Marek Raduli – gitara Wojciech Pilichowski – gitara basowa Zbigniew Lewandowski – perkusja
Album: "Live! in Jazz Club Pinokio"
Wydawca: GAD Records (wyd. 2025)
Tekst: Paweł Ziemba
Jakiś czas temu, nawet nie pamiętam kiedy otrzymałem od znajomego kilka plików cyfrowych z koncertowymi nagraniami perkusisty Zbigniewa Lewandowskiego wraz z gitarzystą Markiem Radulim i Wojciechem Pilichowskim grającym na basie. Wtedy jeszcze nie nie miałem pojęcia co do mnie trafiło. Dziś już wiem, że był to niewielki fragment nagrań pochodzących z płyty Three Generations Trio – “Live! In Jazz Club Pinokio!“ zarejestrowanej w 1992 roku, która dziś po ponad 30 latach, dzięki wydawnictwu GAD Records dostępna jest w zremasterowanej formie.
Andrzej Przybielski - trumpet Piotr Baron - saxophone Andrzej Olejniczak - saxophone Paweł Ścierański - guitar Krzysztof Ścierański - bass guitar Mieczysław Jurecki - bass guitar Jose Torres - percussion Zbigniew Lewandowski - drums, synth
This is a reissue of the debut
album by Polish Jazz drummer / composer / bandleader Zbigniew Lewandowski,
originally released on the legendary Poljazz label. The music was recorded in
1983 during two sessions separated by several months, with two lineups. The
first lineup was a quintet which included alongside Lewandowski also iconic
trumpeter Andrzej Przybielski, saxophonist Piotr Baron, guitarist Paweł Ścierański and bass guitarist Krzysztof Ścierański. The second lineup was
extended to an octet and included also saxophonist Andrzej Olejniczak, second
bass guitarist Mieczysław Jurecki and percussionist Jose Torres. The original
LP presented six tracks but this remastered edition was expanded by two additional
tracks from the first session, previously unissued. All the compositions were
by the musicians participating in the recording except for one standard.
The music, influenced by the
revolutionary work of Miles Davis, has a distinct Fusion tinge, but is very far
from an attempt to copy the great Master. Przybielski, aged thirty-nine at the
time of the recording, was already Poland's most idiosyncratic Jazz
musician and trumpet Genius. He displays the full range of his abilities, and
the fact that the music is Fusion oriented, offers a rare opportunity to hear
him in that specific idiom, rather than within his "usual"
Avant-Garde environment. His performances on this album are amongst the most
extensive documents of his playing, including his weird sense of humor. In
retrospect this album emphasizes the devastating loss Polish Jazz suffered with
his untimely death in 2011. I had the immense luck and pleasure to produce the
album "The Book Of Job", just a couple of years after this recording
was made, which also featured Przybielski at his absolute best.
Baron, only twenty-two years
old at the time, also contributes wonderfully to the album's overall ambience,
offering his compositions, most of the arrangements and excellent soloing. The
rest of the players were already more experienced and their professionalism and
obvious talents are clearly evident in the resulting music. Overall this is a momentous
recording, perhaps one of the most important Polish Jazz albums from the 1980s,
and beyond. Polish Jazz/Fusion fans should be grateful to GAD Records for
resurrecting this gem and saving it from oblivion. Brilliant stuff!
20 kwietnia miała miejsce premiera cyfrowa nowego singla oraz teledysku do utworu "Light Up!" projektu Gniewomira Tomczyka. Singiel jest zapowiedzią płyty "Pieces Of My Journey", która ukaże się jeszcze w tym roku. Wydawcą i dystrybutorem jest wytwórnia Soliton. Reżyserem klipu jest Max Pavlenko.
"Życie muzyka to ciągłe balansowanie między dwoma stanami umysłu. Z jednej strony - zapalasz się, płoniesz, zdzierasz wszelkie zasłony, aby pokazać szczerość, emocje i prawdę na scenie. Blask reflektorów daje ucieczkę, odskocznię od nużącej codzienności. Z drugiej - występując przed publicznością zakładasz maskę, chowając część swoich zwykłych, ludzkich spraw tuż przed sceną, zaraz za kurtyną…" - tak o utworze "Light Up!" mówi Gniewomir Tomczyk.
Gniewomir Tomczyk - perkusista jazzowy, perkusista hybrydowy, pedagog. Absolwent Akademii Muzycznej im. I. J. Paderewskiego w Poznaniu, w klasie perkusji jazzowej prowadzonej przez prof. Krzysztofa Przybyłowicza. Finalista konkursu w ramach festiwalu Bielska Zadymka Jazzowa (2019 r.), Krokus Jazz Festiwal (2019 r.) czy laureat I Nagrody na Ogólnopolskim Festiwalu Rytmu Drum Battle (2008 r.). Założyciel oraz lider zespołu Gniewomir Tomczyk Project. Wraz z projektem wydał dwie solowe płyty, "Quality Jazz Live" i "Event Horizon" oraz trzy single wraz z teledyskami: "Light Up!", "Generation of Numbers" oraz "Mechanical Cats". Współpracuje na stałe m.in. z zespołem elektronicznym Xxanaxx, producentką MINt czy wokalistką Patrycją Zarychtą. Organizator oraz producent cyklu koncertów jazzowych, autorskich, improwizowanych "Jazz Session" w warszawskim klubie muzycznym Bardzo Bardzo.
This is the debut album by Polish Jazz trumpeter/composer Patrycjusz Gruszecki, recorded in a trio format with organist Kajetan Galas and drummer Zbigniew Lewandowski. The album presents twelve original compositions, all by Gruszecki. The album was recorded at the RecPublica Studios and was engineered by Łukasz Olejarczyk, with the usual superb sonic quality.
The music is well behaved
mainstream Jazz, with solid compositions and great Swing/Groove feel, which
sways the listener's body involuntarily from start to finish. The compositions
are well structured, with the ballads being my personal favorites, but they
present a consistent and well weaved musical fabric. The unusual and
minimalistic lineup of trumpet/organ/drums works out perfectly and misses
nothing in order to sound round and complete.
All three musicians play
splendidly, as expected from Polish Jazz musicians. Personally the Hammond
Organ always steals the show for me, as it has been my favorite instrument for
over fifty years, but credit is due to the trio for their work as a unit,
combining their personal strengths. Gruszecki has a beautiful round sound on
trumpet and flugelhorn, but his improvisations are a bit withdrawn and
"controlled" at times, which suits this specific recording well, but
leaves the listener a bit hungry for more. Galas is superbly melodic and offers
great improvised parts with his work being irreproachable all the way through.
This is the third album I reviewed, which features his organ work, and he is
always perfectly right on the money. Lewandowski also plays excellently, being
solely responsible for the rhythmic pulsations of this music (supported by the
organ's bass pedals). His percussive feel is truly exquisite, precise and
outward virtuosic – something to learn from.
Overall this is a splendid
debut album, catering to the listeners on the lighter side of the Jazz
spectrum, but still excellent in every way, with an atypical lineup and sound,
which is fresh and very effective. Wholeheartedly recommended!
