Piotr Schmidt - trąbka Grzech Piotrowski - saksofon Mimo Cinelu - instr. perkusyjne Paweł Tomaszewski - fortepian Michał Barański - kontrabas Sebastian Kuchczyński - perkusja
Album: "Komeda's Songs Without Words"
Wydawca: SJ Records (2026)
Tekst: Piotr Banasiak
Cytując Pana Premiera: Pan Piotr Schmidt – wiadomo – postać znana. Dorobek już pokaźny, w jednych budzący podziw i szacunek, w innych – nieco odmienne uczucia.
From Sound to Silence jest płytą koncertową, ale nie daje się opisać wyłącznie językiem nagrania. To zapis projektu, którego sens ujawnia się najpełniej w doświadczeniu na żywo – w relacji z przestrzenią i własną percepcją. Dlatego pisząc o tej płycie, nie sposób pominąć koncertu jako punktu wyjścia. To właśnie on pozwala zrozumieć, co zostało na płycie utrwalone – i co, mimo braku obrazu i miejsca, nadal w niej pracuje.
Nie będę ukrywał, że z dotychczasową twórczością Piotra Schmidta mam pewien problem. Komeda Unknown, Tear The Roof Off czy Dark Morning to płyty niby świetnie zaaranżowane, poprawne brzmieniowo i… no właśnie… i właściwie nic więcej. Do odsłuchu Hearsay przystąpiłem zatem z pewną rezerwą. Niemniej jednak ciekaw byłem, czy tym razem muzyka Piotra Schmidta okaże się bardziej pochłaniająca moją uwagę.
Od razu rzuca się w oczy wykorzystanie dwóch sekcji rytmicznych (każda z nich zagrała po pół płyty). Rodzi to pewne ryzyko braku spójności, jednak w przypadku Hearsay udało się tego uniknąć. W trakcie pierwszego odsłuchu nie miałem jeszcze świadomości tego faktu i było to w ogóle niezauważalne. Przy kolejnych odsłuchach, nastawiając się szczególnie na ten aspekt, także większych różnic nie dało się stwierdzić.
Autorem wszystkich kompozycji (za wyjątkiem Slow Motion) jest Piotr Schmidt. Poza Good Old Roy, kompozycje Schmidta są do siebie dość zbliżone pod kątem charakteru. Mamy tu do czynienia z czymś co można określić jako contemporary mainstream jazz. Mimo tego kompozycje mają na tyle ciekawą strukturę i interesujące aranżacje, że brak uczucia znużenia tą muzyką. Trzeba przyznać, że aranżacyjnie Schmidt zawsze był rewelacyjny i tak też jest w przypadku Hearsay.
Niestety, całość dość wyraźnie psują trącające infantylizmem tematy, które na domiar złego często zalatują popem (jak np. w utworze Never Give Up Sometimes Let Go). Zdecydowanie nie jest to coś, w czym gustuje moje ucho i do czego przywyknąć po prostu nie jestem w stanie. Sama muzyka ma charakter nieco tajemniczy, a tematy często podążają w zupełnie innym kierunku, co rodzi swego rodzaju dysonans poznawczy.
Całość płyty jest dość spójna brzmieniowo, ma wyraźnie sentymentalny charakter. Choć trzeba zaznaczyć, że Slow Motion autorstwa Bartosza Pieszki oraz Good Old Roy wyróżniają się dość zauważalnie na tle pozostałych utworów. Jednak nie w negatywnym sensie, a w pozytywnym. Dają pewnego rodzaju oddech i w interesujący sposób urozmaicają album.
Należy zwrócić uwagę na kapitalne brzmienie tej muzyki. To niewątpliwa zasługa Schmidta jako producenta oraz Macieja Stacha jako inżyniera dźwięku odpowiadającego także za mix i mastering. Jest to jeden z lepiej brzmiących albumów, który w tym roku miałem okazję słuchać (i nie mówię tu tylko o polskim rynku).
Hearsay całościowo oceniam naprawdę dobrze. Pomimo, że nie jest to muzyka specjalnie odkrywcza, nie da się tu nudzić. Brzmienie jest kapitalne, aranże rewelacyjne, sola wybitne… tylko te nieszczęsne, męczące ucho tematy… Gdyby nie one, byłby w mojej opinii mocny kandydat na płytę roku.
P.S. W ostatnim czasie stałem się absolutnym fanem talentu Davida Dorůžki. Hearsay tylko pogłębiło u mnie ten stan. Soundu gitary tego artysty można słuchać bez końca.
Piotr Schmidt - tp Kęstutis Vaiginis - ts, ss David Dorużka - g Paweł Tomaszewski - p Harish Raghavan / Michał Barański - b Jonathan Barber / Sebastian Kuchczyński - dr
"Komeda Unknown" (2022)
Wydawca: SJ Records
Autor tekstu: Jedrek Janicki
Jak mawia gangsterska mądrość, tematy niedomknięte należy zamykać. Wątpię by takim właśnie postanowieniem kierował się trębacz Piotr Schmidt tworząc płytę Komeda Unknown 1967, jednak w koncepcji samego tego nagrania śmiało dopatrzeć się można pewnej symboliki domykania koła historii - jakkolwiek górnolotnie i pretensjonalnie fraza ta miałaby zabrzmieć w piśmie. Na szczęście jednak, w dźwięku wypada o wiele godniej!
Jak wszyscy nawet nie tak doskonale zaznajomieni z historią polskiego jazzu wiedzą, w 1967 roku Krzysztof Komeda zaproszony został przez Joachima-Ernsta Berendta do wzięcia udziału w projekcie Jazz und Lyrik. Komeda, ryzykując ze względów politycznych naprawdę całkiem sporo, ochoczo jednak na propozycję Berendta przystał i stworzył dzieło Meine süße europäische Heimat (Moja Słodka europejska ojczyzna), będące zdumiewającą mieszanką jazzu i poezji najwybitniejszych polskich poetów. Nagranie to znakomicie zreinterpretował w 2018 sekstet Ptaszyna Wróblewskiego (płyta wyszła pod tytułem Moja słodka europejska ojczyzna w ramach serii Polish Jazz) oraz nieco mniej udanie w 2021 Sławek Jaskułke na płycie Europa 67/21.
Schmidt ze swoim zespołem nie odwołują się jednak bezpośrednio do nagrań, które znalazły się na winylu Meine süße europäische Heimat, lecz do zaginionych kompozycji Komedy z tamtej sesji nagraniowej, które na płycie nigdy się nie znalazły. Szczęśliwe zrządzenie losu chciało, że podczas szczegółowej kwerendy w Bibliotece Narodowej w Warszawie udało się odnaleźć rękopisy tych sześciu zaginionych kompozycji, które posłużyły Schmidtowi za podstawę realizacji płyty Komeda Unknown 1967 („uzupełnieniem” całości nagrania okazał się znany już wcześniej utwór After Catastrophe napisany do wiersza Campo di Fiori Czesława Miłosza).
Komeda Unknown 1967 nie jest wyłącznie wynikiem iście heglowskiej rozumnej konieczności dziejowej, lecz jako płyta sama w sobie (Kant przewraca się w głowie, Ding an sich przecież musi pozostawać nieuchwytne!) również broni się bardzo dobrze. Międzynarodowemu sekstetowi Schmidta udało się wypracować bardzo spójne i pełne brzmienie. Nie zaskakuje ono swoją wybuchowością, jednak świetnie współgra z refleksyjnymi i nieco melancholijnymi kompozycjami Komedy. Moją szczególną uwagę zwracają te nieco dynamiczniejsze fragmenty płyty, które doskonale wręcz podkreślane są przez pracę sekcji rytmicznej – posłuchajcie chociażby saksofonowej solówki Kestutisa Vaiginisa, wspartej przez podkład stworzony przez perkusistę Jonathana Barbera oraz kontrabasistę Harisha Raghavana w kompozycji When the Light of Imagination Goes Out. Co jednak moim zdaniem najważniejsze, zespołowi udało uciec się od pułapki zastawionej przez dorobek i legendę kroczącą ramię w ramię z samą muzyką Komedy. Duch Komedy sekstetu zdaje się nie obezwładniać! Brak rozbuchanej eksperymentalności i pewna oszczędność w traktowaniu materii muzycznej jest w tym wypadku świadectwem muzycznej dojrzałości sekstetu, a nie obaw o zszarganie dobrego imienia legendy. To kawał bardzo porządnie zagranego jazzu, który niesie w sobie również bardzo ciekawy koncertowy potencjał.
Jazz, pomimo swojego buntowniczego i crossoverowego charakteru, bardzo mocno osadzony bywa w tradycji i dorobku wcześniejszych mistrzów. Powrót do ich twórczości to nie tylko zadanie dla dziennikarzy i historyków muzyki, lecz także (a moim zdaniem, przede wszystkim!) samych muzyków. Świetnie więc, że jazzman dość znany jak na polskie standardy do lochów archiwów zajrzał i wyciągnął z nich perełkę – gwoli ścisłości do tych lochów zajrzał Prezes Stowarzyszenia Opieki Nad Spuścizną Krzysztofa Komedy Krzysztof Balkiewicz oraz muzykolog Justyna Raczkowska, a Schmidt ich rewelacyjne odkrycie doprowadził do formy muzycznej. Co więcej, sekstet Schmidta tę muzykę zrozumiał i w naprawdę udany sposób przedstawił ten typowo Komedowski wymiar tworzonej przez niego muzyki.
This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz ensemble Klara Cloud & The Vultures which comprises of vocalist Sylwia Klara Zasempa, violinist Bartosz Dworak, pianist Mateusz Gawęda, bassist Adam Tadel and drummers Piotr Budniak and Sebastian Kuchczyński. Legendary guitarist Apostolis Anthimos guests on one track. The album presents ten tracks, eight of which are original compositions mostly by Zasempa and some created with the help of the entire ensemble (the two instrumental tracks) and finally two are traditional. Most of the lyrics are also by Zasempa. The subject matter of the album refers to Nature, wildlife and harmonious coexistence. The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy Gruszecki, with the usual superb sound quality.
The music offers a fascinating
concept, combing Jazz-World Music Fusion with Free Jazz, which is quite
striking. Although Polish Jazz often sources Slavic music, typical Polish
melancholy and Polish Folklore, amalgamating it usually with original
mainstream Jazz, but rather rarely so with more adventurous forms, which makes
this music immediately outstanding. This does not mean that the music loses
contact with melody per se, but the improvisations offer a wide range of
freedom, both rhythmically and harmonically, which are not usually found within
the Jazz-World Fusion idiom.
Dworak and Gawęda, who are
amongst the most celebrated young Polish Jazz players, have plenty of
opportunity to show their chops on this album, standing up to the expectations
in full. The reinforced rhythm section, with the polyrhythmic double drums (in
stereo) and solid bass pulsations, pushes the music steadily forward and serves
as an anchor for the listener to keep his bearings. The guitar solo by Anthimos
on the final track is simply divine.
Of course the vocals are the
epicenter of this music and Zasempa stands up to the challenge with flying
colors. She keeps to the basics, avoiding unnecessary theatrics and
meanderings, and invests directly in the delivery of the lyrics, often
improvising in the process. She does not use vocalese extensively, preferring
to "play with the words" rather than with the sounds, but when she
does, it works perfectly and hopefully will be used more in future projects.
Zasempa is a "total" musician, being obviously the leader, the
composer, the lyricist and the main soloist – Woman power incarnate.
Overall this is a beautiful
piece of music, excellently put together and executed, original, ambitious and
intelligent. Definitely one of the most interesting Polish Jazz releases of
2019. It is also the fifth album by young Polish Jazz musicians to be released
on the prestigious Dutch Challenge label, which proves that this music is being
recognized beyond the local market and steadily captures the position it truly
deserves. Well done Lady and Gentlemen!
This is the fourth album by Polish Jazz keyboardist/composer Michał Wróblewski recorded live with his ensemble called Radiostatik and the Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra. Radiostatik was originally formed in NY in 2015, when Wróblewski was invited by trumpeter Terrence Blanchard to record an album, which resulted in the studio version of "Lucid Dream", and which sadly remains so far unreleased. The American-Polish lineup of Radiostatik, which was created to perform the material live, includes two American vocalists: singer Andre Washington and rapper Raashan Ahmad, the leader on Fender Rhodes, guitarist Andrzej Gondek, bassist Michał Kapczuk and drummer Sebastian Kuchczyński. The album presents twelve original compositions, all by Wróblewski and arranged by him, with lyrics by him and Ahmad.
The music is a exactly what it
promises to be, a Jazz-Pop Fusion with orchestral arrangements, based an
excellent melodic themes, which sounds as American as American goes, the kind
of stuff which usually gets nominated for Grammy over the pond. It is catchy,
groovy, smooth and easy on the ear, but in this case it is also highly musical
and truly excellently put together. If it proves anything, it is the fact that
European composers and musicians can easily beat the Americans at their own
game.
Except for a few instrumental
soli, the music has very little to do with Jazz, which means that the Polish
Jazz lost the talents of Wróblewski for a while, but personally I am quite
convinced he will be back to his musical roots again. In the meantime he can
pursue other goals and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this as long as
the music is well done and does not deteriorate to the normal level of
contemporary Pop, which is killing us mercilessly.
The orchestral parts are the
real surprise of this album, ideally suited to the music and performed with
great taste and skill. Such class of Pop instrumentation is almost completely
absent from contemporary Pop music, probably because it is simply too
expensive. But the album proves that a real orchestra can not be replaced by
synthesizers. Overall this is a highly
entertaining and classy Pop album with some Jazzy features and orchestral
ornamentation, beautifully executed and accessible to a wide music loving
audience, which should satisfy every true popular music connoisseur. Definitely
worth investigating!
This is the debut album by
young Polish Jazz vocalist Ania Michałowska, recorded with a core trio comprising
of keyboardist Michał Iwanek, who was also in charge of the arrangements,
bassist Michał Kapczuk and drummer Sebastian Kuchczyński. On three of the songs
she is accompanied additionally by a brass section and on four by a sting
quartet. The album presents nine original songs, all of which were composed by
Ania's husband Jakub Kotynia (two co-composed by her), who also plays guitar on
four of the songs. The lyrics to the songs were written by four different
lyricists. All of the songs feature lyrics in Polish, except two which utilize
lyrics in English. The album also offers excellent sound quality.
The songs are all beautifully
lyrical and offer incredible melodic sensitivity. The typical Polish melancholy
is omnipresent, which is hardly surprising, and is often emphasized by the
lyrics, which are all intelligent and insightful. The music is wonderfully and
skillfully arranged, to offer sound versatility and emotional vistas, which
keep changing from one song to another. Musically the album is a true gem,
masterfully weaved by all the participants. Although Michałowska is able to
sing the English lyrics quite elegantly, my advice would be to give this a
rest, as her Polish delivery is simply infinitely more effective.
Michalowska has a steady,
refined voice, which she uses smoothly and without effort, applying her
abilities skillfully to express emotions. She treats the non-trivial melody
lines with ease and elegance, even with finesse, showing absolutely no signs of
stress. At time she adds small vocalese parts, which fill the blanks and
hopefully she will use this technique more often in the future, as she does more
extensively on the last tune.
The instrumental performances
are also absolutely brilliant. Iwanek is a superb accompanist and plays many
stunning solo parts, mostly on acoustic piano. Kapczuk and Kuchczyński are an
ideal rhythm section, perfectly on time and in tune, always right there behind
the vocals, but never disturbing them with over presence. Kotynia plays some
hot guitar parts and it is a pity he wasn't featured on the entire album. The
brass and string sections and even the background vocals all work perfectly.
Overall this is a dreamy debut
album, which every young Jazz vocalist would have been proud off. Great music,
great lyrics, great vocals and a great team are such a rare combination, and
she has it all on this album. Warmly and wholeheartedly
recommended!
This is the debut album by Polish saxophonist/composer Łukasz Juźko, recorded in a quartet setting with pianist Michał Wróblewski, bassist Bartosz Świątek and drummer Sebastian Kuchczyński. The album presents nine original compositions, presumably all by the leader, although the album's artwork does not state it. The album is beautifully recorded and the sound quality is truly remarkable.
The music is a highly melodic
mainstream Jazz, easy on the ear, romantic and basically belonging to the
Smooth Jazz idiom, which of course does not mean, contrary to popular opinion,
that the music is not ambitious or well played, far from it. The compositions
are all very well structured and coherent harmonically and serve as perfect vehicles
for the improvisations created by Juźko and Wróblewski.
All four instrumentalist are
excellent, playing as well as can be expected from these well educated and
talented young musicians, who already have remarkable achievements behind them.
Juźko has a nice tone, and his tenor saxophone performances sound highly
professional and inspired. Wróblewski is a superb pianist and his chord
structures and solos are simply perfectly suited for this music. The rhythm
session also performs brilliantly, with a strong rhythmic signature, which
gives the music quite a kick. Overall this is an impressive
debut album, which presents Juźko as a mature composer and player, and which
shows a lot of potential for his future endeavors. Highly recommended to
connoisseurs of melodic Jazz and ageless romantics!
This is the third album by the Schmidt Electric ensemble, led by trumpeter Piotr Schmidt and also including keyboardist Tomasz Bura, bassist Michał Kapczuk, drummer Sebastian Kuchczyński and British guitarist Alex Hutchings. The core quintet was expanded for this live recording by DJ Wojciech Długosz (a.k.a. Mr. Krime), electronics wizard Joanna Szymala and vibraphonist Bartek Pieszka. The ensemble performs six original compositions, four composed by Schmidt and two by Bura, a short solo trumpet intro by Schmidt and another intro by Szymala, altogether eight tracks. Yours truly was present during the live recording in Katowice, one of the two venues where these live recordings were captured, and therefore a part of my soul is also captured on this album, like every other person who was ever present in the audience during a live recording.
The music is a natural
extension to what the released earlier studio debut album offered, i.e. an
excellent melodic version of modern Fusion, which flows smoothly from one tune
to another, but preserves class and elegance and above all is great fun to
listen to. The live ambience allows the musicians to take extended solo parts
and show their chops, which they all do to the max. The music is diverse and
offers many moods, which of course contributes significantly to the fact that
the album keeps the listener on his toes for the entire duration.
It is great to see Schmidt to
finally settling down within a domain, which suits him the best in my opinion.
This music allows him to express his superb compositional talents and lead a
highly professional ensemble, which can make him proud as a leader. His trumpet
playing also reaches a refined stage of expressiveness and eloquence,
especially effective on the slow tempo ballads, which are absolute goose bumps generators.
The use of turntablism and
electronics adds an up to date flavor to the music, without overshadowing the
main melodic, harmonic and rhythmic coherence and the strong Jazzy groove. Schmidt
manages to create music which can be enjoyed by a wide age range of listeners,
which of course is commendable. Overall a great contemporary Fusion
album, full of great melodies, fine arrangements, excellent performances and
above all great fun! Wholeheartedly recommended!
24 listopada w klubie 12/14 o godz. 22:00 w Warszawie odbędzie się koncert jednego z najlepszych Polskich zespołów elektrycznego jazzu - Schmidt Electric - z gościnnym udziałem wybitnego fusion'owego gitarzysty z Bristolu - Alexa Hutchingsa. Koncert promować będzie krążek "Tear The Roof Off" wydany nakładem wytwórni SJ Records w 2015 roku i okrzyknięty drugim najlepszym albumem 2015 roku w ankiecie Jazz Top magazynu Jazz Forum. Muzyka ta stanowi osobliwe połączenie licznych nurtów muzycznych takich jak przestrzenny jazz, drum’n’bass, funk, hip hop, fusion czy szeroko pojęty groove.
Zespół wystąpi w oryginalnym składzie:
Alex Hutchings - gitara elektryczna
Piotr Schmidt - trąbka, efekty
Tomasz Bura - klawisze, syntezatory
Michał Kapczuk - gitara basowa
Sebastian Kuchczyński - perkusja, efekty
Alex Hutchings to znany na całym świecie wybitny gitarzysta, kompozytor i aranżer, a także doskonały metodyk, specjalizujący się w jazzie, fusion, rocku i r’n’b. Hutchings koncertował z wieloma czołowymi muzykami zarówno w Wielkiej Brytanii, jak i całej Europie oraz Azji Wschodniej. Jako kompozytor i gitarzysta sesyjny współpracował z brytyjskimi stacjami telewizyjnymi (m.in. BBC czy ITV), a także z Jamtrackcentral.com – portalem dla aspirujących gitarzystów. Filmiki na youtube prezentujące jego grę biją rekordy popularności! Gra Alexa Hutchingsa to połączenie imponującej techniki z niepowtarzalnym wyrazem.
Schmidt Electric to aktualnie jeden z trzech najlepszych jazzowych zespołów elektrycznych w Polsce (ankieta Jazz Top 2015 magazynu Jazz Forum). Członkowie zespołu to wielokrotnie nagradzani na festiwalach i konkursach muzycznych wybitni młodzi artyści. Zespół występował na najbardziej prestiżowych festiwalach i konkursach jazzowych.
Ola Trzaska - vocals, flute
Łukasz Korybalski - trumpet
Michał Tomaszczyk - trombone
Marcin Piekos - keyboards
Andrzej Święs - bass
Sebastian Kuchczyński - drums
This is the debut album by Polish vocalist/flautist/ songwriter Ola Trzaska, recorded by a sextet which also includes trumpeter Łukasz Korybalski, trombonist Michał Tomaszczyk, keyboardist Marcin Piekos, bassist Andrzej Święs and drummer Sebastian Kuchczyński. The album presents eight songs, all original by Trzaska (music and lyrics), six of which feature English and two Polish lyrics.
The music is a nice mixture of
Pop/Soul/Funk & Groove, based on Trzaska's melodic themes jazzed up by
the arrangements and instrumental work, especially that of the brass section.
Not a Jazz album per se, but close enough for comfort to turn the ear of a Jazz
fan as well as those who have almost nothing to do with it.
Usually I completely condemn
Polish singers singing in English, but in this case the result is acceptable,
thanks to Trzaska's phrasing and a skillful mix which keeps the vocals usually
in unisono with instrumental backing, which mute the language
"imperfections".
Trzaska has a limited vocal
range and wisely utilizes her voice safely within her comfort zone, which of
course becomes somewhat inadequate in the long range, making all the songs to
sound a bit alike. But her singing is expressive and full of emotion, which overall
saves the day. Combined with the truly inspired instrumental work by the
players, the album is a fun to listen to. Swies deserves a special mention
since his bass notes drive the entire album with an incredible funky groove.
Tomaszczyk also plays a few beautiful trombone solos on the album, which are
little gems.
This is definitely an
impressive debut, presenting Trzaska as a gifted songwriter, vocalist and
arranger, who will surely take part in the development of the Polish music
scene in the years to come.
Polish Jazz trumpeter/composer/bandleader Piotr Schmidt mangers to teleport smoothly between acoustic mainstream Jazz and electric Fusion, an ability he already demonstrated clearly by releasing several albums on his own label since 2000, which cover both subgenres. This time he expands his modus operandi to touch upon additional areas, which include smooth Jazz, Rap and Ambient, but manages to do so without compromising his integrity as a Jazz musician.
The album, which was recorded
in a quartet setting, with keyboardist Tomasz Bura, bassist Michał Kapczuk and
drummer Sebastian Kuchczyński, features also several guest artists, who appear
on selected tracks, a couple of them from Britain, including guitarist Alex
Hutchings. The eleven tracks on the album are all originals, five of which were
composed by Schmidt, four by Bura, one is credited to Bura and the whole
ensemble and one is by ambient/electronic keyboardist/composer Joanna
Szymala, who also performs here.
The music is very diverse and
constantly performs a chameleonic transformation, starting with a Rap track,
moving into an electronic/ambient passage and continuing with a series of
Jazz/Fusion tracks, ranging from lyrical ballads to energetic electric
statements. Although this might sound a bit chaotic, in fact the music presents
a coherent and consistent continuum. There are plenty of great melodies and
catchy riffs, but the music is anything but trivial at any point.
The individual performances are
all excellent; Schmidt is a very gifted trumpeter and his melodic ballads are
simply heartbreaking, Bura is the great discovery of this album, playing a wide
range of sounds, improvising elegantly and simply being there every time just
when a chord or an arpeggio are needed to fill the space. The rhythm section is
dynamic, melodic and incredibly supportive. Kapczuk plays some superb solos and
Kuchczyński stays behind the players at all time, not trying to show off beyond
exactly what is required of him. Hutchings also adds some several scorching
solos, which ornament the overall sound of the band.
Schmidt juts might have found
on this album the exact formula that suits his musical karma. Cross-genre,
cross time, contemporary and melodically advanced, this music is a pleasure to
listen to, without compromising even the sternest connoisseurs. Although some
of Schmidt's earlier attempts to find his way in the straightforward mainstream
Jazz milieu were a bit shaky, this album finds him determined, mature and
unmistakably doing his own thing. Beautifully done, my young friend; kudos!
This is the debut album by Polish Jazz vocalist Wojciech Myrczek, recorded with his quintet which also includes saxophonist Marcin Kaletka, pianist Michał Wierba, bassist Michał Kapczuk and drummer Sebastian Kuchczyński. The album, recorded at Polish Radio Katowice, presents seven vocal Jazz standards.
Myrczek has a beautiful classic
Jazz voice and his talent is immediately apparent even on this early recording,
which obviously does not display his full palette, which he learned over time,
as evident on his duo album with pianist with Paweł Tomaszewski, recorded four
years later ("Love Revisited"). He does show his ability to learn the
tricks of the trade, moving freely between singing lyrics (in English, problematic
but tolerable), scat or vocally imitating bass lines.
On this album Myrczek still
lacks his own personal style and expression, obviously imitating a plethora of
influences and searching for the most appropriate path to find his own way.
Nevertheless it still is a solid debut album, especially in view of the fact
that male vocalists are a rare commodity on the Polish Jazz scene.
The instrumental support
Myrczek receives from his cohorts is also very solid, nothing sensational but
well played and supportive of him as a soloist. Wierba is the most gifted
player and the players are all used to play together as members of the Wierba/Schmidt Quintet, therefore their performance as a unit is quite predictable.
Overall this album is a nice
effort, capturing a young vocalist at the early stage of his career, which
remains as a nice document of his musical biography.
Piotr Schmidt - trumpet
Marcin Kaletka - saxophone
Michal Wierba - piano
Michal Kapczuk - bass
Sebastian Kuchczynski - drums
with
Dante Luciani - trombone
This is the third album by the Polish Jazz quintet, which was founded by two young players / composers: pianist Michal Wierba and trumpeter Piotr Schmidt. The quintet also includes saxophonist Marcin Kaletka, bassist Michal Kapczuk and drummer Sebastian Kuchczynski. On this album the quintet is expanded into a sextet with the addition of American trombonist Dante Luciani. The sextet performs six tunes, three of which are original compositions by Wierba, two are standards and the remaining one is a composition by Czech trumpeter / composer Stepanka Balcarova, who studied at the Katowice Music Academy as did all of the quintet members. The album was recorded at the fabulous Studio Tokarnia and was engineered by Jan Smoczynski, with excellent, as usual, sonic results.
Although the music is all within
boundaries of typical Jazz mainstream, it is superbly arranged and executed. The
original compositions are interesting and poise perfectly the melodic themes and
the spirited attitude; the piece by Balcarova is the most impressive on the
album. Overall this is a very pleasant well rounded Jazz album, which presents
the sextet as a small Big Band, balancing between the brass and rhythm
sections, features many excellent solo spots and shows that young Europeans can
play mainstream as well as anybody else anywhere. The individual skills of the
musicians involved are of course spotless.
This album is the first release
on the SJ label, owned by Schmidt, which is one of the small independent Polish
Jazz labels releasing music by young Polish Jazz musicians, a most welcome
phenomenon of course, spreading the local Jazz gospel around the world.
Bartek Pieszka - vibraphone
Nikola Kołodziejczyk - piano
Maciej Szczyciński - double bass
Sebastian Kuchczyński - drums
Katarzyna Ruda - oboe (1)
Piotr Toruński - bass clarinet (7)
This is the debut album by the young Polish Jazz vibraphonist Bartek Pieszka and his quartet, which also includes pianist Nikola Kołodziejczyk, bassist Maciej Szczyciński and drummer Sebastian Kuchczyński. Guest musicians: oboe player Katarzyna Ruda and bass clarinetist Piotr Toruński are featured ne one track each. The album presents ten pieces, of which four are standards and six are originals, four by Pieszka, one by Szczyciński and one co-composed by Pieszka and Kołodziejczyk. The album was recorded over a period of two years several years back but only now sees the light of day.
The vibraphone, one of the
noblest instruments, which has a wonderful tradition in Jazz music, is sadly
almost forgotten in recent years. The Polish Jazz scene is perhaps the last
bastion where the vibraphone plays a significant role in Jazz music and new
players of the instrument still join the ranks of legendary veterans. It is
therefore with great joy and special attention that every new discovery in that
area is welcomed by me and other Polish Jazz enthusiasts.
This album presents a balanced
mixture of original music and standards, ballads and up-tempo numbers, all kept
within mainstream Jazz tradition. There is nothing groundbreaking about this
music and the no risks are taken, but the overall result is definitely
enjoyable and well done, especially in view of the young age of the players
involved. Mainstream Jazz connoisseurs will definitely enjoy this ride from
start to finish.
As far as individual
contributions are concerned, Pieszka emerges somewhat subdued and is seldom in
the lead. To be perfectly hones this album is absolutely "stolen" by
the incredible performances by Kołodziejczyk, who plays most of the solos and
is by far the most gifted player on this album. The rhythm section is also
interesting, which the drummer being a bit too busy for my taste, buy playing
with feel and imagination. The bassist is very musical and supportive. The
album often makes the impression of a piano trio album rather than a quartet
recording. As debuts go, this is fresh and
promising, hopefully providing a glimpse of future to come for these
youngsters. Definitely a nice listening experience!
This is the fourth album by the Polish Jazz quintet, which was founded by two young players / composers: pianist Michal Wierba and trumpeter Piotr Schmidt. The quintet also includes bassist Michal Kapczuk and drummer Sebastian Kuchczynski. The fifth member of the quintet is a guest artist and in this case it the fabulous Polish saxophonist Piotr Baron. The quintet performs seven tunes, five of which are original compositions by Wierba, one by Schmidt and the remaining one is a Jimmy Rowles standard.
The music sits well within the comfortable boundaries of typical Jazz mainstream, moving vaguely between Bebop and Hard Bop. The original compositions are all quite solid, but overall unremarkable and lack an edge which could keep the listener focused for the duration of the music. The performances are also very good, but than again there's nothing here that every Jazz fan never heard before. Baron, who obviously represents a completely different league, sadly contributes very little, as most of the music is performed without his direct involvement. The only moment when the music becomes truly inspired is when the beautiful standard is performed solo by the pianist.
To make things perfectly clear this is not a bad album; there are plenty of interesting moments and excellent solos (Baron's solos in particular) but it is not enough to make it a remarkable album. In view of the music made by the very young Polish Jazz players, even younger than the ones on this album, constantly breathing on the neck of their slightly older colleagues, the level of competition requires everybody to try ever so harder. Life is a bitch.
This is the debut album by a young Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Przemyslaw Florczak, recorded with his quartet which includes also organist Pawel Tomaszewski, bassist Pawel Puszczalo and drummer Sebastian Kuchczynski. The album presents seven tracks, six of which are original compositions, all by Florczak, and one is a Charles Mingus piece. Florczak is also a member of the excellent group Biotone.
The album is very impressive, especially as a debut, and presents a portrait of mature musicianship by the leader both as a performer and a composer. All the quartet members are excellent players, both as individuals and collective contributors. The decision to use the organ, rather than acoustic piano, turns this album into a completely unique experience, as this highly unusual combination opens a whole new world of sonic experience and wonderful unisono passages. The saxophone and the organ simply blend together fabulously and one wonders why they are not used together more often.
The compositions are also surprisingly excellent, well within the Jazz mainstream but incorporating many cross-genre elements, like bits of Funk, Bossa and even World-Music influences. Beautifully put together and intelligently arranged, they are a true pleasure to listen to. This music is fun (in the best meaning of the word) from start to finish, being both accessible to a wide range of listeners and sophisticated enough to draw the attention of the connoisseurs.
Florczak plays beautifully throughout, being especially impressive on the lyrical pieces, where his wonderful tone and delicate delivery is often breathtaking. Tomaszewski is also "stealing" a large part of the show with his superb organ lines, which bring on memories of times long gone. The rhythm section is simply perfect for the job, providing the vehicle for the two soloists to shine and keeping the wagon on the road.
The album has a surprisingly exquisite sound quality, which turns out to be less surprising after reading the bane of sound engineer Jan Smoczynski on the cover, who was in charge "only" of mix and mastering this time, but his signature is well recognized.
Overall this is a true gem, sadly somewhat overlooked on the crowded Polish Jazz scene, where albums are being released at an incredible rate, but definitely worth digging out and investigating. Well done indeed!
Some of the best things in Polish jazz has happened through cooperation with musicians from other countries and by mixing our tradition with those of other nations. The renewed interest in Jewish culture in Poland is one example. The other may be multiple collaborations with Scandinavian musicians. Close to these two leading phenomenons comes interest in musical heritage of our Eastern neighbours, especially Ukraine. "Water Nymphs" is an album that may be a good representative of such Polish-Ukraine projects, perhaps one of the most interesting ones, at least in purely artistic terms.
It is difficult to believe that "Water Nymphs" is a debut recording by vocalist Mariia Guraievska. Her singing is not only immaculate, spotless, technically perfect but also original, individual, unique. In her interpretation old folk songs coming from Kiev and Podolia region sound modern without losing their soul. What is important she managed to strike a balance between making this music attractive for the contemporary listener while paying homage to the tradition and yet finding a space for freedom. These are moments when I like her most: in crystal clear vocalizes when she plays with her sensual voice relishing in classy support she gets from excellent musicians playing in her band.
The contribution of Ethno Jazz Synthesis featuring some of the best Polish young jazz instrumentalists is the element that can not be overestimated. Michał Kapczuk on double bass (known from collaborations with talented trumpeter Piotr Schmidt), Sebastian Kuchczyński on drums (again playing with P. Schmidt but also with trombonist Michał Tomaszczyk and guitarist Przemek Strączyk) and Mateusz Szczypka on guitar provide Guraievska with dream-like support: compassionate, emphatic and tender enough to never dominate her delicate but expressive voice. All in all, this is truly a pearl as far as ethno-jazz is concerned, especially for those interested in Eastern European folk music. Bravo!
Tracklist:
1. Under a White Tree
2. Travel to The Moon
3. Rural Infatuation
4. For a Stolen Child
5. Invisible Mountain
6. Water Nymphs
7. Beware of Pigeons
8. Sunshine Reapers
9. Cuckoo in The House
10. Cuckoo in The House (Reprise Live)
11. Under a White Tree (Radio Edit)
This is the debut recording by the Polish Fusion band Electric Group led by the young trumpeter Piotr Schmidt and including also keyboardist Tomasz Bura, bassist Michal Kapczuk, drummer Sebastian Kuchczynski and vocalist Wojciech Myrczek. The album comprises of six original compositions, four of which are by the pianist and two by the leader. In addition to leading this group, Schmidt also co-leads a Jazz quintet with pianist Michal Wierba, which uses the same rhythm section as this group.
It seems that the Polish Jazz scene is not only capable of grooming excellent piano players, but apparently also brilliant young trumpeters, as evident from the recent wave of extraordinary new releases. This album certainly falls into the same category as far as presenting new trumpet players, but it is quite different in every other sense, most notably being a Fusion recording, a genre which nowadays rarely features the trumpet as the leading instrument, as it used to in its heydays. This album in however not just one more Fusion album, as it includes many other elements, especially Funk, which makes it particularly interesting.
The compositions present a diverse musical approach, with excellent melody lines supported by Funky rhythms, memorable vamps and overall superb execution, which is simply heartwarming, especially in view on the musicians' age. I must admit that its been quite a while since I've had the pleasure to listen to such Funky high quality music, which at best brings back fond memories of Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" period. Schmidt sounds great regardless if he plays a muted trumpet, an electronically processed one (a la echoplex) or simply blows straight forward. Bura is best (in this environment) playing the electric piano rather than synthesizers and the rhythm section is close to stealing the show at times, with those bass slaps that make your ass dance and the extraordinary drumming, which is all over the place and yet so on time. The vocals are used mostly as vocalese, where they are most effective. When they turn to singing lyrics (in English), they quickly become the weakest link of the otherwise excellent effort.
Overall this is definitely a most impressive debut recording, which is both fun to listen to and a quality listening experience. I'm really looking forward to hear their next one, hopefully soon. Not to be missed!
Schmidt, a native of Silesia, the southwestern Polish region (where I come from as well) is one of a growing number of important Polish Jazz musicians originating there. The region is cultivating an active and first-rate local Jazz scene in the last decade, including clubs and festivals. In short, Silesia rulez!
Piotr Schmidt (Trumpet)
Tomasza Bura (Piano)
Michal Kapczuk (Bass)
Sebastian Kuchczymski (Drums)
Silver Protect (SJC, 2012)
This is third release by a young trumpeter Piotr Schmidt after "Black Monolith" (2011) and "Mole People" (2012). As on his previous albums he is accompanied by the same rhythm section which includes a bassist Michał Kapczuk and a drummer Sebastian Kuchczyński. Of six tunes two were penned by the leader while four by a keyboardist Tomasz Bura. The personnel is completed by a vocalist Wojtek Myrczek (he debuted in 2010 with "We'll Be Together Again").
Music itself is kept securely within a mainstream jazz and is clearly referring to fusion aesthetics. The main advantage of this recording is a very high level of performance. Schmidt has total control of his instrument. It is really a pleasure to follow his line which is light, melodic yet crisp. Great work is done by a rhythm section which sounds both vintage and contemporary. Keyboard and piano could be more lively. Bura's play lacks the flesh, is too controlled, emotionless. The weakest point is Wojtek Myrczek's vocal which sounds ugly when he tries to imitate Al Jarreau, vocalizes as met on Pat Metheny's albums with Lyle Mays or Barry White's whispering.
Still this is probably the best recording of all released so far by Piotr Schmidt. I like a quality of his play, I like his rhythm section, I like that he at least (though very slowly) is starting to leave this so well-throdden path of mainstream jazz. I wish he would go this way even further, develop his own ideas, stop looking to the past as he clearly has a lot of potential to play and compose more actual music...
