Magnolia Acoustic Quartet – Cinderella (2014)

Magnolia Acoustic Quartet

Szymon Nidzworski - tenor & soprano saxophones
Kuba Sokołowski - piano
Mateusz Dobosz - double bass
Patryk Dobosz - drums

Cinderella

FOR TUNE 0035


By Adam Baruch

This is the second album by Polish Jazz ensemble Magnolia Acoustic Quartet, which comprises of saxophonist Szymon Nidzworski, pianist Kuba Sokołowski and the brotherly rhythm section: bassist Mateusz Dobosz and drummer Patryk Dobosz. They perform six original compositions, all by Sokolowski (with one of the tunes inspired by a Yoko Ono piece).

This album faces a series of obstacles: the "second album" syndrome, the fact that the guest musicians on their debut album are not present here, the fact that the music is entirely "home made", and so on. The only thing in common is the fact that this album was also recorded live.

In comparison to its predecessor, musically this album is characterized by a much spacey, less melodic and freer approach, sometimes almost minimalistic. Most importantly the music is much more open and allows for delicate and intimate conversations between the quartet members. Although recorded just a short time apart, the quartet seems to be much mature, with the youthful energy and vivacity being replaced by elegant thoughtfulness. Of course this might result for some listeners/critics to evaluate this album as less impressive and immediate, but personally I happen to think that is simply different, but still very impressive.

I have already mentioned the Dobosz Brothers as potential candidates to the title of upcoming sibling rhythm section in Polish Jazz. Their performances here are no less convincing and they are definitely worth of close attention. Sokołowski plays a much more extensive role on this album that previously, which allows us to discover his subtle lyricism. Nidzworski is the true free spirit, pushing the boundaries of the quartet constantly towards terra incognita.

Overall this is another impressive achievement of a very promising young ensemble, which managed to overcome the a.m. obstacles with flying colors. Yes, this album is more challenging and less immediately likeable that the excellent debut, but patience has its rewards, which in this case are truly worth waiting for. Well done!

Magnolia Acoustic Quartet - Cinderella (2014)

Magnolia Acoustic Quartet

Kuba Sokołowski - piano
Szymon Nidzworski - tenor & soprano saxophones
Mateusz Dobosz - double bass
Patryk Dobosz - drums

Cinderella

FOR TUNE 0036


By Kuba Sokołowski

Jest spokojny, jesienny czas. Pierwszy rok studiów. Fortepian. Czarny i mistyczny. Muzyka klasyczna, radość studiowania. Ale w duszy gra jazz. Poznaję Mateusza, wiele rozmawiamy o muzyce. Kontrabas ma kształt kobiety, pięknej, majestatycznej i tajemniczej. Kobiecy pierwiastek w muzyce jazzowej. Poruszając struny kontrabasu, Mateusz nadaje muzyce jazzowej nowy wymiar. Rodzi się pomysł zagrania w duecie. Fortepian zaczyna żyć nowym życiem. Jest kolejny burzliwy dzień. Tworzyć i grać, pokazywać światu, zarażać. Dołącza do nas Patryk, brat Mateusza. Chłopak czuje perkusję, a ona nie pozostaje mu dłużna. Od tej chwili zaczyna się jazzowa przygoda w trio. Gramy to, co czujemy, każdy wkłada cząstkę siebie. Każdy pieści grą swój instrument. Mijają miesiące, korytarz uczelniany zaczyna rozbrzmiewać oszałamiającym dźwiękiem saksofonu. To Szymon. Jest w nim coś magicznego. Muzyczna całość. Młody, nieprzeciętnie zdolny dęciak. Zaczynamy rozmawiać o koncercie w kwartecie, rodzi się pomysł „Magnolii”. Te same ideały, dążenia. Inspiracją dla Magnolii staje się muzyka, towarzysząca ceremoniom pogrzebowym, grana przez czarne orkiestry. Kolebka jazzu, staje się „naszą” kolebką. I ona cały czas kołysze.

Lista utworów:

1. Never Be So Far

2. Vattenfall

3. Cinderella Cannot Find Shoes

4. Transformers

5. Kiss Kiss Kiss

6. Contact

Magnolia Acoustic Quartet – Boozer (2013)

Szymon Nidzworski - tenor & soprano saxophones
Kuba Sokołowski - piano
Mateusz Dobosz - double bass
Patryk Dobosz - drums
with
Tomasz Dabrowski - trumpet
Maciej Obara - alto saxophone

FOR TUNE 0003



By Adam Baruch

This is a (formal) debut album by Polish Jazz ensemble Magnolia Acoustic Quartet, which comprises of saxophonist Szymon Nidzworski, pianist Kuba Sokolowski, bassist Mateusz Dobosz and drummer Patryk Dobosz. The album presents a live recording of an extended lineup of the ensemble, which adds two slightly older and better known Polish Jazz musicians: trumpeter Tomasz Dabrowski and saxophonist Maciej Obara. The music includes seven pieces, six of which are originals (three by Sokolowski, two by Obara and one by Dabrowski) and one is by the contemporary Polish Classical Music composer Witold Lutoslawski.

The music played by these incredible musicians covers the areas of modern European Jazz, Avant Garde and Free Jazz, firmly embracing the past and clearly pointing out the future. Based on pre-composed themes, the group's music develops into lengthy collective and individual improvisations, which are achieved through mutual respect and collaboration, but also reflect the incredible individual talents. The overall effect is simply stunning and the fact that this music is created by such young musicians is simply unreal. The ensemble portrays the ideal balance between the soloists and the rhythm section. The pair of the Dobosz Brothers is quite likely to become the new brotherly Polish rhythm section following in the steps of the legendary Oles Brothers.

Quite naturally the most impressive solo spots are reserved for the two guests, especially Dabrowski, whose contributions here are simply stellar and again clearly point out his path to stardom and his position as the future top Polish Jazz trumpet player. One of the most exciting moments of this album is the trumpet / drums duet, which is simply divine, and which should come as no surprise in view of the fact that Dabrowski recorded an entire trumpet / drums album recently with American drummer Tyshawn Sorey, also released on the For Tune label.

Considering the fact that this music was recorded live, which eliminates any studio trickery and results in "what was played is what you hear", all that was stated above is even more impressive. After listening to the album several times the music keeps getting better and better and Magnolia Acoustic Quartet simply emerges as one of the best new arrivals on the Polish Jazz scene in the last few years.

This album presents the young Polish Jazz scene at its best: vigorous, daring, original, inventive and hellishly talented. These are the musicians that will lead the scene in decades to come, when the older generation retires or sadly is no longer with us. Judging by this album and many others that pop up recently like mushrooms after rain, we have absolutely nothing to worry about the shape of things to come!

Magnolia Acoustic Quartet feat. Tomasz Dąbrowski - Magnolia Acoustic Quartet (2010)

Magnolia Acoustic Quartet

Magnolia Acoustic Quartet

Szymon Nidzworski - sax
Jakub Sokołowski - piano
Mateusz Dobosz - double bass
Patryk Dobosz - drums

guest: Tomasz Dąbrowski - trumpet

Magnolia Acoustic Quartet (2010)

By Maciej Nowotny

The band has been started in 2009 by saxophonist Szymon Nidzworski. But Magnolia Acoustic Quartet is obviously a team effort. Pianist Jakub Sokołowski composed most of the music while Mateusz Dobosz on double bass and Patryk Dobosz on drums provided it with very modern-sounding rhythm. They all graduated from excellent Musical Academies in Warsaw and Cracow. They picked up some rewards - most notably at Jazz Juniors festival in Cracow - which is even more significant when one knows that most jurors at Polish jazz festivals favor mainstream jazz.

But music of Magnolia Acoustic Quartet (MAQ) though clearly rooted in the tradition of jazz - evidenced by name of the band which refers to the tune played in New Orleans during funeral ceremonies - is by no means limited to its mainstream form. It draws a lot as much from free jazz as from classical music. By those references it might be labeled as "third stream" but I think it is better not to use this old-fashioned cliche to describe something that sounds entirely fresh and is directed toward future of the music.

Apart from regular members of the band this session features also trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski. He is a former student of Ostenda Music Academy in Denmark together with such musicians as guitarist Marek Kądziela, saxophonist Tomek Licak or pianist Artur Tuźnik. In recent years they made quite an entry on Polish jazz scene with series of excellent albums among which last year "Tom Trio" by Tomasz Dąbrowski stands out as both mature and distinctive voice of this new "Danish" wave in Polish jazz.

Going back to MAQ: what can I say more? This is simply one of the most spectacular debuts in Polish music in recent years! The music is so rich, so deep, so engaging that it is really difficult to believe this is their first album. Alas this CD is a private edition, available to buy only after concerts. If released and available in commercial circulation, it would definitely be counted among the best albums of the given year. Still the future looks bright for this band as new major player on Polish music publishing market - For Tune Records - has chosen their next project recorded with saxophonist Maciej Obara to be released soon in this year 2013. I am already impatiently waiting for this new record of theirs...

* in writing this text I used info available in this article: http://jazzarium.pl/kalendarz/magnolia-acoustic-quartet