Adam Czerwiński, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Marcin Wądołowski - "Song for My Mother"

Adam Czerwiński, Darek Oleszkiewicz, Marcin Wądołowski

Adam Czerwiński – perkusja
Darek Oleszkiewicz – kontrabas
Marcin Wądołowski – gitary

Goście: w nagraniach w Los Angeles uczestniczyli również uznani amerykańscy muzycy:Alan Pasqua (fortepian) i Bob Sheppard (saksofony)

Tytuł: "Song for My Mother"

Wydawca: AC Records (2025)

Tekst: Maciej Nowotny

Wielkie to szczęście mieć kochającą Mamę w tej podróży, którą nazywamy życiem. Szczególnie, gdy tę podróż zaczynamy, kochająca obecność Mam jest szczególnie ważna i pozostaje jak najcenniejszy kapitał w banku naszych doświadczeń. Przypomina mi się moje dzieciństwo spędzone na wrocławskim Oporowie, na piętrze starej poniemieckiej willi na ulicy Sobótki 6.

Swingujące 3miasto (series) - Emil Kowalski (2014)

Swingujące 3miasto (series)

Emil Kowalski - clarinet
Leszek Możdżer - piano
Sławek Jaskułke - piano
Dominik Bukowski - vibraphone
Cezary Paciorek - accordion
Piotr Lemańczyk - bass
Janusz Mackiewicz - bass
Tomasz Sowiński - drums
Adam Czerwiński - drums


Emil Kowalski

SMJ 2014

By Robert Ratajczak

Seria płytowa "Swingujące 3miasto" ukazująca się początkowo nakładem wydawnictwa Soliton, a następnie przejęta przez Stowarzyszenie Muzyków Jazzowych Sopot, przypomina, a wielu miłośnikom jazzu dopiero przedstawia, najciekawszych wykonawców w historii pomorskiego jazzu. Jak dotąd pojawiły się na rynku płyty: Antykwintet, Baszta, Flamingo, Rama 111 i Leszek Dranicki (oraz kompilacja "Był Gdańsk" wydana przez Jazz Forum). Inicjatorem i szefem artystycznym tego niezwykle interesującego przedsięwzięcia jest Marcin Jacobson.

Szósta płyta z serii poświęcona została w całości nagraniom Emila Kowalskiego, zmarłego przedwcześnie w 2008 roku, jednego z najwybitniejszych klarnecistów w dziejach polskiego jazzu. W trakcie swej niezwykle obfitej w rozliczne konstelacje działalności, Kowalski zasilał składy takich formacji, jak Rama 111 czy Seaside Dixieland, oraz współpracował z całą rzeszą jazzowych instrumentalistów, pośród których warto wymienić choćby Eddie'ego Hendersona, Brada Terry'ego, Eda Schullera czy artystów polskich, takich jak Sławek Jaskułke, Leszek Dranicki, Wojciech Niedziela, Dominik Bukowski czy Leszek Możdżer.

Niewątpliwą frajdą dla jazzowych archiwistów są kompozycje Fryderyka Chopina w aranżacji na klarnet, akordeon i w jednym przypadku kontrabas, jakie Emil Kowalski przygotował z myślą o kolejnej płycie. Pozostałe nagrania wybrano z albumów: "Children Of Bird" (1999), "Kolędy" (2002) i "Playing Benny Goodman" (2003). 

Podczas drugiej w zestawie kompozycji Goodmana - "Benny's Buggle" - zwraca uwagę "ciężka" praca kontrabasu, będącego w tym nagraniu niejako wyznacznikiem brzmienia całego utworu. Janusz Mackiewicz funduje nam ponadto w czwartej minucie doskonałą partię solową. Akordeon Cezarego Paciorka świetnie współgra z wibrafonem Dominika Bukowskiego, przekomarzając się z klarnetem lidera. Kunszt Mackiewicza zachwyca w każdym spośród siedmiu nagrań zrealizowanych w składzie z kontrabasem. To właśnie niskie tony basowe wraz z ciężkimi akordami fortepianu Leszka Możdżera i szaleńczą perkusją Adama Czerwińskiego wyznaczają nurt dla linii klarnetu podczas rozimprowizowanego tematu Charlie'ego Parkera "Diverse", zarejestrowanego w Gdańsku w 1999 roku.

Uwagę przyciągają też klasyczne kolędy w aranżacjach Dominika Bukowskiego ("Jezus Malusieńki") i Emila Kowalskiego ("Oj, maluśki, maluśki") zamieszczone na końcu albumu. Wydawać by się mogło, iż w tak ogranych tematach trudno przekazać cokolwiek, czego jeszcze muzyczne ucho nie dostrzegło, a jednak... To po prostu kawałek świetnego jazzowego grania z dominującą rolą zarówno klarnetu, jak i wibrafonu oraz gitary basowej (Piotr Lemańczyk). Doskonałe przypomnienie, a zarazem płytowa wizytówka jednej z najbardziej nieodżałowanych postaci polskiego jazzu, jaką jest Emil Kowalski. Wyjątkowa perełka całej serii "Swingujące 3miasto".

www.longplay.blox.pl

Marcin Wądołowski - My Guitar Therapy (2015)

Marcin Wądołowski

Marcin Wądołowski - guitar
Piotr Lemańczyk - double bass, bass guitar
Adam Czerwiński - drums

My Guitar Therapy

ALLEGRO 030



By Adam Baruch

This is the third album by Polish guitarist/composer Marcin Wądołowski, this time recorded in a trio setting with superb bassist (both acoustic and electric) Piotr Lemańczyk and drummer Adam Czerwiński. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Wądołowski.

If the two earlier albums by Wądołowski flirted with Jazz to some extent, this one abandons all Jazz connections and concentrates on Blues or Blues-Rock entirely. Of course the rhythm section comes from the Jazz environment, but they too play along splendidly within the Blues idiom, retaining their superb technique and feeling. Of course Wądołowski improvises extensively during his extended solos, but this is typical Blues-Rock improvisation.

It becomes plainly evident from the early moments of this album that Wądołowski really feels great in this environment and his playing is not only more daring and adventurous but also much gutsier than earlier on. Of course Lemańczyk also adds a few bass solos of his own, which are, as always, absolutely breathtaking, but he easily complies with the Bluesy atmosphere.

Wądołowski writes great melodic tunes, which are ideal vehicles for his guitar pyrotechnics and combine some Funk and Groove on top of the basic Blues-Rock stuff. In short, this music should not be judged by Jazz standards, as it is not Jazz music. It is a down to earth Blues-Rock, excellently played and ideal for the many fans of the genre. It is a great listen and a true fun, without any compromise whatsoever as far as musicianship and integrity are concerned.

Janusz Mackiewicz – Frogsville (2008)

Grzegorz Nagorski - trombone
Dariusz Herbasz - saxophone
Dominik Bukowski - vibraphone
Janusz Mackiewicz - bass
Adam Czerwinski - drums

ECNALUMBA 002





By Adam Baruch

This is the second album as a leader by Polish Jazz bassist / composer Janusz Mackiewicz. It is a live recording, which also features saxophonist Dariusz Herbasz, trombonist Grzegorz Nagorski, vibraphonist Dominik Bukowski and drummer Adam Czerwinski, all well seasoned players from the Polish Baltic Tricity scene. The quintet performs seven compositions, six of which are original compositions: four by Mackiewicz, one each by Bukowski and Herbasz and the last one is a Charles Mingus tune.

The music is all well within mainstream Jazz, but the excellent compositions and spotless execution turn it into a very pleasant listening experience, mostly low key and somewhat subdued. The music is definitely not trying to break any new musical ground, but it does represent highly professional well played contemporary Jazz, which is accessible to a wide Jazz audience and should satisfy most regular Jazz connoisseurs all over the world.

In many respects this music has a nostalgic feel of the be bop hay days as captured during the 1950s and 1960s on Blue Note, Prestige and other labels, but with a more contemporary sound quality. This album is definitely worth checking out, especially for Polish Jazz collectors, as it proves beyond any doubt that Polish Jazz musicians can play classic Jazz as well as the guys across the pond.

Marcin Wadolowski - Blue Night Session (2014)

Marcin Wadolowski - guitar
Wojciech Staroniewicz - saxophone
Dominik Bukowski - vibraphone
Janusz Mackiewicz - bass
Adam Czerwinski - drums

ALLEGRO 028




By Adam Baruch

This is the second album by the Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Marcin Wadolowski, recorded in a quintet setting with saxophonist Wojciech Staroniewicz, vibraphonist Dominik Bukowski, bassist Janusz Mackiewicz and drummer Adam Czerwinski, all seasoned players from the Polish Tricity region. The album presents ten original compositions, all by Wadolowski. Wadolowski can be also heard as a member of Elec-Tri-City and Moongang.

The music is all very melodic and kept within the mainstream Jazz conventions. All the tracks are relatively short, creating a sort of "songs" album, although of course entirely instrumental, in contrast to a typical Jazz recording, which focuses on the improvisational skills. Wadolowski simply decides to concentrate on featuring his skills as a composer and presenting his music rather than his and his quintets performing talents. There is basically absolutely nothing wrong with such approach of course.

Nevertheless the album features very talented and skilled instrumentalists and although the framework and time limitations of this album allow rather modest contributions, those are all executed perfectly. Staroniewicz is a marvelous player and so is Bukowski, who uses recently more and more the xylosynth (a combination of xylophone and synthesizer, which sound really more like a keyboard and produces some very beautiful moments. The rhythm section is also perfect for the job, staying mostly in the background but providing a solid support for the soloist and doing it with grace and elegance. As to the leader, personally I prefer his work in a more electric / Fusion / Funky environment than playing gentle almost acoustic guitar, which limits his possibilities or perhaps exposes more his technical weaknesses, but overall his performance is also quite satisfactory.

All in all we have here a pleasant well played album, which should satisfy most Jazz connoisseurs, with a slight tendency towards melodic and less complex musical forms. This album is quite ideal for a lazy evening with a glass of a wonderful cognac or very old single malt on ice.

Jarosław Śmietana & Bill Neal - Live At Impart (2012)

Jarosław Śmietana & Bill Neal

Jarek Śmietana - guitar, vocal
Bill Neal - vocal, tenor sax
Wojciech Karolak - keyboards, Hammonds
Paweł Tomaszewski - keayboards
Marcin Lamch - bass
Adam Czerwiński -drums

Live at Impart (2012)

By Maciej Nowotny

This is an album containing basically  only blues music. Still it features some of the best Polish jazz players as guitarist Jarek Śmietana, keyboardists Wojtek Karolak and Paweł Tomaszewski, bassist Marcin Lamch and drummer Adam Czerwiński, so it is justified to write about it on this blog. Co-leader, along with  Śmietana, is an Australian vocalist Bill Neal who occasionally also play some notes on tenor sax. 

Such a high-quality team produces of course very good music. They reproduce all time blues and rock classics from repertoire of such well known bands as The Animals, Fleetwood Mac or such great musicians as Ray Charles or Jimmy Hendrix. Most of these tunes Jarek Śmietana and Wojtek Karolak arranged for studio album of the latter titled "I love The Blues" and released a year before this disc.

The time has comes for some assesement of this music. I believe it can be two-fold depending on which point of view you represent. If you treat blues (or jazz) as some definite form of music which is basically finished and shall be now copied (better or worse) by new generations then you should be very happy with this album. It sounds very well, even if nothing special distinguishes it from similar (or identical) one (or more) hundred other good blues albums recorded during last, say, century or so.

However if you feel that blues (and especially jazz) shall be living form of music whose vitality depends on its ability to change to reflect the evolution of world around then it is rather depressing. No challenge, no innovation, no creativity - very well played but so well known that eventually boring.

Wojciech Staroniewicz – A`FreAK-aN Project (2011)

Wojtek Staroniewicz - saxophone, leader
Przemek Dyakowski - saxophone
Darek Herbasz - saxophone
Irek Wojtczak - saxophone
Dominik Bukowski - marimba, vibraphone, kalimba
Janusz Mackiewicz - bass
Adam Czerwinski - drums
Larry Okey Ugwu - percussion
Slawomir Berny - percussion

ALLEGRO 021

By Adam Baruch

This is a very interesting concept album by veteran Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Wojciech Staroniewicz, dedicated to African music. Staroniewicz assembled an unusual lineup, fronted by a four-saxophone brass section: himself on tenor, Przemek Dyakowski on tenor, Dariusz Herbasz on baritone and Irek Wojtczak on tenor and soprano saxophones. There are no keyboards, as appropriate for African music, which are replaced by typical African instruments like marimba and kalimba, with some vibraphone, all played by Dominik Bukowski. The rhythm section comprises of bassist Janusz Mackiewicz and drummer Adam Czerwinski and two percussionists complete the lineup: Larry Okey Ugwu and Slawomir Berny. The album includes seven original compositions, all by the leader, and was recorded "live" in the studio.

Rather than copying obvious African elements, Staroniewicz creates a set of compositions, which are African more in spirit than in form, a task which is most commendable and of course much more difficult. The brass arrangements sound similar to African Brass Bands, mostly those from Southern part of the continent, but what is most impressive, is that Staroniewicz presents Africa as a whole, with music influences originating from all the four corners of the Black Continent – North with its Middle-Eastern flavor, West with its typical rhythm signatures, East with its enchanting expressive melodies and South with its highly energetic, danceable spirit. The decision not to include keyboards, especially electronic ones, adds significantly to the authenticity and genuineness of the overall result.

Although obviously a team effort, especially in light of the live recording circumstances, there are plenty of great solos by all the players involved. These are all experienced and talented musicians, mostly leaders of their own ensembles and the common strength of their conglomerated effort is quite impressive. One should note that although this is obviously a Jazz-World Fusion album, the ethnic elements are not dominating the basic Jazz feel and order of things here, which happens so often in this genre. After all these are European musicians, who grew up on European aesthetics and heritage, and for them pretending to be native Africans would be ridiculous. Therefore this subtle and intelligent approach is much more effective.

In addition to the great musical content the album is also beautifully packaged and the graphic design of the digipak enclosure is simply wonderful and highly original, which proves how much thought and love went into making this album.

Highly recommended to Jazz-World Fusion enthusiasts, who should enjoy this music wholeheartedly and repeatedly, discovering the many layers it has to offer. Nice stuff!

Adam Czerwinski / Darek Oleszkiewicz – Raindance (2005)

Adam Czerwinski / Darek Oleszkiewicz

Larry Goldings - B3 Hammond organ, melodica
Larry Koonse - guitar
Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz - acoustic bass
Adam Czerwinski - drums
Nolan Shaheed - cornet (track #9)

Raindance (2005)

This is an album by a Polish / American Jazz quartet, which features the excellent Polish Jazz rhythm section of drummer Adam Czerwinski and bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz and the US players: guitarist Larry Koonse and organist Larry Goldings. Sound engineer Nolan Shaheed plays cornet on one track. Oleszkiewicz, Koonse and Shaheed later took part in the recording of the 2nd Aga Zaryan album, which was recorded in the same studio. Of the ten tracks on this album, three were composed by Czerwinski, another three by Oleszkiewicz, two by Koonse and the remaining two are standards.

The music is all very mainstream and very easy going, i.e. on the lighter side of the Jazz spectrum, but of course is perfectly executed by these master musicians. The sound of the Hammond organ is always a winner and quite irresistible to Jazz buffs, so the overall result is a most entertaining piece of easy melodic Jazz, without being kitschy or overtly moronic. The original compositions are all nicely crafted, especially those by Oleszkiewicz, which are also the most advanced ones on this album.

This is an excellent example of how accessible music is able to retain musical qualities, being still strongly rooted in Jazz and improvised, and yet enjoyable to people who have little or no Jazz experience of affiliation. Such listeners will definitely love this stuff madly!

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

Tracklisting: 1 How Deep Is The Ocean 5:53 2 Raindance 6:51 3 Double Larry 6:40 4 Inspiration 6:09  5 J&J 7:38 6 Paradise 6:56 7 Bewitched 6:17 8 Blues For Adam 6:45 9 Awakening 6:48 10 Ca-Lips-O 6:05

Piotr Baron - Tango (1996)

Piotr Baron - tenor saxophone

Jacek Niedziela - double bass
Adam Czerwiński - drums

Tango (1996)

This is rather typical mainstream jazz music however lacking some characteristic for Baron spirituality and cross-over creativity he displayed for example on his latest superb "Kaddish" (2012). Its highlight is attractive main theme which makes music coherent. Level of musicianship is also very high as much as interplay between musicians. Perhaps not sufficient to cause "wow!" effect but certainly enough to justify repeated rehearsal even after many years since its recording.

Tracklist:
1. The Last Tango in Paris
2. Tingel Tango
3. Pożegnania; Pamiętasz, była jesień / Farewells; Remember, It Was an Autumn
4. Hasta Siempre
5. Joe Lovano Tango
6. St. Luis Blues
7. Tango Milonga - Oh, Donna Clara

By Maciej Nowotny

http://polish-jazz.blogspot.com/

Jarek Smietana - A Story Of Polish Jazz (2004)

Jarek Śmietana - guitars


Piotr Wyleżoł - Fender piano
Steve Logan - bass
Adam Czerwinski - drums

Soloists (track 1):
Jerzy „Duduś” Matuszkiewicz - alto saxophone
Wojciech Karolak - Hammond B3 organs
Henryk Majewski - trumpet
Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski - tenor saxophone
Zbigniew Namysłowski- alto saxophone
Tomasz Stańko - trumpet
Michał Urbaniak - violin
Tomasz Szukalski - tenor saxophone
Janusz Muniak - tenor saxophone
Henryk Miśkiewicz - alto saxophone
Krzesimir Dębski - violin
with:
Bzyk - rap
Guzik - rap
D.J. Gypsyman - scratch

Bennie Maupin - tenor saxophone (tracks 3, 4)

Story Of Polish Jazz (2004)

One of the most succesful releases of legendary fusion guitarist Jarek Śmietana became famous for his collaboration with rapers with whom he recorded a tune summarizing in short entire history of Polish jazz. Outstanding (if only available to Polish speakers unfortunately)! 

Track listing: A Story Of Polish Jazz; My Love And Inspiration; Solczak; Music For Summer Afternoon; Strange Funky Fruit; I Want You; Miles; Within You Without You; Let's Rock; bonus track: A Story Of Polish Jazz (English Version)

By Maciej Nowotny
http://kochamjazz.blox.pl

Leszek Dranicki - Listy Jazzujace (Soliton, 2010)

Leszek Dranicki - vocal, guitar

Edward "Wojtek" Kolczyński - keyboard
Piotr Nadolski - harmonica

Piotr Lemanczyk - double bass
Adam Czerwiński - drums

Listy Jazzujące (Soliton, 2010)

Were it not for names of Piotr Lemańczyk and Adam Czerwiński, both musicians which I value a lot, I would never reach for this album. What can I say about it? Being bluesy, nonchalant, naive: this music has charm of some recording by talented but amateur vocalist. 

More music by Leszek Dranicki: http://www.myspace.com/leszekdranicki

or some solo effort by Leszek Dranicki:

Author: Maciej Nowotny

http://kochamjazz.blox.pl/html

Marcin Wadołowski Quintet - Git Majonez (Soliton, 2011)

Marcin Wadołowski Quintet (band)

Marcin Wądołowski - guitar

Adam Czerwiński - drums

Darek Herbasz - saxophone

Janusz Mackiewicz - doublebass

Piotr Mania - piano

Git Majonez (Soliton, 2011)

I was very curious about this recording, good opinions about it reached me from many directions. The explanation of this good opinions is simple: album's strongest side are melodies, all penned by a leader, guitarist Marcin Wądołowski. He really deserves accolade for them as one after another the tunes keep listener attached to speakers, the music flows so captivating, so well played, so light and warm that it is impossible to stop. Moreover it is all very well played, musicianship is at astonishing level and to no surprise since  players participating in this session are from first ranks in Polish jazz: Piotr Mania on piano, Adam Czerwiński on drums, Darek Herbasz on saxophone and Janusz Mackiewicz on double-bass, they all play perfectly. So summarizing it is decent debut album although I am a bit worried where Marcin Wądołowski will go from this point? If he continues to play even prettier and sweeter on his next albums he will soon find himself on smooth side of jazz. And I am not sure this is the turn of events he desires most... 

Small display of Marcin Wądołowski on guitar:

Author: Maciej Nowotny

http://kochamjazz.blox.pl

Jarek Smietana – A Tribute To Zbigniew Seifert (2009) by Adam Baruch

Jarek Śmietana (guitars)

Piotr Wyleżoł (acoustic & electric piano)
Janusz Grzywacz (keyboards)
Zbigniew Wegehaupt (bass)
Adam Czerwiński (drums)
Sławek Berny (percussion)

A Tribute To Zbigniew Seifert (2010)

and guests:

- Jerry Goodman - violin (1)
- Mateusz Smoczyński - violin (2)
- Didier Lockwood - violin (3)
- Krzesimir Dębski - violin (4)
- Christian Howes - violin (5)
- Mark Feldman - violin (6)
- Maciej Strzelczyk - violin (7)
- Adam Bałdych - violin (8)
- Pierre Blanchard - violin (9)

This is a stunning tribute album to the Polish violin virtuoso / composer Zbigniew Seifert by the great Polish guitarist Jarek Smietana and his band: pianist Piotr Wylezol, bassist Zbigniew Wegehaupt, drummer Adam Czerwinski and percussionist Slawek Berny. Keyboardist Janusz Grzywacz guests on two tracks. Smietana invited nine leading Jazz violinists to play along with this fabulous band, performing Seifert's wonderful compositions. They are: Jerry Goodman (ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra, USA), Mateusz Smoczynski (Poland), Didier Lockwood (France), Krzesimir Debski (Poland), Christian Howes (USA), Mark Feldman (USA), Maciej Strzelczyk (Poland), Adam Baldych (Poland) and Pierre Blanchard (France). These nine virtuosi play like there's no tomorrow and the resulting music is simply a breathtaking trip into Seifert's world. This is such a conglomerate of talent, that anything said beyond this would be simply superfluous. Simply grab this ASAP, as you are about to take trip of your life – violin heaven indeed!

Sample of great misci by Zbigniew Seifert:

Author: Adam Baruch
http://www.adambaruch.com/
check also his music boutique: https://www.jazzis.com/shop/

Jarosław Śmietana - African Lake (2000)

Jarek (Jarosław) Śmietana is one of giants of Polish jazz and most probably the best guitarist in its history. Back in 70ties he participated in legendary group called Extra Ball and since then  has collaborated with countless musicians in Poland and abroad. Unlike many of his colleagues from that generation, he remains active and records every couple of years new albums. Though he no more pushes boundaries of jazz forward, yet Śmietana usually delivers great  sound, almost always staying close to his beloved fusion jazz aesthetics.

Strong sides of Jarek Śmietana projects are musicians and compositions. On this album both those elements are of the highest quality indeed. Top Polish players like Adam Kowalewski (db), Adam Czerwiński (dr), Jerzy Małek (tr) and Jan Pilch (perc) are supported by excellent foreign Cameron Brown (db), Jeremy Pelt (tr) and Leopoldo F. Fleming (perc). But of course the most famed among them is Gary Bartz (as, ss) who is remembered to be playing with Miles Davis between 1970-71. All these musicians emerge on this CD in different setups (recording sessions took place in Warsaw as well as in New York) but they never fail to produce great sound: varied, rich, melodic.

And in this way we came to another nice feature of this album: tunes that are mostly penned by Jarek Śmietana (some old but few new ones as well) with nice addition of compositions by Gary Bartz, Zbigniew Namysłowski and one standard by Thelonius Monk. Music is very accessible, easy-to-listen and optimistic and shall fit perfectly to the coming summer season. African notes are perhaps most difficult to find in this album: some minor ones in work of guitar or percussion using congas but otherwise it has little (if nothing) in common with African music but rather it is decent piece of straight-ahead jazz with some soul and fusion accents. Good stuff!

Check this film for sample of music from this album:

Author of text: Maciej Nowotny (http://kochamjazz.blox.pl/html)

Wojciech Staroniewicz - Afreakan Project (2011)

By Maciej Nowotny

When I put CD containing the newest Wojciech Staroniewicz album in my Marantz player and music began to flow from Tannoy loud speakers my wife which happened to pass through our living room exclaimed: "At least!" "What?" - I asked. She answered: "At least some music normal people can listen to...".

So my beloved free jazz discs were put aside and "Afreakan" reigns in my CD-player since then and to my own delight  since although mainstream it is so light-hearted, so exhilarating and so well played that I cannot stop  listening to this music which is simply no less than pure joy. 

Apart from Wojciech Staroniewicz who is mastering his tenor saxophone, you will find here as sidemen great musicians indeed like: Przemek Dyakowski (tenor saxophone), Darek Herbasz (baritone saxophone), Irek Wojtczak (tenor and soprano saxophone), Dominik Bukowski (marimba, vibraphone, kalimba), Janusz Mackiewicz (bass), Adam Czerwiński (drums, udu drum, african cowbell), Larry Okey Ugwu (african percussion - bass jembe, osha, chekere, agogo, ekwe) and Sławomir Berny (percussion - darabuka, bongos, marakas, shaker, cabasa, cowbell). From listing of instruments you can very well say that this time Staroniewicz venture on African safari succesfully blending typical Polish jazz virtuosity and musicality with etno climates. These excursions of Polish musicians toward so-called world music are recently more and more often with excellent example of this tendency being "El Buscador" by Adam Pierończyk. In both instances these trips are very attractive although Pierończyk moved in avantgarde direction while Staroniewicz has rather smooth jazz azimuth. However both are so well done that I cannot do anything else but recommend them together to any jazz loving heart.    

Although I have no music from this album please listen to fragment of concert with material from his previous album titled "Alternations" evidencing how high level these musicians represent.
Update: a song from new album now available. Check this link - fantastic indeed!!!

Jarosław Śmietana Band - A Tribute To Zbigniew Seifert (2009) by Maciej Nowotny

Zbigniew Seifert, born in 1946, lived only 33 years, but nonetheless he earned himself a reputation of the best polish jazz violinist ever (contended only by Michał Urbaniak). In this short span of time he had fruitous collaboration with Tomasz Stańko and also managed to play with Joachinm Kuhn, Charlie Mariano and Oregon group, which was quite exceptional back in 70ties when communist goverment virtually locked up Polish artist from Western world. His brilliant carrer was interrupted by cancer with which he was figthing for long time. Just 3 months before death he recorded his farewell album titled Passion accompanied by Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, Eddie Gomes, Richie Beirach and Nana Vasconselos.

Guitarist Jarek Śmietana is no less prominent person in Polish Jazz and he worked together with Seifert on another of his legendary recording called Kilimanjaro. Thirty years after the departure of his friend he decided to venture on this specific project which turn out to be as succesul as it is ambitious. Jarek Śmietana Band consists of excellent pianist Piotr Wyleżoł, legendary bassist Zbigniew Wegehaupt and Janusz Grzywacz (keybord), Adam Czerwiński (drums) and Sławek Berny (percussion). But apart from these top musicians we encounter on this recording ten foreign and polish jazz violinits:

1. Kilimanjaro (with J. Goodman)

2. Where Are You Fron (with M. Smoczyński)

3. Passion (with. D. Lockwood)

4. Quo Vadis (with K. Dębski)

5. City Of Spring (with Ch. Howes)

6. Way To Oasis (with M. Felman)

7. Taniec Garbusa (with M. Strzelczyk)

8. Untitled Song (with A. Bałdych)

All compositions are Seifert's but newly arranged by Śmietana.  Addition of different violinist to each song makes the rehearsal of this album similar to the riding on the rollercoster but the one you really like to be on, in short it is simply pure joy. Great recording for the lovers of jazz violin!

Author: Maciej Nowotny

http://kochamjazz.blox.pl/html