Jaroslaw Smietana – From One To Four (2009) ****

Jaroslaw Smietana - guitar

Janusz Muniak - saxophone

Piotr Baron - saxophone

Krzysztof Scieranski - bass

Antoni Debski - bass

Jacek Pelc - drums

APEX 328

By Adam Baruch

This is the second album as a leader by the fabulous Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Jaroslaw Smietana, who died recently tragically prematurely, succumbing to cruel illness. Smietana was one of the most active players on the local scene and contributed enormously to its development over the years. This album presents him, as the title suggests, in different settings: solo, duo, trio and quartet, playing with some of the best Polish Jazz musicians active at the time: saxophonists Janusz Muniak and Piotr Baron, bassists Krzysztof Scieranski and Antoni Debski and drummer Jacek Pelc. They perform eleven compositions, five of which are originals: three by Smietana and one each by Scieranski and Pelc, and the rest of the material is all standards.

This is one of the Jazziest albums recorded by Smietana, with fewer Fusion ventures, and his beautiful Jazz sensitivity is especially apparent herein. But all the other players also contribute very fine examples of intelligent, intimate musical conversations with the leader. Scieranski's bass and Baron's saxophone are simply delightful. Smietana experiments with the guitar synthesizers and performs on three quite distinctly sounding guitars, with his delicate touch being definitely one of the finest ever. Also the three duets with veteran saxophonist Janusz Muniak are among the album's most enchanting moments.

In retrospect this is a very strong album from start to finish with no weak moments or unnecessary "fillers", and a superb legacy which Smietana left for all of us to enjoy. A must for all Polish Jazz fans!

Side Note: The Poljazz label, which originally released this album, was active for 20 years (between 1972 and 1991) and was owned by the Polish Jazz Society. Considering the fact that the music industry in the Socialist State was centralized and totally controlled, with just one State owned music company producing all the albums, the possibilities to record and release Jazz albums were extremely limited. Poljazz was conceived and founded in order to allow for many more Jazz (and other) albums to be released independently from the State owned Polskie Nagrania / Muza and as such revolutionized the music industry at the time, being the only such enterprise in Eastern Europe. The Polish label Anex reissued many of the original Poljazz albums on CD, bringing this fabulous music back to life.

Jaroslaw Smietana – Talking Guitar (Polish Jazz Vol.93 Deluxe, 1984)

Jarosław Śmietana - Electric Guitar

Henryk Miśkiewicz - Alto Saxophone
Zbigniew Jaremko - Tenor Saxophone
Henryk Majewski - Trumpet
Robert Majewski - Trumpet
Roman Syrek - Trombone
Jan Baytel - Flute
Wojciech Groborz - Fender Piano, Synthesizer
Antoni Dębski - Bass Guitar
Jacek Pelc - Drums, Percussion
Jerzy Bartz - Conga, Percussion 

Talking Guitar (Polish Jazz Vol.93 Deluxe, 1984)  

This is an excellent debut album as a leader by Polish guitarist / composer Jaroslaw Smietana, presenting a set of ten original compositions performed by a superb team of musicians, including his ex-cohorts from the Extra Ball ensemble. The list of names reads like a who’s who of the local scene at the time and includes keyboardist Wojciech Groborz, bassist Antoni Debski, drummer Jacek Pelc, percussionist Jerzy Bartz, saxophonists Henryk Miskiewicz and Zbigniew Jaremko, trumpeters Henryk Majewski and Robert Majewski (father and son), trombonist Roman Syrek and flautist Jan Baytel. The music is all Fusion oriented, with great melody lines. Smietana plays some excellent solos and is well supported by his partners. Overall this is mainstream Fusion, which ruled in the 1980s, so one must not expect complexity and innovation in what is supposed to be “good time” music, which it certainly is. The level of professionalism and talent expected from Polish Jazz are certainly there. Recommended to Fusion fans!

Track listing: 1. Bieganie po Manhattanie 2. Alisia 3. Tabasco Song 4. Podróżując we śnie 5. Trzech panów w łódce 6. Samba Carrera 7. Papierek lakmusowy 8. Od siedmiu wzwyż 9. Polowanie na robaczka 10. Samochody w pokrowcach

By Adam Baruch
www.adambaruch.com

Jaroslaw Smietana – Sounds & Colors (Polish Jazz Vol.73, 1987)

Jaroslaw Smietana – electric guitar, acoustic Fender guitar, keyboards, voices

Jacek Pelc – premier drums, paiste cymbals, percussions
Antoni Debski – Fender bass, synthesizer
Piotr Baron – Selmer Mark VII tenor saxophone, soprano, clarinet, keyboards

 Sounds & Colors (Polish Jazz Vol.73, 1987)

This is an excellent album by Polish guitarist / composer Jaroslaw Smietana, his first recording under his name in the legendary Polish Jazz series, although he already released two albums with his group Extra Ball a decade earlier. Undoubtedly the best Polish Fusion guitar player, Smietana is also a great tunesmith; this album includes six of his wonderful compositions (and one standard), performed by a superb quartet, which includes side by side with the leader saxophonist Piotr Baron (one of future best Polish sax players), bassist Antoni Debski and drummer Jacek Pelc. The music is very similar to what one might expect from the best Fusion groups around at the time, especially Weather Report, which is a clear model. The guitar (and occasional keyboards) - sax exchanges could be very easily mistaken for another Joe Zawinul / Wayne Shorter dialog. But there is enough originality here, both in the compositions and the performances, to dismiss any accusations of plagiarism. These excellent musicians are not to be taken for granted and overall this album is as good, if not better, that any other Fusion album recorded anywhere on this planet. Fusion fans will definitely enjoy this album with no reservations, but the general Jazz loving public should be able to have a great time with it as well. It lost nothing of its charm over time!

Tracj listing: 1 Sounds And Colours; 2 Okapi, Pekari, Karibu; 3 Flashing Dance; 4 Every Day Niagara; 5 Turtle Song; 6 Days Of Wine And Roses; 7 Try To Make It Belter

By Adam Baruch

http://adambaruch.com/