Magda Kuraś Quintet - "Tryptyk Biłgorajski"

Magda Kuraś Quintet 

Magda Kuraś – Wokal
Maciej Świniarski – Głos, burza, tamburyn
Ziemowit Klimek – kontrabas, głos
Kuba Krzanowski – perkusja, głos
Dominik Kisiel – piano, głos

Tytuł płyty: "Tryptyk Biłgorajski" 

Wydawnictwo: Alpaka Records (2023)

Autor tekstu: Mateusz Chorążewicz

Na pierwszy rzut oka, "Tryptyk Biłgorajski" Magdy Kuraś Quintet może wydawać się kolejnym wpisem w niekończącej się serii jazzowych albumów z folklorycznym zabarwieniem. Jednak już po pierwszych taktach staje się jasne, że debiutancka płyta kwintetu Kuraś ma w sobie coś więcej.

Muzyczne dziedzictwo południowo-wschodniej Polski jest tu nie tylko tłem, ale fundamentem dla całego projektu, co nadaje tej pracy głęboki, osobisty charakter. Kompozycje, oparte na tekstach ludowych pieśni, są przeplatane intymnymi recytacjami, które dodatkowo wzbogacają emocjonalny kontekst albumu.

Nie można jednak mówić, że "Tryptyk Biłgorajski" wnosi wiele nowości do gatunku; to raczej umiejętne przetworzenie i adaptacja tradycji. Zdecydowanie dominują tu elementy folkowe, a jazz, choć obecny, ustępuje pierwszeństwa bardziej ludowym brzmieniom. To, co jednak fascynuje i przyciąga, to sposób, w jaki Kuraś i jej zespół balansują na granicy tych dwóch światów. Bardzo interesujące (choć niespecjalnie skomplikowane) struktury harmoniczne świadczą o głębokim zrozumieniu i szacunku do obu gatunków.

Album ma charakter kolektywny, co widać w sposobie, w jaki muzyka jest wykonywana — każdy z muzyków przyczynia się do całości, nie dominując, ale wspierając opowieść. Można by zarzucić, że taka forma ogranicza przestrzeń dla indywidualnych popisów, ale w kontekście tego albumu jest to zdecydowanie zaleta, a nie wada.

Mimo inflacji folkowych albumów jazzowych na rynku, "Tryptyk Biłgorajski" zdołał przyciągnąć moją uwagę. Może nie przez nowatorstwo, ale przez szczerość i emocjonalne zaangażowanie, z jakim Magda Kuraś przedstawia swoją muzyczną wizję. To uczciwa i piękna celebracja jej muzycznych korzeni, która zasługuje na wysłuchanie.

Immortal Onion - XD (Experience Design) (2020)

Immortal Onion

Tomir Śpiołek - piano, synth
Ziemowit Klimek - moog, bass
Wojciech Warmijak - drums

XD (Experience Design)

U KNOW ME 079




By Adam Baruch

This is the third album by the Polish trio Immortal Onion comprising of keyboardist Tomir Śpiołek, bassist and moog player Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojciech Warmijak. The album presents eight tracks with the compositions uncredited (as usual) and assumed to be co-created by the trio members. The album was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy Gruszecki and offers the usual wonderful sound quality.

The music follows closely the pattern initiated by the two earlier albums, creating an amalgam of instrumental Prog and Fusion, based on melodic sketches which are expanded into lengthy instrumental improvisations by the trio members. The sound and overall aura of this album is more electric, although the acoustic piano still dominates the proceedings.

The music is interesting and offers surprising arrangements, sudden tempi changes, volume dynamics, odd meters and excellent soling, which should keep the listener captivated, but all this starts to sound repetitive after a while and it is difficult to see where, if at all, it is going. There is no doubt that the trio managed to create a unique niche as far as their sound and approach are concerned, but they need to find some new paths to explore in their future recordings, since the first three albums are way to similar to each other and show no real progress.

Having said that, this album is still a solid listening experience for listeners who love Symphonic Prog and melodic Fusion, beautifully performed and offering a superb sound, which is more than most Prog/Fusion albums are able to offer these days.

Immortal Onion – Ocelot Of Salvation. Live In Sopot (2019)

Immortal Onion

Tomir Śpiołek - piano, electric piano
Ziemowit Klimek - bass, moog
Wojciech Warmijak - drums

Ocelot Of Salvation. Live In Sopot

PRIVATE EDITION


By Adam Baruch

This is the second album by the young Polish Jazz piano trio called Immortal Onion, which consists of pianist Tomir Śpiołek, bassist Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojciech Warmijak. The album was recorded live and presents the same eight compositions that appeared on the debut album and one bonus composition, which was released as a single before the debut. All the music is uncredited and is therefore assumed to be co-composed by all three musicians.

These live renditions of the material from the debut album, which was recorded more than a year before this album was recorded; are basically quite similar to the original and therefore one can wander if they justify another release, but that is of course up to the musicians. The instrumentation on this album is expanded by the use of electric piano in addition to the acoustic piano and the use of Moog by the bassist, in addition to acoustic and electric basses, which basically means that the clean, purely acoustic sound of the debut was extended to include electronics, which more or less reflects the general trend among the new generation of young Jazz players these days.

The music is already discussed in my review of the debut and there is not much I can add except of course that the Fusion and even Prog undercurrents of the music are even stronger and more explicit here. Overall this is quite unique music, which surely appeals to the younger generation of Jazz/Fusion listeners, and which offers ambitious music that easily defends its qualities in the live version, and builds up interest in new material and next album by the group. Definitely worth investigating!

Immortal Onion – Ocelot Of Salvation (2017)

Immortal Onion

Tomir Śpiołek - piano
Ziemowit Klimek - bass
Wojciech Warmijak - drums

Ocelot Of Salvation

REQUIEM 148




By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz piano trio called Immortal Onion, which comprises of pianist Tomir Śpiołek, bassist Ziemowit Klimek and drummer Wojciech Warmijak. The album presents eight original compositions, which are not credited on the album's artwork.

The music is quite original and surprising, stylistically resembling the early work by the Progressive Rock legends Emerson, Lake & Palmer, i.e. Classically influenced melodic themes featuring improvisation, odd meters and a basic Rocky attitude, emphasized by the rhythm section (electric bass and energetic drums work). But the music is diverse and offers a very interesting and pleasurable listening experience. Although only marginally Jazz related, this music, like most Progressive Rock and Jazz-Rock Fusion is also of interest to most Jazz enthusiasts.

Although this album is based on the rich Progressive Rock legacy and other influences, it is not an attempt to copy or repeat these patterns but rather a courageous effort to innovate and develop. As such is deserves praise and attention as well as my worm recommendation to music lovers to seek out this little gem and give it a serious listen. Considering the young age of these musicians, one can only hope for more great music they will hopefully offer us in the future.

Overall this is an excellent debut offer which deserves to be heard. Kudos to the superb Polish label Requiem Records for consistently supporting music, which does not easily fit into established categories and supporting experimentation.