Janczarski & Siddik 4tet - Contemplation (2020)

Janczarski & Siddik 4tet

Borys Janczarski - tenor saxophone
Rasul Siddik - trumpet, flute
Michał Jaros - double bass
Kazimierz Jonkisz - drums

Contemplation

FOR TUNE 0147

By Adam Baruch

This is a live recording at the Warsaw 12 on 14 Jazz Club by the quartet co-led by Polish Jazz saxophonist Borys Janczarski and veteran American trumpeter Rasul Siddik, with Polish bassist Michał Jaros and veteran drummer Kazimierz Jonkisz. Together they perform seven pieces, six of which are Jazz standards and one is an original composition by Siddik.

The album offers a warm and authentic club atmosphere but the music is all strictly within American mainstream boundaries and is completely predictable. This is a third recorded collaboration between Janczarski and Siddik released on the For Tune label, all of which follow the same well established pattern of Bebop oriented music making, which has hardly changed in the last 70 years or so.

As for the performances, despite the fact that Siddik has a well earned reputation of playing with some very important American Jazz names in the past, his playing here (and on the two other a.m. albums) is very shaky and unimpressive, Janczarski is much more vigorous but not really notable and only the excellent rhythm section is up for the job, especially Jaros whose bass parts are the absolute highlights of this album.

Overall this music might have been nice to listen to at the club while enjoying a drink, but has no lasting value beyond that. At least the music is well recorded by Tomasz Pierchała, the club owner and persistent Warsaw Jazz scene activist.

Modern Blues Quartet - Blues On Bach (2020)

Modern Blues Quartet

Ryszard Borowski - flute
Mateusz Smoczyński - violin
Rafał Sarnecki - guitar
Michał Jaros - drums

Blues On Bach

REQUIEM/LYDIAN 2020/8

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by a Polish Jazz quartet called Modern Blues Quartet, which comprises of flautist/composer Ryszard Borowski, violinist Mateusz Smoczyński, guitarist Rafał Sarnecki and bassist Michał Jaros. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Borowski. 

As the title suggests, the music is "inspired" by compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, and follows many similar Jazz projects mentioned in the album's liner notes. The liner notes also state that there is very little of Bach's music as such on this album, and the proximity is mostly associative, which is quite correct. The resulting music is easy on the ear and quite entertaining, obviously meant for wider audiences. 

The musicians are of course some of Polish Jazz top instrumentalists, as their individual performances attest, providing plenty of excellent solo showcases. The delicate sound of a drumless quartet works very well and the excellent bass parts manage to keep the music swinging, even without percussive support. Smoczynski's parts take the music into the Gypsy Jazz idiom and are (for me) the highlights of this project. Sarnecki plays some tasty swinging guitar parts, but is less dominant. Overall this is a nice amalgam of Jazz-Classical Fusion and Smooth Jazz, which many listeners on the lighter side of the Jazz idiom can enjoy immensely.

Krzysia Górniak - Memories (2020)

Krzysia Górniak

Krzysia Górniak - guitars
Michał Wróblewski - piano, synth
Piotr  Wrombel - piano, synth
Michał Jaros - double bass
Marcin Jahr - drums

Memories

PRIVATE EDITION 2020


By Adam Baruch

This is the eighth (sixth as a leader) album by Polish Jazz guitarist/composer Krzysia Górniak, recorded in a classic quartet setting with keyboardists Michał Wróblewski or Piotr Wrombel, bassist Michał Jaros and drummer Marcin Jahr. The album presents seven original compositions, all by Gorniak.

The music is all based on wonderfully melodic themes and kept elegantly within the mainstream Jazz idiom, but the use of synthesizers and contemporary arrangements effectively eschew unnecessary nostalgic tendencies, presenting an up to date sound and ambiance, which are delightfully embracing. Although obviously on the lighter side of the Jazz spectrum, this music is splendidly put together and aesthetically solid.

Górniak manages to keep her guitar playing strictly within the Jazz boundaries, successfully avoiding slipping towards Fusion, which would have ruined the effort. She skillfully combines playing notes and chords with the right balance between them, always with restrain and stylish distance, which results in a highly effective overall outcome. The beautiful guitar sound she manages to achieve also contributes to the result.

The participating musicians are all skillful and highly professional musicians, which of course is immediately apparent. They support her amicably and add splendid solo parts of their own on the way. Considering the delicate and often quite intimate nature of this music, the mutual respect and interplay between the quartet members is a crucial element contributing to the successful result. Both keyboardist offer acoustic piano and synthesizer parts perfectly suited to the melodic continuity, Jaros glues everything together with his virtuosic bass parts and Jahr supplies elegant but firm rhythmic backbone.

Overall this is a highly pleasurable, beautifully melodic, serene and relaxed guitar album, which can be enjoyed by a wide range of listeners, not only strict Jazz enthusiasts but also connoisseurs of guitar from other genres. This is a wonderful example of less is more, where the Artist uses only what is absolutely necessary to achieve the optimal result and eschews superfluous gimmickry. A wonderful album from start to finish, Milady!

Jarek Bothur Trio - Night Walks (2020)

Jarek Bothur Trio

Jarek Bothur - tenor saxophone
Michał Jaros - double bass
Krzysztof Dziedzic - drums

Night Walks

JAZZ FORUM




By Adam Baruch

This is the second album as a leader by Polish Jazz saxophonist/composer Jarek Bothur recorded in a trio setting with bassist Michał Jaros and drummer Krzysztof Dziedzic. The album presents six original compositions, all by Bothur. The total playing time for this album is under thirty minutes, so it is an EP rather than a full CD.

The entire approach of the album, stylistically, musically and sound wise is greatly surprising and travels back in time some three decades to the heyday of Polish Yass, characterized by a Punkish straightforwardness, "quick and dirty" sound and relative lack of sophistication, but highly emotional expressionism. Having said all this I find this album really fresh and direct, somewhat like a friendly slap in the face, which is extremely effective. Perhaps this is (as Yass was) a sign of rejection of the over-sophistication some of the contemporary Polish Jazz is suffering from.

The music is all well put together and excellently executed, as expected, with focus on Bothur's soloing. The rhythm section supports him amicably, keeping an energetic flow for the entire duration. Overall this is a surprising, highly emotional piece of music, which is a great listening experience, bringing Jazz to the very basic, almost animalistic elements, which have almost completely disappeared over time. Definitely a fresh breath of air!

Eryk Kulm Quintessence – Private Things (2019)

Eryk Kulm Quintessence

Rasul Siddik - trumpet
Marcin Kaletka - tenor & soprano saxophones
Michał Szkil - piano
Michał Jaros - bass
Eryk Kulm - drums

Private Things



POLSKIE RADIO 2232

By Adam Baruch

This is an album by veteran Polish Jazz drummer/composer Eryk Kulm recorded with his Quintessence quintet, which includes American trumpeter Rasul Siddik and young Polish Jazz saxophonist Marcin Kaletka, pianist Michał Szkil and bassist Michał Jaros. The album presents six pieces, four (one repeated twice with an alternate take) of which are original compositions by Kulm and one is by American pianist/composer Dolph Castellano.

The music is surprisingly different from most of the output created on the Polish Jazz scene, completely dominated by American Jazz influences, not only due to the presence of Siddik, a relatively well known AACM member now resident in Europe, who displays his emblematic Post Bop/Avant-Garde mixture which he has been playing for the last fifty years, but also due to Kulm's rough compositions, which are basically just a base for the improvisations by the quintet members. The music is open enough to allow the musicians to contribute individually significantly more so than in a more structured environment.

The true surprise of the album are the three young Polish Jazz musicians, who not only are able to fit into the environment set by the two veterans, but actually to make the most effective contributions musically. Kaletka, Szkil and Jaros sound like true pros and in comparison to their other recorded projects (all three took part in several recordings already), they are able to open up and move into the specific "Chicago school" with ease, elegance and considerable vigor.

Of course it is great to see Kulm return to recording after several years of absence and see him in his full creative power. Hopefully this album will be followed shortly by more new projects. For lovers of the more ambitious American Jazz variety this album should be quite interesting, not only because it offers some excellent performances, but mainly because it is composed and performed mostly by Polish Jazz musicians, who once again prove that they can match if not beat their colleagues from across the pond.

Bossa Norkah – Na Moim Brzegu (2018)

Bossa Norkah

Honorata Kożuchowska - vocal
Andzej Jagodziński - piano
Rafał Sarnecki - guitar
Wojciech Pulcyn - double bass
Michał Jaros - double bass
Krzysztof Szmańda - drums
and others

Na Moim Brzegu


MULTIKULTI MPJ 024

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by Polish Jazz ensemble Bossa Norkah, led by vocalist Honorata Kożuchowska, which also includes some of the top Polish Jazz instrumentalist: pianist Andrzej Jagodziński, guitarists Rafał Sarnecki/Piotr Aleksandrowicz, bassists Wojciech Pulcyn/Michał Jaros, drummer Krzysztof Szmańda and several other guests appearing on selected tracks playing brass and a plethora of percussion instruments. The album presents thirteen songs (two of which appear twice in alternate versions), all of which were written by Polish songwriter/poet Antoni Muracki.

The music has a distinct Bossa Nova flavor, which is the main climate of all the songs. On the other hand the album is also clearly a Jazz & Poetry project, since Muracki's songs are all deeply lyrical and evocative. The songs are kept in pretty reticent attire, featuring the vocals clearly in the center of the attention and the instrumental work kept to a bare minimum, with the piano providing the steady accompaniment and the rhythm section keeping the rhythm in check. There are only a few instrumental solos, which is a pity as those might have added a spark to the proceedings.

Kozuchowska handles the vocals well, which is not an easy task in this case for many reasons; the lyrics are complex and often difficult to express in rapid succession and admittedly South American rhythms are hardly native to East European singers. The vocals therefore lack the sensual and often plainly erotic sensitivity of Bossa Nova, which are native and natural to Brazilian vocalists. But all things considered, the album works fine and offers a pleasant listening experience with an added value of excellent texts (sadly relevant to Polish-speaking listeners only). Overall this is an album floating between Pop and Easy Jazz, which can be enjoyed by a wide range of listeners, offering both musical and lyrical values combined with highly professional musicianship.

Karolina Beimcik – Zorya (2018)

Karolina Beimcik

Karolina Beimcik - voice, violin
Rafał Sarnecki - guitar
Jan Smoczyński - piano
Michał Jaros - double bass
Michał Miśkiewicz - drums

Zorya

MULTIKULTI MTJ 017


By Adam Baruch

This is an ambitious debut album by Polish vocalist/violinist/composer Karolina Beimcik with her new project called "Zorya", which is her interpretation of Polish/Ukrainian Folklore of the ethnic minorities like Boykos, Lemkos and Kurpie people, who maintain their linguistic dialects and traditions. Beimcik is accompanied by four excellent Polish Jazz musicians: guitarist Rafał Sarnecki, pianist Jan Smoczyński, bassist Michał Jaros and drummer Michał Miśkiewicz. The album presents eight tracks (actually the album's artwork lists eight tracks but credits refer to nine tracks, go figure), six of which are traditional tunes and two were composed by Beimcik. The music was recorded by Smoczynski at his excellent Studio Tokarnia, with excellent sonic quality as usual.

In spite of the presence of the Jazz musicians, the music itself has very little to do with the essence of Jazz and is dominated by the Folkloristic themes. The Jazz influences stay mostly in the background and are more ornamentation than the actual quintessence. The basic melodies have, as expected, a strong East European disposition, being all rather melancholic and gloomy, quite similar to each other. The two original compositions, and especially the title track, are much more Jazz oriented and Beimcik performs on them nice wordless vocalese parts in addition to instrumental solos.

The instrumental work by the team is all quite excellent, as appropriate from highly talented musicians of this class. Smoczyński takes most of the accompaniment on his shoulders, staying relatively in the background, Sarnecki adds tasteful guitar embellishments and the rhythm section provides a solid basis for the music, with a few exceptional bass solos by Jaros.

Overall this is another example of the amalgamation between Folklore and Jazz, which seems to be more popular and successful in Poland than anywhere else in recent years. Preservation of ethnic traditions is of course an obligation of any Cultural people, and projects like this one are all important, but some or more successful musically than others. Personally I'd prefer an entire album of music as represented by the two original compositions.

Czwartek Jazzowy z Gwiazdą - Arek Skolik & His Men Play Mingus - Gliwice, 19.10.2017

Jarek Bothur - saksofon
Michał Jaros - kontrabas
Arek Skolik - perkusja
Patrycja Zarychta - wokal

19.10.2017, Klub Muzyczny 4art, Gliwice
Bilety: 20 zł przedsprzedaż / 25 zł w dniu koncertu

19 października to rocznica urodzin Śląskiego Jazz Clubu, już 61 rocznica. To też doskonała okazja, by zaprezentować artystę związanego ze Stowarzyszeniem (artystę znacznie młodszego od SJC, od razu dodajmy). Arek Skolik, nasz jazzclubowy kolega, wydał nową płytę. Oczywiście, pod patronatem SJC. I właśnie ten materiał zaprezentuje podczas październikowego koncertu z cyklu Czwartek Jazzowy z Gwiazdą. Jak sam to ujął: "Nagranie jest efektem spontanicznego jam session w oparciu o kompozycje Charlesa Mingusa". I, jak już wielokrotnie tego dowodził, Arek Skolik skupia się na pokazaniu siły tkwiącej w tradycji jazzowej poprzez swoją energię, temperament i nieprzeciętną muzykalność.

Arek Skolik – urodzony w 1970 roku w Częstochowie perkusista, kompozytor jazzowy i aranżer, został obdarzony tytułem "najlepszego perkusisty roku" przez miesięcznik "Gitara Bas i Bębny", a także otrzymał nagrodę prezydenta miasta Gliwic za osiągnięcia w dziedzinie twórczości artystycznej, upowszechniania i ochrony kultury muzycznej. Od wielu lat zajmuje czołowe miejsca w ankiecie pisma Jazz Forum jako perkusista jazzowy. Również od wielu lat członek Stowarzyszenia Muzycznego Śląski Jazz Club.

Nieprzeciętnie muzykalny, o doskonałym warsztacie i poczuciu swingu, co stawia go wśród grona najlepszych perkusistów w kraju. Arek Skolik współpracował grając koncerty i nagrywając płyty z takimi artystami jak: Nigel Kennedy, John Zorn, Lee Konitz, Steve Logan, Ronnie Cuber, Nina Stiller, Leszek Możdżer, Urszula Dudziak, Michał Urbaniak, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Jacek Niedziela, Wojciech Niedziela, Tymon Tymański, Stanisław Soyka, Ziut Gralak, Wojtek Puszkek, Romek Twarożek, Joachim Mencel, Irek Głyk, Janusz Muniak, Maciej Sikała, Tomasz Szukalski, Piotr Baron, Piotr Wojtasik, Jarek Śmietana, Wojciech Karolak, Piotr Cieślikowski, Shakin’ Dudi.

Arek Skolik & His Men – Plays Mingus (2017)

Arek Skolik & His Men

Jarosław Bothur - tenor saxophone
Michał Jaros - double bass
Arek Skolik - drums
Patrycja Zarychta - vocal (5)

Plays Mingus

PRIVATE EDITION


By Adam Baruch

This is an album by veteran Polish Jazz drummer Arek Skolik recorded in a trio setting with saxophonist Jarosław Bothur and bassist Michał Jaros. Vocalist Patrycja Zarychta sings on one track. The album, as the title suggests, presents six compositions by Charles Mingus, which are interpreted by Skolik and his crew.

The music, as described by Skolik in the album's liner notes, is a spontaneous jam session based on compositions by Mingus, recorded live in the studio. There is not much one can add to this description honestly, as the music is completely straight ahead, except perhaps for the fact that it is performed by a saxophone trio, but that is nothing extraordinary these days. This album might have been recorded five decades earlier, and no one would be able to tell the difference.

All three players are highly professional and fluent and the execution is beyond reproach, as good as any American mainstream Jazz combo is able to perform, except that this is a Polish Jazz trio and one really expects to hear something beyond ordinary when Polish musicians are involved. Bothur has a wonderful tone on his tenor saxophone and his improvisations are inspired, Jaros plays excellent support behind the saxophone and Skolik is obviously a very sensitive drummer, playing both rhythm and melody, but there is nothing here that wasn't heard already. Overall this is a nice mainstream Jazz album, which Bebop lovers should enjoy anywhere in the world, but which does not break any new ground. Recommended to Mingus aficionados!

Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer – Doktor Filozofii (2014)

Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer

Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer - guitar
Jan Smoczyński - piano
Michał Jaros - bass
Hubert Zemler - drums

Doktor Filozofii

PRIVATE EDITION 01



By Adam Baruch

This is the debut solo album by Polish guitarist/composer Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer, who is familiar to followers of the Polish Jazz scene as the guitarist of the successful group Jazzpospolita. The album was recorded in a classis quartet setting with pianist Jan Smoczyński, bassist Michał Jaros and drummer Hubert Zemler and presents nine original compositions by Przerwa-Tetmajer. It was recorded at the excellent Studio Tokarnia and engineered by Smoczyński, resulting in excellent sound quality, as usual.

The music on this album is quite different from what Przerwa-Tetmajer plays with Jazzpospolita and is obviously an attempt to present a different side of his musical personality. The overall concept here is bona fide Jazz, as opposed to the obvious anarchist/rebellious approach used by the group. Surprisingly it is not about straightforward/mainstream melodic Jazz at all, but quite an ambitious open and at times even completely Free Form Jazz, although mostly quite reserved and melancholic. Although the music has a strong melodic content, the melodies are purposely uneven, both harmonically and rhythmically, which means that this music requires attentive listening and is anything but easy on the ear.

The depth of these compositions is the biggest surprise of this album. Subtle, delicate, even fragile musical threads are finely presented and then developed by the two main soloists, each doing it his way; Smoczyński, who is a Master of melodic chord progression, pulls the tunes towards subtle melancholy, so typical of Polish Jazz, whereas Przerwa-Tetmajer pushes them into ragged fragmentation. This dichotomy adds an interesting dimension to the entire process of music making, which lifts this album to a higher plane.

Przerwa-Tetmajer's guitar playing is a strange mixture of classic Jazz and Blues guitar and his own liberties, which sometimes fit the music perfectly but on other occasions sounds a bit unnerving, hesitant and plain "strange". He is after all just starting, so his personal style is still in the process of being shaped, but the potential and talent are definitely there. Smoczyński, whose reputation as a brilliant player is mostly well within the mainstream idiom, shows here that he is incredibly flexible and can handle a much more challenging situations. The rhythm section, which consists of much older and experienced musicians, is of course beyond reproach and keeps this music "down to earth", saving it from potential chaos.

Overall this is a very impressive debut, which hopefully will lead to future explorations of the infinite musical space. Judging by the compositions on this album Przerwa-Tetmajer has a bright path ahead of him, both as a player and composer. Of course we are all waiting for his next quantum leap of his solo career, in parallel to his work with Jazzpospolita.

Grzegorz Karnas Trio feat. Miklós Lukács - Vanga (2014)

Grzegorz Karnas Trio feat. Miklós Lukács

Grzegorz Karnas – voice
Michał Jaros – double bass
Sebastian Frankiewicz – drums
Miklós Lukács - cimbalom

Vanga

BMC CD 199

By Mateusz Magierowski

Polska jazzowa wokalistyka jest ostatnimi czasy jak Chińczycy z "Wesela" Wyspiańskiego - trzyma się mocno, zarówno za sprawą utalentowanych debiutantów (ELMA), jak i muzyków już bardziej doświadczonych, którzy dotychczasowymi płytami przyzwyczaili nas do wysokiego poziomu swojej twórczości. Do tej ostatniej grupy należy niewątpliwie Grzegorz Karnas, który sumptem węgierskiego BMC Records wydał swą kolejną po "Audio Beads" płytę, będącą tym razem zapisem kwartetowego koncertu, który miał miejsce 1 lutego br. w budapesztańskim Opus Jazz Club. 

"Vanga" to esencja muzyki śląskiego wokalisty, w której prócz straceńczych, porywających groove'ów odnaleźć można liczne przejawy subtelnej, ale wciąż bardzo męskiej wrażliwości (niekiedy - jak chociażby w "Sinsuoid" te dwa idiomy bardzo udanie wzajemnie się przenikają). Szczególnej lekkości, dynamiki i orientalnej melodyki przydaje temu pierwszemu obliczu Karnasowego jazzu gra węgierskiego cymbalisty - Miklósa Lukácsa, znanego polskiemu słuchaczowi nie tylko z "Audio Beads", ale i z ubiegłorocznej współpracy z samym Charlesem Lloydem w ramach realizowanego dla Festiwalu Jazztopad koncertowego projektu "Wild Man Dance Suite". Równie pasjonujące są na "Vandze" chwile, w której cymbały i perkusja cofają się do drugiego planu, a głównym towarzyszem charakterystycznego głosu wokalisty staje się głębokie, surowe brzmienie kontrabasu Michała Jarosa - jak chociażby w końcowych fragmentach 'Słodkiej" czy "Nie płacz Ewka". 

Karnas klasykę polskiego rocka odczytał po swojemu: odzierając ją z elektronicznego sztafażu pozostawił więcej przestrzeni dla wokalnej ekspresji, nasycającej znany chyba każdemu z czytających te słowa tekst emocjami, których nie sposób znaleźć w kanonicznym wykonaniu Markowskiego. Ekspresja ta przyjmuje często również inne, mniej oczywiste formy bezsprzecznie dowodząc, że Karnas to wokalista, któremu w kategorii improwizacyjnej wyobraźni w Polsce dorównać może naprawdę bardzo niewielu, a "Vanga" to płyta, której nie tylko po prostu dobrze się słucha.

Michal Wroblewski Trio – City Album (2014)

Michał Wróblewski Trio

Michał Wróblewski - piano
Michał Jaros - double bass
Paweł Dobrowolski - drums

City Album

ELLITE 5903111529024




By Adam Baruch

This is the third album by the young and very gifted Polish Jazz pianist/composer Michal Wroblewski, which sees him returning to the piano trio format with bassist Michal Jaros and drummer Pawel Dobrowolski. The album presents eight original compositions, all but one by Wroblewski, with the exception being a piece based on the music by Frederic Chopin and arranged by Wroblewski. The music was recorded (same as his debut album) at the now legendary Studio Tokarnia, with Jan Smoczynski doing his usual sound magic with spectacular results.

The music, as stated by Wroblewski, was influenced by playing a concert tour in 2013 with American superstar trumpeter Terence Blanchard, but the experience influenced also the trio's approach to music, which became much more focused and intense. As a result this album is remarkably stronger and vital than the two earlier efforts, even though those two were already first class achievements, and places Wroblewski just a notch higher on his way to fame and fortune. His compositions, as usual, combine the right amount of melodic substance with lyrical contents and harmonic beauty, very much like many Jazz standards do. Listening to this album is a true delight from start to finish, with time passing by in a breeze.

Of course a piano trio is only as strong as all three musicians involved and Wroblewski is extremely lucky to find two partners who fulfill him completely, match his sensibilities, his virtuosity and his elegance. This piano trio is a classic example of what a piano trio should sound like in the mainstream Jazz milieu. Yes, this music does not make any groundbreaking discoveries as far as Jazz is concerned, but we need to keep the legacy alive and this trio is just perfect in that capacity.

It is difficult to predict how Wroblewski's career will develop from this point on, but he certainly already made his mark both as a pianist and a composer. I am certainly keeping my eye, or rather ear, on his moves, as he managed to impress me for the third time in a row. Jazz fans who love the piano trio format will have a field day with this one. Well done indeed!

Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer - Doktor Filozofii (2014)

Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer

Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer - guitar
Jan Smoczyński - piano
Michał Jaros - double bass
Hubert Zemler - drums

Doktor Filozofii (2014)




By Maciej Nowotny

Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer managed to surprise me and that is always a good sign as far as jazz record is concerned. Up to this moment I have known him mainly from his playing in a group called Jazzpospolita, arguably one of very few Polish successful enterprises on the field of new/acid jazz. His mellow tone on guitar fit perfectly into moody ambient of Jazzpospolita's electronically propelled dancing rhythms. But to be honest it was all about team effort as on "Almost Splendid" (2010) as recent "Impulse" (2012). And it did not cross my mind that this guitarist may have any future at all in world of jazz. But I was clearly wrong because first this record is 100% jazz and second it introduces Michał as a distinctive musical personality aspiring to be put among first ranks of our jazz guitarists.

What is so special about this album that changed my view on him so thoroughly? Knowing me you could expect that he did something crazy, unexpected, innovatory or perhaps revolutionary? Nothing of that sort. On contrary "Doktor Filozofii" is all about old good jazz of Blue Note era. Specifically, as he himself admits, about legendary guitarist Grant Green. To reconstruct his legendary bluesy tone Michał went not only on extensive studies on music of his hero but also went 100% analog during recording session. The outcome of all this effort is simply awesome! The tone is deep, warm as the ocean washing the shores of southern islands and bluesy as the beautiful lady lost in the night blackness. Oh God! How this sound rocks and rolls!

But "it would be nothing" without original compositions all written by Michał which though clearly rooted in bop nevertheless sound entirely fresh. One must be totally astonished by the scale of melody making talent as displayed in these compositions by Przerwa-Tetmajer. I must confess that I already listened to this record more than twenty times and I am still far from being fed up or bored. It is one vamp tune after another but the reason why you not find yourself tired with them as on many all-hit records is that they are part of some bigger scheme like a story or tale. 

Two more things should be highlighted before this text ends. First, astonishing work as delivered by rhythm section. Composed of experienced pianist Jan Smoczyński and double bassist Michał Jaros plus young Hubert Zemler they miraculously managed  to keep the music within limits of vintage jazz and blues while occasionally saturating it with modern unpredictability. Last but not least the quality of recording is simply outstanding which is not surprise when we take into account that it was done in having already cult status "Tokarnia" studio (BTW its co-owner is Jan Smoczynski himself). All in all this is definitely a potential gem recording especially for all those who (like I do!) look onto Blue Note catalogue as modern equivalent of jazz Holy Bible.

Michal Wroblewski – Jazz I Orkiestra (2013) ****

Michal Wroblewski - piano, composer
Maciej Obara - saxophone
Michal Jaros - bass
Michal Miskiewicz - drums
Pawel Dobrowolski - drums

ELITE 5903111529017




By Adam Baruch

Following his debut recording with his piano trio, released a year earlier, Polish Jazz pianist / composer Michal Wroblewski returns with a new and much bolder project involving a Jazz quartet playing with a symphony orchestra. The album includes eight compositions, all originals composed and arranged by Wroblewski. Seven of the compositions were recorded by a quartet comprising of Wroblewski, saxophonist Maciej Obara, bassist Michal Jaros and drummer Michal Miskiewicz and accompanied by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice conducted by Szymon Bywalec. The eighth track was recorded live at the Polish Radio Three, without Obara and with drummer Pawel Dobrowolski replacing Miskiewicz and the Gorzow (Wroblewski's home town) Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Krzysztof Switalski.

The amalgam of Jazz and contemporary Classical music is quite a common phenomenon on the Polish Jazz scene, definitely more so than anywhere else in the entire world. There are many reasons contributing to this reality: the classical music education that many young musicians are exposed to during their studies, the openness of classical orchestras and their conductors to cooperate with Jazz musicians, the "higher" status of Classical music, which challenges Jazz musician to prove they can embrace the format and improve their standing in the music community and many others. Regardless of the motivation behind them, such projects are very popular and often result in excellent achievements.

This particular project presents the "easier" side of the Jazz-Classical Fusion, with a series of beautifully melodic pieces, excellently performed by the quartet and with the orchestra staying mostly in the background, playing the "second fiddle" (pun intended). One can speculate that this music would have sounded great without the orchestra being present; therefore the role of the orchestration seems a priori to be relatively limited. This is not to say that the overall result suffers from the orchestral arrangements, but on the other hand their contribution remains relatively restricted with little synthesis between the two elements, except perhaps for the last piece on the album, which is the most successful on that front.

The individual contributions by the players are all splendid, especially those by Obara, who exhibits a truly magical touch and heartbreakingly beautiful, soulful sound of his alto saxophone. Wroblewski plays also very well, with a both elegant, delicate solos and lively up tempo arpeggios, but concentrating mostly on stating the melodies. The rhythm section drives the music steadily and provides the basis, which holds the music together. Overall the album is great fun to listen to and is accessible to a large audience, including music lovers with little Jazz familiarity or those listening mostly to Classical music.

Szymon Makohin – Tryin' Times (2012)

Szymon Makohin - vocals
Michal Tokaj - piano
Radek Nowicki - saxophone
Michal Jaros - bass
Sebastian Frankiewicz - drums

MUZA 1449




By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by Polish Jazz vocalist Szymon Makohin, which was recorded in 2008 and waited for four years to finally see the light of day. It presents Makohin performing eleven Pop / Blues / Soul standards, beautifully arranged by pianist Michal Tokaj, who leads the excellent quartet accompanying the singer, which also includes saxophonist Radek Nowicki, bassist Michal Jaros and drummer Sebastian Frankiewicz. On two of the tracks Makohin performs duets with female singers, the incredible Aga Zaryan and Irena Kijewska.

It seems that most Polish Jazz (and not only Jazz) vocalists consistently repeat the fatal mistake of trying to sing in English, which unfortunately in most cases, including this one, simply does not work. It becomes especially apparent in the duet with Zaryan, where the singer's accent and phrasing contrasts with those of Zaryan, who is one of the very few Polish vocalists able to sing properly in English. Therefore, regardless of how good this album is on the instrumental level, the vocals are a priori an obstacle. Makohin has a very nice tone and obvious vocal talents, but his battle is lost the minute he opens his mouth. It's a pity he didn't follow in the steps of other Polish vocalists, like Grzegorz Karnas for example.

The selection of the material is also quite problematic, as all the songs have a strong common bond of sounding "sweet", with very little diversity, and none of them are challenging vocally. All these songs were performed brilliantly by their original authors, and this slightly Jazzed up version has very little added value. The only case of a Jazz standard present here is more a showcase of a brilliant bass accompaniment than vocal ability.

Of course Tokaj and the quartet play spotlessly and brilliantly, as always. The instrumental work keeps this album alive and kicking, which in retrospect is a pity, since this could have been such a great album under different circumstances.

However, considering this is a debut album, it should not be judged too severely; there is a lot of potential here and Makohin has a lot to offer, so I'm looking forward to hear his next album, hopefully in Polish this time. I certainly wish him all the best and keep my fingers crossed.

Grzegorz Karnas – Karnas (2011)

Grzegorz Karnas - vocals
Michal Tokaj - piano
Adam Oles - cello
Michal Jaros - bass
Sebastian Frankiewicz - drums

HEVHETIA 0050




By Adam Baruch

This is the fourth album by Polish Jazz vocalist / composer / arranger Grzegorz Karnas, one of the most unique and talented representatives of the young generation of the local Jazz scene. Separated by five years from its predecessor "Ballady Na Koniec Swiata", this album is significantly different from his earlier work and presents several novelties as far as his recording career is concerned, for example the inclusion of songs not composed by him, usage of lyrics in several different languages, a new instrumental concept, etc. The singer is accompanied by a splendid quartet, which features pianist Michal Tokaj, cellist Adam Oles, bassist Michal Jaros and drummer Sebastian Frankiewicz. Except for the bassist the other three musicians are long time collaborators on his earlier recordings. The presence of a bassist allows Oles to play his cello more in the way it was originally intended, as opposed to the earlier recordings, where it was mostly playing the bass parts.

The album comprises of no less than nineteen tracks, some quite short (under a minute) and other fully developed and lasting around seven minutes. One song (Laurie Anderson's "Langue D'Amour") appears four times in different incarnations and two other songs are reprised. Karnas composed or co-composed six of the pieces, four other pieces are credited to the band accompanying him, one is an instrumental composed by Tokaj and three are songs from the canonic Rock repertoire like Sting's "Roxanne", Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow" and the a.m. song by Laurie Anderson.

It is immediately obvious that this is Karnas' most ambitious album to date. The complexity and versatility of the material is overwhelming and music moving from one theme to another creates a charming flow, which makes the listener whish for it never to stop. Instrumentally this album, with Tokaj taking over the role of the main soloist, is finally perfect and Tokaj's beautiful tango is the best original piece of music on the album. Oles finally shows what he's made of and plays some amazing sounds. The vocal performances are also excellent, obviously more mature and relaxed than ever before. This time Karnas is pretty minimalistic, not trying to overemphasize his part and treating the entire project as a whole rather than another solo album. The group effort is definitely what makes this album tick so wonderfully and takes it a few notches up the scale.

Overall this is a truly amazing vocal Jazz album, which plainly stands out as an artistic achievement, leaving most other albums of its kind way behind. Suffice to listen to the vocalist's interpretations of the three well known songs, in order to appreciate his originality. Add to this the strength of his original material and Karnas emerges as an artist worth following and already leaving his mark on the contemporary scene, with very few contenders. An absolute must!

Michał Wróblewski Trio – I Remember (2011)

Michał Wróblewski Trio

Michał Wróblewski - piano
Michał Jaros - bass
Michał Bryndal - drums

I Remember (2011)




By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by the young Polish Jazz pianist / composer Michal Wroblewski, recorded with his trio with bassist Michal Jaros and drummers Michal Bryndal and Wojciech Romanowski. The first version of this album was recorded by the trio with Bryndal and released as a promo. This, the final version of the album adds four more tracks recorded by the trio with Romanowski. Since both trios recorded the title track, the album's nine tracks are in fact only eight distinct compositions, of which five were composed by Wroblewski, one by Jaros, one is an interpretation of a John Coltrane tune and the title track is a contemporary house composition, which proves that Wroblewski listens to other music than Jazz as well. Both trio sessions were recorded at the legendary Studio Tokarnia, with Jan Smoczynski behind the knobs, which is always a guarantee of superb sonic quality.

The Polish Jazz scene seems to be an endless source of excellent piano players over the years, and the contemporary scene, which hosts both the veterans, the middle aged and the young pianist is simply exploding with talent and activity. Wroblewski is certainly one of the interesting newcomers, who still have to pay the dues and put forward their accomplishments before achieving an honorary position on the pedestal reserved for the Polish Jazz piano giants. Judging by this recording he's certainly on the right track, as the music presented on this album is quite excellent, both from the point of view of the performance and the compositions. Both trios play elegantly and display individual skills as well as an ensemble spirit, carefully listening to each other. The compositions present a nice balance between the melodic themes, rhythmic progressions and harmonic structures, which are ideal vehicles for the improvised passages. There is a frequent usage of Classical quotes and neo-romantic mannerisms, which are probably mostly sub-conscious and quite understandable considering the pianist's age.

The overall level of performance is quite excellent, turning this album into an ideal type of piano trio experience, which many Jazz connoisseurs greatly enjoy. The album could have been slightly longer and more adventurous musically, but than again many listeners will probably wish to change absolutely nothing. One can only hope that future recordings by Wroblewski will show him striving to achieve an individual voice and unique style, which will surely come to fruition as he gets older and more experienced. Keeping things in the right perspective, this is definitely a most impressive debut, exposing a talent to be watched. This album is highly recommended to piano trio enthusiasts, but basically every Jazz lover should be able to deeply enjoy this music. Great stuff!

Radek Nowicki Quartet - Live (Jazz Forum, 2007)

Radek Nowicki Quartet 

Radek Nowicki - soprano saxophone
Michał Tokaj - piano
Michał Jaros - double bass
Michał Miśkiewicz - drums

Live (Jazz Forum, 2007)

On releasing his CD, Nowicki was aged thirty-one—exactly the same age as Coltrane at the time of his first original album. A pure coincidence and, of course, of no particular significance, and yet it seems like a good omen. After all, if this somewhat accidental record is so good, then what might we expect from those that are meticulously planned... In any case, this is a very mature debut, not only in respect to his performance skills […] and compositional talent. We should also emphasise Nowicki’s general approach to music, his way of thinking and treating jazz […]. Nowicki’s compositions lead to open structures. Aerial and Moonrose are characterised by an aesthetically effective, rough-edged lyricism […] 

By Adam Poprawa, Odra



Track listing:
1. Aerial (Radek Nowicki) 13:14
2. Footprints (Wayne Shorter) 15:26
3. Moonrose (Radek Nowicki) 11:36
4. ESP (Wayne Shorter) 09:28

Grzegorz Karnas - Karnas (Hevhethia, 2011)

Grzegorz Karnas - vocal, voices

Michał Tokaj - piano
Adam Oleś - cello
Michał Jaros - bass
Sebastian Frankiewicz – drums

Guests:
Edi Sanchez – bass (19)
Piotr Wyleżoł – piano (19)
Marek Podkowa – tenor sax (19)
Jean Paul Garces – percussion (19)

• Karnas (Hevhethia, 2011)

After years of hearing close to nothing interesting from Polish male jazz singers I must admit that recently I am discovering some interesting projects from them at last! One of the albums I am waiting most impatiently for in Polish jazz is one planned by Oleś Brothers and vocalist Jorgos Skolias (check this link for more info) for Tzadik Records. But this one, released just couple of days ago by Hevhetia, Slovak record label, though unexpected brings pleasant surprise indeed. All due to vocalist Grzegorz Karnas who managed to record album intriguing, forward-thinking and challenging.

Grzegorz Karnas, born in 1972, graduated from well-known Jazz Faculty at Katowice Music Academy and has already recorded three albums starting in 2000 with "Reinkarnasja" for Not Two followed by "Dreams" in 2004 and "Ballads For The End Of The World" in 2006 issued by his own Ninth Floor Production. Honestly I cannot say much about his previous CDs since I simply got no opportunity to listen to them. But basing on this album I find his voice mature, his conceptions daring, his taste refined. He strives to imitate nobody, he is searching for his own sound and he succeeds in this not least through excellent choice of his fellow-workers. Mikołaj Tokaj is one of best pianist in Poland and permanent partner of allegedly the best Polish female jazz singer Aga Zaryan (check her "Looking Walking Being" and "A Book Of Luminous Things"). But Adam Oleś on cello, Michał Jaros on bass (very good on recent debut disc "I Remember" by pianist Michał Wróblewski) or Sebastian Frankiewicz (very active and present on recent albums by Przemek Strączek, Dominik Bukowski, Joanna Gajda or very interesting "Hendrix Piano" by Artur Dutkiewicz) are equally good support. 

Going back to music, this is nothing close to typical jazz singing, though we find here marvelous version of Sting immortal cover "Roxanne" but otherwise it is laborious search for what is "new land" in jazz singing. Although sometimes irritant (as any avantarde effort usually are), I do not want to hide it, sometimes it is simply breathtakingly beautiful like on "Fin d'ete" but always free in spirit and thus earning my respect. Worth-checking!

Check tune "Spytaj milicjanta" (tranls. Ask a policeman) from this album: 

Author of text: Maciej Nowotny

http://kochamjazz.blox.pl/html

Michał Wroblewski Trio - I Remember (2011)

I like debut recordings since they are like green apples: sour, hard-to-bite but full of fresh flavors difficult to find in  ripe ones. So what flavors are present in this standard cool jazz trio? Surprisingly varied proving that Wróblewski succesfully assimilated all major influences in modern jazz piano in persons of Hancock, Jarrett or Mehldau. What distinguish him among so many young pianists (he is 27 years old) graduating every year from Katowice Music Acadamy is his compositional talent: tunes are varied showing great span of his musical interests from traditional stride piano, bop and cool jazz styles to Monkish broken rhythms, Polish folk as well as free jazz (like in last tune on this album titled "Open Take"). One must be under impression at ease with which he merges all these influences, transforms them and accordingly sings his own, original song. 

In this journey Michał Wróblewski is accompanied by Michał Jaros whose line is impeccable timely and Michał Bryndal who is playing with excellent Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet ("Smells Like Tape Spirit") but up-to-this point was not associated by me with mainstream jazz. But they never fail Wróblewski meanderings accross vast tradition of jazz piano and sound as if playing together already for a long time.  

Summarizing, it is definitely strong debut by Michał Wróblewski (deservedly rated five stars by Ryszard Borowski from Jazz Forum magazine). But question remains open how even such talented pianist may reach audience in country where in one generation so gifted pianists like Leszek Możdżer, Marcin Wasilewski, Przemysław Raminiak, Piotr Wyleżoł, Sławek Jaskułke or Mateusz Kołakowski are active? In a view of so strong competition even a very promising debut like "I Remember"  may be too little to single himself out among such a magnificent pack. I wish Wróblewski to remain persistent (and even more daring...) going his own way since by this record he proved to have at least same talent and musicality as his already more famous predecessors...

Check following link for music from this album.

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