Kuba Cichocki – "Flowing Circles"

Kuba Cichocki 

Kuba Cichocki - Fortepian
Brandon Seabrook - Gitara
Lucas Pino - Saksofon
Bogna Kicińska - Wokal
Edward Perez - Kontrabas
Colin Stranahan - Perkusja
Patrick Breiner - Saksofon
Rogerio Boccato - Perkusjonalia
Rose Ellis - Wokal

Kwartet smyczkowy:
Sana Nagano
Leonor Falcòn
Benjamin von Gutzeit
Brian Sanders

Tytuł płyty: "Flowing Circles"

Wydawca: Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records (2023)

Tekst: Mateusz Chorążewicz

Album "Flowing Circles" autorstwa Kuby Cichockiego, wydanego przez Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, to dzieło złożone i wielowymiarowe, które z pewnością zasługuje na szczegółową analizę. Zanurzając się w ten muzyczny świat, szybko zauważamy, jak umiejętnie Cichocki łączy skomplikowane, wielowarstwowe kompozycje z momentami improwizacji, tworząc unikalną narrację muzyczną.

Właściwie cały album jest mieszanką skomponowanych i improwizowanych sekwencji, które nie tylko wtapiają się w siebie, ale czasami istnieją równolegle, tworząc fascynującą strukturę muzyczną. Takie podejście do kompozycji wskazuje na głębokie zrozumienie jazzowej tradycji oraz zdolność do jej nowatorskiego rozwijania. Cichocki, mieszkając na co dzień w Nowym Jorku i zapraszając do współpracy muzyków z tego miasta, czerpie pełnymi garściami z energetycznej sceny Nowego Jorku, co słychać w każdej kompozycji na płycie.

W czasie odsłuchu niekiedy przypominały mi się utwory Rafała Sarneckiego – podobnie jak u niego, tak też na „Flowing Circles”, kompozycje są dość złożone i należy się w 100% skupić na muzyce, aby niczego nie przegapić. Momentami można odnieść nawet wrażenie, że utwory Cichockiego są trochę przeintelektualizowane. Nie sądzę jednak, aby był to minus – płyta ta niejako wymusza na słuchaczu zaangażowanie w odbiór.

Kuba Cichocki szczególnie znany jest ze współpracy z gitarzystą Brandonem Seabrookiem. Czytając wywiady Cichockiego odnosi się wrażenie, że tych dwóch artystów łączy szczególna więź muzyczna. W takich sytuacjach niekiedy słychać na nagraniach, że część składu rozumie się wzajemnie dużo lepiej niż z pozostałymi członkami zespołu. Na „Flowing Circles” absolutnie jest to niezauważalne – właściwie żaden element tej muzycznej układanki nie góruje nad pozostałymi.

Obecność kwartetu smyczkowego oraz innych znakomitych muzyków, takich jak Lucas Pino na saksofonie czy Rogerio Boccato na perkusjonaliach, wzbogaca teksturę albumu, nadając mu dodatkową głębię. Warto zwrócić uwagę na bogactwo użytych instrumentów oraz sposób, w jaki są one eksplorowane. Od delikatnych smyczków po energetyczne uderzenia perkusyjne, każdy element ma swoje miejsce i znaczenie, co sprawia, że "Flowing Circles" jest dziełem kompleksowym i wielowarstwowym.

Podsumowując, "Flowing Circles" Kuby Cichockiego to album, który zmusza do refleksji i głębokiego zanurzenia w dźwięki. Jest to praca wymagająca od słuchacza zaangażowania, lecz równocześnie oferująca bogate, satysfakcjonujące doznania muzyczne. Cichocki pokazuje także, że jego muzyczna ewolucja wciąż trwa. Odstępując od bardziej awangardowych eksploracji swoich wcześniejszych prac, na "Flowing Circles" skupia się na bardziej dostępnych, ale równie wyrafinowanych kompozycjach, które balansują na granicy intelektualnej głębi i emocjonalnego oddziaływania.

Rafał Sarnecki – Climbing Trees (2018)

Rafał Sarnecki

Rafał Sarnecki - guitar
Bogna Kicińska - voice
Lucas Pino - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Glenn Zaleski - piano
Rick Rosato - bass
Colin Stranahan - drums

Climbing Trees


OUTSIDE IN MUSIC 1804

By Adam Baruch

This is the fourth album by Polish (resident in NY) guitarist/composer Rafał Sarnecki and the second album recorded with the same sextet, which includes vocalist Bogna Kicińska, saxophonist Lucas Pino, pianist Glenn Zaleski, bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Colin Stranahan. The album presents ten original compositions, all composed by Sarnecki.

The music is a continuation of the path paved by this album's predecessor "Cat`s Dream", which amalgamates a plethora of different influences, including modern mainstream Jazz, but also adding World Music influences and contemporary Classical approach. This album is significantly more open and Freely Improvised than his previous recordings, and as such is noticeably more difficult and complex than anything he recorded earlier on.

All of the sextet members contribute significantly towards the overall result, each in his special way. Kicinska's vocalese parts are a highlight of the music and she manages to handle the complex and neck breaking parts with stunning ease and elegance. Zaleski lays down the harmonic layers and plays splendid solos, Pino is the calm and cool cat, who adds almost romantic elements, before his improvisations wander into the Free vicinity. The rhythm section handles the tricky tempi and constantly changing beat with flair and obvious dedication and finesse.

Sarnecki limits his guitar performances to the same level of presence as the rest of the band, definitely not dominating the music with his guitar parts, which are just one more voice of the sextet's overall output. He is obviously a very gifted instrumentalist, but his role on this album concentrates on the compositional level, leadership of the sextet and production.

Overall this is a strong, mature statement, which takes Sarnecki one step further towards his own voice as a composer and instrumentalist, with the music being certainly more ambitious and demanding. Some listeners might need several listening sessions before penetrating the depth of this music, but this ambitious music definitely deserves to be heard and admired. Well done!

Kuba Cichocki's A.L.E. – Audubon Lab Experiment (2016)

Kuba Cichocki's A.L.E.

Kuba Cichocki - rhodes, keyboards, vocals
Dylan Kaminkow - bass, vocals
Allen Branch - drums, vocals
Francis Benitez - percussion, vocals
Bogna Kicińska - vocals




Audubon Lab Experiment

PRIVATE EDOTION

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by Polish (resident in NY) Jazz keyboardist/composer Kuba Cichocki, recorded with his ensemble called Audubon Lab Experiment, which also includes bassist Dylan Kaminkow, drummer Allen Branch and percussionist Francis Benitez. Vocalist Bogna Kicińska (another Polish NY resident) guests on one track. The album presents five original compositions, all by Cichocki.

The music is a typical Jazz-Rock Fusion, which was popular in the early 1970s and closely follows the pattern of Chick Corea's early albums with Return To Forever or Herbie Hancock's albums of that period. The music is very melodic and offers a Funk groove, which makes it a very pleasant listening experience, although at the same time invoking a strong déjà vu feeling.

The fact that there is only one instrument capable of soloing makes the overall experience a bit trying, but on the other hand the sound of the Rhodes is irresistible and people who have profound nostalgia to that kind of music will definitely enjoy it. The rhythm section does a great job; the bass keeps the Funky feeling up quite brilliantly, and performs a few nice solo parts, and the two percussionists add a polyrhythmic background, which also keeps the music bubbling.

Overall this is a superb Funky/Fusion album, which is a great fun to listen to and perhaps even to dance to. Nothing innovative, au contraire, a strong nostalgic trip to the time when music was based on the "no bullshit" approach. Funky/Fusion fans will have a field day with this, as nobody makes music like this today. Unadulterated Fun(k)!

Bogna Kicinska – The Maze (2014)

Bogna Kicińska

Bogna Kicińska - vocals
Mateusz Smoczyński - violin
Kuba Cichocki - piano
and others

The Maze

SURCA 002



By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by the Polish (resident in NY) Jazz vocalist Bogna Kicinska, recorded with a core quartet comprised of violinist Mateusz Smoczynski, pianist Kuba Cichocki, bassist Edward Perez and drummer Colin Stranahan. Electric bass player John Benitez plays on two tracks replacing the regular bassist, and a string quartet is utilized on two other tracks. The album includes nine tracks, five of which are originals by Kicinska (only one of those includes lyrics) and the remaining four are standards.

I approach albums by Polish vocalists with an almost pathological fear of the dreaded "English vocals sung by non-native English speakers" syndrome, which for many years time after time consistently proves to be a failure, sometimes of catastrophic proportions. The exceptions are few and far between, and luckily this album manages to slip into the class of exceptions, which does not mean that the English vocals work – they simply don't. But there is enough merit on this album to make it interesting and the English vocals are after all the less significant ingredient of the entire package.

What does work wonderfully is the fact that Kicinska uses her vocals as an instrument, singing scat and vocalese, which combined with the excellent instrumental backing, works out wonders. She emerges as a very interesting composer and arranger, with her original compositions being the highlight of this album musically and her arrangements of the standards being very original, non-trivial and intricate. She combines wonderfully her Polish roots by using folkloristic themes and mixing them with other elements, most importantly Jazz improvisation. With the violin behind her, these originals bring fond recollections of the work done by Michal Urbaniak and Urszula Dudziak four decades earlier. Considering the fact that four of her five original compositions do not involve lyrics at all and concentrate on vocal explorations is very promising and hopefully shows the way towards the future.

The two Polish players on this album: Smoczynski, who is a violin virtuoso and swings like hell and Cichocki, who is a delicate poetic player yet also swings magnificently, both support the vocalist intelligently and elegantly. The rhythm section is accommodating and handles the sometimes complex tempi changes well, but remains in the background without leaving a very strong impression.

Overall this is a very promising debut, full of potential and holding many promising developments in the future. Just skip the lyrics (and the standards) next time and you will get far girl. Thanks for the thrills and keep doing your thing!

Rafal Sarnecki – Cat's Dream (2014)

Rafał Sarnecki 

Rafał Sarnecki - guitar
Lucas Pino - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
Bogna Kicińska - voice
Glenn Zaleski - piano
Rick Rosato - bass
Colin Stranahan - drums

Cat's Dream


BJU 045

By Adam Baruch

This is the third album by the Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Rafal Sarnecki, who currently lives in NY. It presents eight original compositions, all by Sarnecki, which are performed by a sextet led by him, which also includes vocalist Bogna Kicinska, saxophonist Lucas Pino, pianist Glenn Zaleski, bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Colin Stranahan. One of the tunes uses lyrics by the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

The music is a beautiful blend of many influences, based on the Jazz tradition but incorporating various other influences, like World Music, Fusion, Progressive Rock and Contemporary Classical, creating a unique universe of sound. The compositions are very diverse and present a wide vista of Sarnecki's inventions; also distinctly melodic, they are quite complex with frequent tempi changes and intertwined melodic themes, which keep developing, often unexpectedly. In fact this music requires quite an attentive listening in order to be properly comprehended. It is truly refreshing to hear such ambitious music being made today.

The individual performances are all excellent and the album is above all an ensemble effort. But the talents of all the players are plainly exposed. Kicinska sings wordless vocalese (except for one case), using her voice as an instrument, which blends well with other instruments in the ensemble. Her presence is a stimulating factor, which adds to the overall success of this album. Pino plays some excellent solos throughout, which are fluent and expressive. Zaleski and the rhythm section keep the music moving ahead smoothly and elegantly, exactly as needed, obviously keeping their ears open and handling the tricky parts with ease and elegance. I'd love to hear them in a piano trio format. And of course Sarnecki and his guitar are, as always, the cherry on the cake. I've always liked his tone and phrasing, but his playing on this album is definitely stronger than ever.

Overall this is an ambitious effort, splendidly performed and beautifully recorded, adding up to an album of true artistic value, so rare these days. Sarnecki shows a distinctive process of growing up and developing his talents, one of which is surrounding himself with great musicians. This is definitely one of the most interesting recordings released so far in 2014 and I hope it will be received open-mindedly both by the audiences and the critics, which for projects like these is, sadly, far from being self-understandable. This is the kind of aesthetic approach I'd personally love to hear in many other recordings, especially those originating in the US, but in the case of Sarnecki he simply managed to maintain his European qualities unblemished. Brilliant stuff!