszcz. The idea was to capture unique sound of seven different personalities merging into one stream of free-flowing peaceful and sincere musical experience. The results of this meeting turned out very fruitful and the listening opportunity that we give to you should be as opening as creating those sounds was for us.”

“Opening” probably is the key word here! This is definitely a hard one for the Jazz Police. Katahdin goes beyond some of the borders of jazz music. Anybody who thinks that it has to swing to be jazz should better keep his hands off this record. Free jazz fans on the other hand will also have problems with this album. The Innercity Ensemble walks here on rarely explored terrain; somewhere on the intersections between some of the most important musical movements of the 20th century. 

Starting into the album my first association was: Is this new music? Are those some jazz musicians playing improvisations on Terry Riley? Because the first thing that hits the ears are patterns - percussive patterns. And it takes a while until you realise that those patterns are here to stay. One half of the band is involved in percussion and it takes the rest of the band some time to get heard. When finally on the second track the horn comes through more clearly to help the listener out every jazz fan should get a grip on this album.

This is also when the second association swept over me: The Panthalassa album with remixes of Miles Davis by Bill Laswell, and the (quieter) music from Miles Davis’ electric phase in general. And this kept coming whenever trumpet and drums are more present although this is in no way comparable with the 60ies or 70ies but truely a work of the 21st century. 

And there’s another influence I’m not exactly sure of (maybe that’s only me); and I had to search a while through my not so often enjoyed music until I found what faintly shines through: at some time after listening twice or three times through the whole album I was reminded of some music I hadn’t put on for more than a decade: consumed by Ritchie Hawtin aka Plastikman. For me that was the missing link - if you can imagine something in-between the patterns of the minimalists, the minimal techno and some dark ambient influences you might get a picture of this recording. This is not any kind of fusion, this is rather an amalgam comprising something new. Something very exciting! 

I’m afraid though that this my also be one of the problems of this album: there is no confined audience for this. It gets even harder when gongs and other percussion in combination with voice and samples create a sound that takes you to places far east. (Although I think that I am mislead as Katahdin is a mountain in Maine, USA, but I have to admit that my knowledge of the Indian traditional music is rather restricted.)

Katahdin indeed is “peaceful and sincere” music by some well known Polish musicians that could already be heard in projects like Hati, Contemporary Noise Sextet, Sing Sing Penelope, and many more. A very fruitful get-together it seems when you think of the two other releases in 2012 (i.e. Odrzutowce and the self titled album presented by Milieu L'Acéphale). What’s even more interesting is, that all three were recorded at the Mozg club in Bydgoszcz in August 2011 - it seems they had a very creative time there. But please do not mix these recordings up with the video of Przesilenie (which is often presented for this project) - on this album you find completely different material. And I do hope that there will be many explorative listeners out there - I would definitely recommend this to anybody, not only jazz lovers. In the end the good thing about music crossing borders is that it’s also capable of uniting listeners from different directions. And Katahdin is definitely able to achieve this!

One example from this album (available as a free download):

Krzysztof Komeda - Meine Susse Europaische Haimat - Dichtung und Jazz aus Polen (2012)

Krzysztof Komeda

Krzysztof Komeda - piano
Tomasz Stańko - trumpet
Zbigniew Namysłowski - alto saxophone
Roman Dyląg - bass
Rune Carlsson - drums

Helmut Lohner - reciter
Krzysztof Komeda - all compositions
Karl Dedecius - translations

Meine Susse Europaische Haimat - Dichtung und Jazz aus Polen (2012)

By Dirk Blasejezak

What an album, what a wonderful piece of work - how exemplary and yet how unknown! Of course the audience is somewhat limited because of the language, but the voice of the reciter should touch even those who don’t understand the meaning of the words. And the words were well chosen - you find here poems by the finest poets of Poland of the late 19th and of the first half of the 20th century. Best known to the international audience are probably Wisława Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz who both only years later received the Nobel prize in literature. One interesting aspect is that it’s not one poem - one song, but that for some tracks different poems of different authors were combined. You will hardly realise this while listening though as they thematically suit - most deal with the war and the generation that lost it’s youth during that time. Some are quite critical about the political situation in Poland in the 50s and 60s though. This is probably one reason why this album had to be recorded an released in West Germany (the recording took place at the SWR in Baden Baden in May 1967).

The reciter, Helmut Lohner, gets to the heart of every poem. His voice may for us sound like a typical narrator of his time - haunting, sometimes agitating - but so are the poems. And where necessary he brings in all the heartiness to make you cry. An effect that gets even amplified by the music which never just jingles along in the background nor tries to outdo the recitation.

And what can one say about the music - you won’t find many composers who are able to get as close to the underlying meaning as Krzysztof Komeda does! He has of course proven this in so many films that the producer of this album, Joachim-Ernst Berendt (who was a very important figure for the German post-war Jazz scene) simply had no other choice for this project. But even he was astonished by Komeda’s commitment. In an interview with Paweł Brodowski [Jazz Forum 3/2000] he said: 

“Komeda was a very nice man. How much time he and how much effort, dedication and sensitivity when working on ‘Jazz and Poetry’! I collected texts in German and he took them with him and went to the National Library in Warsaw. He wanted to read the original texts to understand them thoroughly before beginning to write the music.”

You can hear this on every single track, there is not one song were you could get the slightest impression that Komeda had no clue on how to illustrate the text. This truely was one of his strengths. Roman Polański once said about Krzysztof Komeda that his music was cool an modern, but with a human heart. And that his films would be worthless without his music. Of course this does not apply to these poems - they work very well for themselves, but the recitation gets a lot from it. 

I think it’s needless to say anything about the musicians - they are thoroughly documented on this blog. Tomasz Stańko, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Roman Dyląg, and Rune Carlsson are the perfect vehicles for transporting Komeda’s ideas onto the record. No tfor nothing they became well known as the Komeda Quartet and as some of the undoubtedly most influential musicians in Poland - you can hear on this album why.

This album is a must have for anybody interested in Polish poetry and/or jazz. If you happen to know German it’s probably easier, else you can of course try to get a translation into your language and see for yourself how great the interpretations are. 

[link - not very representative though]



Track list:

01. The Trumpet Player Is Innocent (1:39)
Wisława Szymborska "Den Freunden"
Antoni Marianowicz "Berliner Skizzen"
devoted

02. Dirge for Europe (3:18)
Czesław Miłosz "Erde"
Antoni Marianowicz "Die Lage"
Kazimierz Wierzyński "Asche"
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński "Miserere"

03. Miserere (3:50)
Zygmunt Ławrynowicz "Trauriges Wissen"
Tadeusz Różewicz "Laßt uns"
Wisława Szymborska "Kleine Anzeige"

04. Choral (3:12)
Józef Wittlin "Litanei"

05. Hameln Is Everywhere (1:31)
Władysław Sebyła "Bekanntmachung"

06. Prayer and Question (3:29)
Józef Czechowicz "Trauergebet"
Józef Wittlin "Nicht Neues"

07. Canzone for Warschau (4:36)
Czesław Miłosz "Nach der Katastrophe - Warschau 1943"

08. No Lovesong at All (2:44)
Kazimierz Przerwa Tetmajer "Ich such Dich"
Maria Jasnorzewska-Pawlikowska "Liebe"

09. Theme for One and Variations for Another World (8:02)
Zbigniew Bieńkowski "In Deinem Namen"
Zbigniew Herbert "Gärten züchten" aus "Die Klapper"

10. Free Witch and No-bra Queen (4:31)
Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna "Die Hexe"
Stanisław Grochowiak "Busen der Königin"
Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński "Mit Instrumenten schlendern"

11. Komeda im Zirkus Ważyk (1:23)
Adam Ważyk "Am Anfang dressierte man Pferde"

12. Sketches for Don Quichotte (2:22)
Stanisław Grochowiak "Ritterballade"

13. Waltzing Beyond (2:41)
Czesław Miłosz "Lied vom Weltende"

Bonus songs (not on original record, may vary on different releases, recorded in a studio of the Polish Radio, autumn 1967):
14. After Disaster (7:11)
15. Don Quichotte (11:04)
16. The Witch (6:54)
17. Ballad for Bernt (3:03)

Olbrzym i Kurdupel - Six Philosophical Games (Electric Eye, 2012) by Dirk Blasejezak

Olbrzym i Kurdupel (duo)

Marcin Bożek - bass guitar
Tomek Gadecki - tenor saxophone

Six Philosophical Games (Electric Eye, 2012)

By Dirk Blasejezak

I have to admit that I didn’t play all the philosophical games on this record … but most. If you only read the track titles - i.e. the game instructions - you most probably get the impression that it’s not meant too seriously, and I wouldn’t call those game “philosophical” either. But the whole concept of the album raises one truly serious philosophical question and that is the one regarding the role of the observer in any art and in music that of the listener in particular. Music is the most transient of arts, it only exists in the moment it’s played - so how you “consume” it makes a difference and this is what the two are probably up to with this record.

Most of the games you have already played - intentionally or not. Everybody listens to music with someone he or she knows well most of the time. And most people have already listened to music in the bath tub or a cosy armchair or danced to it - but did you try that with free jazz or any other form of improvised music? Dancing in particular is fun ...

The game I love most is their first game, although I doubt that many of the listeners are able to fulfill it. I have an e-drum kit at home where I can loop-in any music, and indeed I quite often use it exactly for this “game”. You get a deeper understanding of the music when you try to play along, to become a part of it, because you have to listen differently - is there a beat, who’s leading, what are the others doing, where is the music going, etc. So if you ever get the chance to play this game try it out!

But the music on this album is not only demanding in terms of the tasks the listener has to fulfill, it’s also demanding when it comes to the music itself. Tomasz Gadecki on the baritone saxophone and Marcin Bożek on the bass guitar play some heavy stuff here. What first hits the ear is of course the saxophone. It’s powerful with a warm note, and what separates Tomasz Gadecki from many other free jazz saxophone players is his melodic approach. Only seldom he overblows to the roof or “brötzes”, instead he uses the wide tonal range of his instrument to create appealing music - as free as it gets. 

What I miss a bit especially in the first two games is the bass. When Marcin Bożek is to be heard more in the later tracks you immediately know why these two are happy together as a duo: they accompany each other in a way you won’t achieve easily with more musicians. And one shouldn’t assume that Marcin takes the runt part because of his skills (Olbrzym i Kurdupel means Giant and Runt in Polish), his speed and variability are astonishing. And his understanding for the situation and the direction of play makes him the perfect duo partner for Tomasz Gadecki.

So if you aren’t afraid of some humour in music and like to actively listen to some nice but free music, this album is definitely worth your time! 

Video with interview:



A live recording:

Tracklisting: Game 1 play with us a drummer; Game 2 get into a hot bath and listen with your ...; Game 3 sit comfortably in a cosy armchair, let ...; Game 4 listen to the whole part after a long run; Game 5 listen with someone You know well; Game 6 let's dance solo or in pairs

Małe Instrumenty - Chemia i Fizyka (Obuh, 2012)

Małe Instrumenty (band):

Paweł Romańczuk

Marcin Ożóg

Tomasz Orszulak

Jędrek Kuziela

Maciek Bączyk

guest:
Andrzej Załęski

Chemia i Fizyka (Obuh, 2012)

Małe Instrumenty – Small Instruments – the name says it all: the whole band is about … small instruments. But that wouldn’t do the project right. Although it all started in 2006 with Paweł Romańczuk setting up a band to make use of his collected (small) instruments they never were a mere show band, exhibiting funny ways to produce sounds, instead they presented what's possible when you use all aspects of any instrument. Over the years they could be heard in quite some diverse contexts like audio books and film music showing a wide range of sound spectra. And even with “Chemia i Fizyka” (“Chemistry and Physics”) you will immediately get the impression of a soundtrack. (I felt most of the album like in a computer game though, many have probably come across “Machinarium” with the wonderful soundtrack by Tomáš ‘Floex’ Dvořák.) But since they are quite unrivalled with what they're doing a comparison is at least difficult.

On their first album “Antonisz” (released in 2009) they played own arrangements of music by the Polish film maker/composer Julian Józef Antoniszczak, and the second one in 2010 was called “Małe Instrumenty grają Chopina” (“Małe Instrumenty plays Chopin”). So “Chemia i Fizyka” is actually their first one with original material (all compositions made by Paweł Romańczuk). And it´s not only the compositions that distinguish this one from the former records, it’s also the sound that is much more mature here. They are still using small instruments of course but Wojcek Czern (and Piotr Nykiel doing the mastering) did a splendid job here. At no moment you will hear high-pitched voices or think of the music on this record as childish – although some of the instruments are actually toys. It seems that the musicians felt quite well at Studio Rogalów Analogowy and that the motto of the record company OBUH fitted perfectly here: “Odgłosy Bocznic Utworzą Harmonię” (roughly: “The sounds of side tracks create harmony”). The music of Małe Instrumenty comes – in a positive way – from a side track and it creates some wonderful moods.

There are two tracks though that don’t quite fit in, “Mostacha” and “Allegro”. That’s probably the reason why they were chosen as the last ones on the album. What separates them from the rest is the use of more experimental sounds and noises. (“Baroni” too features sound alterations.) If you watch the video below you will see that the members of the band are very imaginative when it comes to producing some new sounds and inventing new instruments, and I like those two songs most – but when you listen the whole album from the beginning through to the end this brings in quite a break and I’m not sure if that is really wanted.

“Chemia i Fizyka” is a clear recommendation if you like music off the main tracks and it’s recommended too if you like harmony! 

By   Dirk Blasejezak

Musicians of "Małe Instrumenty" aboy themselves:



Sample of their style:

Tracklisting: 1 Profesor Bambosz i jego uczniowie 2 Problemy z chemią na lekcjach fizyki 3 Śmierć na pięć 4 Gość z Alaski 5 Baroni 6 Pućki 7 Mostacha 8 Allegro

Nowicki / Swies / Frankiewicz Trio – Pathfinder (Multikulti, 2012) by Dirk Blasejezak

Nowicki / Swies / Frankiewicz Trio

Radek Nowicki - tenor & soprano saxophone
Andrzej Święs - double bass
Sebastian Frankiewicz - drums

Pathfinder (Multikulti, 2012)

This review had to be rewritten several times since this is one of those records that you get access to only after several times of listening. What emerges from the first note onwards though is the tone. Everybody experiences this from time to time: you listen to something and immediately know it has to be from some region (I’m sure you can tell a Scandinavian record from an U.S. album; and ECM or ACT are well known for the atmosphere on their records). Polish music for me has a special tone too. It’s that warm, slightly melancholic or better lyrical note where you feel immediately comfortable with.

And into this atmosphere you get absorbed from the beginning to the end of this record. Maybe the musicians too – I’m not sure if this was meant as a mainstream album, it’s definitely no Free Jazz album, although you get the impression that all three are supposed to break free and will most probably do so in concerts. It looks like the musicians couldn't decide which way to take. This is especially obvious in the more improvised passages where you get the impression that the three are afraid to really let loose.

The reason obviously is not the quality, all three are verifiable talented and despite their age experienced musicians. All trio members are alumni of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice (Nowicki also of the Fryderyk Chopin State School of Music in Warsaw; and Swies of the High School of Music in Poznan), and all have been working for years with Polish and international jazz stars and proven their powers.

Maybe it’s the format itself: the saxophone trio always is a bold venture. With an unisonous instrument as the leading voice the rhythm section has an enormously challenging task. On this album you can hear how Andrzej Swies on bass and Sebastian Frankiewicz on drums achieve this with much pleasure for the listener! But during Radek Nowicki’s outstanding saxophone play the rhythm group is not as present as it should be. I didn’t notice this when first listening, but this album really needs a disposed audience. Listen to it twice or better four or five times, put on some headphones and listen to it again – at some point it will light up and the interplay will become tangible. This is true even though the Tokarnia Studio did a very good job, the audio quality is stunning. It’s simply that we have here one of those albums that take their time to become accessible but experience has shown that those are the ones that persist!

It will be exciting to see where this young trio that was founded only last year will be heading. And I’m reallly looking forward to hearing them live! This debut certainly is fascinating, and it’s not solely the warm tone that sets these three apart from other saxophone trios. 

By Dirk Blasejezak

Tracklisting: 1. Wings [6:02] 2. Pyramid Song [8:03] 3. Pathfinding [7:41] 4. Diving Dog Dance [5:59] 5. Gardens of The Vistula [5:20] 6. For Aunt Marry [8:18] 7. Mikado [5:51] 8. Mr.Ape [5:46] 9. Chinese Love Song [6:39]