Antoni Gralak – Ganga (2017)

Antoni Gralak

Antoni Gralak - trumpet, bass, synth, keyboards, sampling
Raj Kumar Verma - sitar
Tayagi Mohanlhl - shanay
Babl - tabla
Zbigniew Brysiak - percussion

Ganga



AUDIO CAVE 011-2017

By Adam Baruch

This is an album by renowned Polish trumpeter / composer / bandleader Antoni Gralak, one of the most colorful and fascinating figures on the independent / avant garde / anti establishment Polish music scene, who participated in many musical projects like Tie Break, Free Cooperation, Young Power, Graal, Yeshe and others. Completely unpredictably, as always, this album finds Gralak, who plays trumpet, bass guitar and keyboards, in the company of three Indian musicians who play tabla, sitar and shehnai (Indian reed instrument) respectively and Polish percussionist Zbigniew Brysiak. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Gralak.

The music is heavily influenced by ethnic Indian musical motifs, incorporating Jazz improvisations, Drum & Bass, electronics and other elements, creating a fascinating amalgam of melodies and rhythms, which sounds exotic, vibrant and exciting. The folkloristic, innate to Indian music, improvisations intertwine with Gralak's Jazzy playing quite naturally and create a cross-cultural dialogue. Parts of this music bring forward a reminiscence of the Miles Davis sessions featuring Badal Roy, which also showed some Indian influence, albeit much more subtle than here.

Of course Indian music is never simplistic and its meditative nature requires attentive listening and submission, which is not easy to a Western ear, even when slightly dressed up in Western ornament. Some listeners might find this music somewhat monotonic in the long range, but hopefully the majority will be able to embrace it and enjoy it in full, as it surely deserves to reach as many listeners as possible.

Overall the album shows another facet of the multitude of Gralak's talents and musical worlds, which always was his personal signature. The restless search for new discoveries and diverse environments is the trademark of progress in Art in general and in music in particular, and Gralak deserves the title of the Great Wanderer probably more than most of his Polish contemporaries. If anybody can sit still while listening to this album, he is either in coma or dead already.

Tomasz Stanko – Roberto Zucco (Polonia, 1996)

Tomasz Stańko - trumpet

Janusz Skowron - synthesizer
Sławomir Kurkiewicz - bass
Zbigniew Brysiak - percussion
Michał Miśkiewicz - drums
Andrzej Jagodziński - piano (2, 10, 16)
Dorota Miśkiewicz - vocal (2, 16)

Roberto Zucco (Polonia, 1996)

This is a relatively little known brilliant album by Polish virtuoso trumpeter / composer Tomasz Stanko, presenting one of the numerous soundtracks Stanko created for stage and cinema. This soundtrack was used for the Polish production of the theatre play "Roberto Zucco" by Bernard-Marie Koltés, based on the life of infamous Italian serial killer Roberto Succo. The music, which as usual with Stanko's work, stands alone perfectly when removed from the stage context, consists of sixteen relatively short pieces performed by a quintet, quartet or on solo trumpet. Thirteen of these pieces are composed by Stanko and the remaining three are variations on the famous standard "Blue Velvet", of which two include vocal parts by singer Dorota Miskiewicz. This is an ultra rare opportunity to hear Stanko performing a standard, which he almost never does. Other players include pianist Andrzej Jagodzinski, keyboardist Janusz Skowron, bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz, drummer Michal Miskiewicz and percussionist Zbigniew Barysiak. Overall, as always with Stanko, this music is powerful and delicate simultaneously, simply making you wish it just wouldn't stop. This is of course an absolute must to any Stanko acolyte / collector and a great proof of Stanko's versatility as a composer. Brilliant stuff!

Track listing: 1. Roberto Zucco wersja 1 [05:25]; 2. Blue Velvet wersja 1 [03:38]; 3. Roberto Zucco wersja 2 [02:32]; 4. Roberto Zucco wersja 3 [01:53]; 5. Roberto Zucco wersja 4 [01:23]; 6. Roberto Zucco wersja 5 [01:15]; 7. Roberto Zucco wersja solo 1 [02:14]; 8. Roberto Zucco wersja 6 [02:10]; 9. Roberto Zucco wersja 7 [03:12]; 10. Blue Velvet wersja 4 [02:57]; 11. Roberto Zucco wersja 8 [02:19]; 12. Roberto Zucco wersja 9 [02:40]; 13. Roberto Zucco wersja solo 2 [02:04]; 14. Roberto Zucco wersja 10 [05:11]; 15. Roberto Zucco wersja solo 3 [02:17]; 16. Blue Velvet wersja 3 [03:55]

By Adam Baruch

http://adambaruch.com/

Tomasz Stanko – Peyotl - Witkacy (Polonia Records, 1996)

Tomasz Stanko - trumpet

Janusz Skowron - synthesizer Yamaha DX7

Antymos Apostolis - guitars, drums and percussion
Vitold Rek - electric and acoustic bass
Zbigniew Brysiak - percussion
Tadeusz Sudnik - synthi...aks
Andrzej "Major" Przybielski - trumpet
Marek Walczewski - voice 

Peyotl - Witkacy (Polonia Records, 1996)

(Editor) This is re-issue of album originally released in 1987 by Poljazz.

This is probably the most significant recording by Polish trumpeter virtuoso / composer Tomasz Stanko, surely at least among his Polish recordings before his later ECM period. Following Mile Davis, Stanko switched to Jazz-Rock Fusion (albeit a decade later) and his 1980s output with his Freelectronic ensemble is radically different from the Free Jazz he played in the 1970s. 

This double album consists of one studio recording and one live recording, both expressing Stanko's power as a performer and a composer to the max. The studio album, which was compiled over a period of two years, presents music composed by Stanko at the period when he was experimenting with hallucinogens and was deeply influenced by the writings of the Polish mystic / philosopher / avant-garde artist Witkacy (Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz), who was also an early experimenter with drugs. Text excerpts from Witkacy's book about drugs are recited and closely incorporated into the fascinating music, which floats over a repetitious hypnotic vamp and layers of electronic keyboard sounds. The highlight of this album is undoubtedly the inclusion of a second genius trumpet player, Andrzej Przybielski, who exchanges licks with Stanko in a brilliant manner. The fact that Stanko invited Przybielski to participate in this recording is a testimony of how highly he regarded his unbelievable talent. Other musicians participating in these recordings are: keyboardists Janusz Skowron and Tadeusz Sudnik, guitarist Apostolis Anthimos, bassist Witold Szczurek, and drummer Zbigniew Barysiak. The recitation is by the great actor Marek Walczewski. 

In retrospect the fact that this music was recorded almost 30 years ago seem incomprehensible, as it so much more advanced that almost any music done these days. Stanko's genius definitely reaches here one of its great peaks, which luckily for us was captured for posterity. Sadly this album is probably little known by his worldwide fan base, as it is very difficult to find, which of course is a shame. If one must own just one Stanko album, this is it, at least as far as I'm concerned. Absolute unadulterated genius!

Author: Adam Baruch

http://www.adambaruch.com/

check also his music boutique: https://www.jazzis.com/shop/

Tomasz Stanko – Balladyna Theater Play Compositions (Gowi Records, 1994)

Tomasz Stańko - trumpet

Tomasz Szukalski - tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet
Ewa Wanat - vocal
Marcin Wasilewski - piano
Sławomir Kurkiewicz - bass
Michał Miśkiewicz - drums
Piotr Wolski - percussion
Zbigniew Brysiak - percussion

This little-known album by Polish trumpeter / composer Tomasz Stanko contains the music he wrote for the theatre performance of the tragedy "Balladyna" written by Polish playwright Juliusz Slowacki. Not to be confused with Stanko's pivotal album also entitled "Balladyna", recorded almost two decades earlier and released on ECM. The album presents the complete theatre soundtrack for the play, consisting of 23 tracks ranging in length between half a minute to over five minutes. The central theme is repeated many times in different renditions, arrangements, tempi and instrumentations, creating a beautiful and often chilling atmosphere. The music stands on it's own as a completely valid piece of music, which can be enjoyed separately from the theatre performance it was intended for. The performers include Stanko's quartet members: pianist Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskiewicz, as well as saxophonist Tomasz Szukalski, vocalist Ewa Wanat and percussionists Piotr Wolski and Zbigniew Brysiak. In retrospect this is an important piece of Stanko's recorded legacy, similarly to his other soundtrack compositions, which show his rare ability to write wonderful atmospheric music. This is a must to all Stanko connoisseurs, although deleted since many years with (so far) no prospects for a reissue.

Author: Adam Baruch

http://www.adambaruch.com/

check also his music boutique: https://www.jazzis.com/shop/

Tomasz Stanko – Egzekutor (Universal, 2001)

Tomasz Stańko - trumpet

Justyna Steczkowska - vocalise
Janusz Skowron - synthesizer
Slawomir Kurkiewicz - bass
Michal Miskiewicz - percussion
Zbigniew Brysiak - drums

Egzekutor (Universal, 2001)

(Editor) This soundtrack is a must for all in love with Tomasz Stańko blue notes. Read more in Adam Baruch's review:  

Polish trumpet virtuoso / composer Tomasz Stanko is universally recognized as one of world's top Jazz musicians since many years. However, his contributions as composer of music for cinema is somewhat lesser known, which is a pity. Stanko's work in that area started way back to the early 1970s, but even earlier, when he was a member of the legendary Krzysztof Komeda ensemble, he already became intimate with the art of writing for cinema from his mentor, who was one of the greatest soundtrack creators ever, mostly known for his work for Roman Polanski. It is therefore understandable that Stanko's music for films would become heavily influenced by Komeda's approach, which culminates with this soundtrack, written to a brilliant film by Polish director Filip Zylber. In fact this is the second time Stanko contributes the soundtrack to a film by Zylber, with "A Farewell To Maria" being the predecessor to this one. Stanko is accompanied by some impressive players on this album, most notably by singer Justyna Steczkowska, who contributes some breathtaking vocalese parts. Also present are Janusz Skowron on synthesizer, Slawomir Kurkiewicz on bass, Michal Miskiewicz on drums, and Zbigniew Brysiak on percussion, as well as a string quartet. But Stanko's trumpet dominates this music completely and overwhelmingly, when it plays completely solo or is accompanied by other instruments. Stanko's virtuosity and magic sound are truly magnificent and supported by the atmospheric and often melancholic melodic motifs, the overall effect is simply stunning. It is a rare occasion when a soundtrack stand alone as a full fledged Jazz album, and this is a superb example of this being the case. I can only say that every Stanko fan should try and listen to this album, even if finding it today, only 10 years after it was released, is virtually impossible. The album was released as a double set with a CD and DVD Audio (Surround Sound) version of the music, which present different mixes of the same music. An absolute must!

The music from "Egzekutor":

Author: Adam Baruch

http://www.adambaruch.com/

check also his music boutique: https://www.jazzis.com/shop/