Tribute To Andrzej PrzybielskiMaciej Fortuna - trumpet
Marcin Gawdzis - trumpet
Wojciech Jachna - trumpet
Tomasz Kudyk - trumpet
Piotr Schmidt - trumpet
Maurycy Wójciński - trumpet
Jakub Kujawa - guitar
Grzegorz Nadolny - double bass
Grzegorz Daroń - drums
Tribute To Andrzej Przybielski Vol.1
SJP 001
By Adam Baruch
This is a criminally overdue tribute album to the Polish Jazz trumpeter/composer Andrzej Przybielski (born 1944), who died in 2011, recorded by an ensemble which features six Polish Jazz trumpeters: Maciej Fortuna (born 1982), Marcin Gawdzis (1972), Wojciech Jachna (1976), Tomasz Kudyk (1976), Piotr Schmidt (1985) and Maurycy Wójciński (1988), i.e. mostly members of the middle aged and young generation of the Polish Jazz scene. The ensemble also features a rhythm section which comprises of guitarist Jakub Kujawa, bassist Grzegorz Nadolny and drummer Grzegorz Daroń. Together they perform four compositions by Przybielski and three collectively improvised pieces. The album also includes a conversation with Przybielski recorded in 2007 at the legendary Mózg club in Bydgoszcz, Przybielski's home town, which also includes fragments of his performances.
The recording and the release
of this album was the initiative of Fortuna, who felt an obligation to document
and commemorate Przybielski's contribution to Polish Jazz, which is of course
highly praiseworthy. However it is difficult to ignore the fact that
Przybielski died a dissolute, lonely, sick, neglected and forgotten man, which
left a huge black stain on the Polish Jazz scene. Not less significant is the absence
on this album of the top Polish Jazz trumpeters of his generation, which
painfully emphasizes the fact that Przybielski never received the recognition
he so much deserved from his contemporaries and was mostly adored and respected
by musician much younger than himself. His life's story is a classic epos of
avant-garde being denied recognition at its peak only to be recognized in the aftermath.
Personally I had the pleasure
of knowing Przybielski and working with him on several projects in the 1980s, being
immediately convinced that he is the most interesting Polish Jazz trumpeter on
the local scene at that time. My admiration for his work never ceased, being
only rekindled following the tragic news of his death. With all respect to the actual
music present on this album, which is very good, it is only secondary to the
very existence of this project. Thanks and salutations are of course due to
Fortuna and the many people who made this project possible and which, as the
Vol.1 suggests, will be continued in the future.
There are many fascinating
moments on this album, some superb trumpet passages and solos, great group
improvisations and so on. The musical concept is however a bit unclear, as far
as I am concerned. Also the idea of six trumpeters playing together, as
potentially interesting as it might appear is less effective in reality in my
opinion. Perhaps a collection of pieces featuring prominently just one
trumpeter or at most two, playing in turn might have been more effective? But
these are just matters of personal taste.
Of course all these trumpeters can
play and they do play well, but as far as a tribute is concerned, the music is supposed
to be spiritually convergent to the music of the subject to whom the tribute is
dedicated, which, as already mentioned above, is not really apparent herein. But all things considered, this
is a very important album, not only for its music but primarily for what it
symbolizes, for its historical importance and for the example it sets. As such
it is undoubtedly a major event and a great success!
