Nika Lubowicz & All Stars - Nika sings Ella

Nika Lubowicz & All Stars

Nika Lubowicz – vocals (solo: 1, 2, 4, 7, 10)
Henryk Miśkiewicz – alto saxophone (1-4, 6-9) (solo: 2, 7, 8, 9)
Piotr Baron – tenor saxophone (1-4, 6-10) (solo: 4, 7, 9)
Robert Murakowski – trumpet (1-4, 6, 8, 10) (solo: 1, 3, 6)
Grzegorz Nagórski – trombone (6, 9, 10) (solo: 2, 4, 6, 9, 10)
Dariusz Plichta – trombone (1-4, 8)
Kamil Karaszewski – horn (1-4, 8)
Andrzej Jagodziński – piano (1-10) (solo: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10)
Wojciech Pulcyn – double bass (1-4, 6-10)
Kazimierz Jonkisz – drums (3, 6, 7, 9, 10)
Marcin Jahr – drums (1, 2, 4, 8)
Wojciech Myrczek – vocals (8, 9)
Wiesław Pieregorólka – bandleader

Arrangements by Wojciech Karolak (3, 8) & Wiesław Pieregorólka (1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10).

Nika sings Ella (2022)

Wydawca: For Tune

Autor tekstu: Mateusz Chorążewicz

W sierpniu 2022 roku premierę miał album Niki Lubowicz „Nika Sings Ella”, który stanowi hołd dla twórczości „Pierwszej Damy Piosenki”. Na krążku znajdziemy dziesięć kompozycji, w tym takie hity jak „Cheek to Cheek”, „In a Mellow Tone”, czy „It Don’t Mean a Thing”. Za aranżacje odpowiadali Wiesław Pieregorólka oraz Wojtek Karolak, któremu niestety nie dane było wziąć udziału w nagraniach.

Nika Lubowicz zaprosiła do współpracy prawdziwą śmietankę polskiego jazzu. Na płycie usłyszymy takich mistrzów jak Henryk Miśkiewicz, Piotr Baron, Robert Murakowski, Grzegorz Nagórski, Dariusz Plichta, Kamil Karaszewski, Andrzej Jagodziński, Wojciech Pulcyn, Kazimierz Jonkisz, Marcin Jahr oraz Wojciech Myrczek.

Album muzycznie głęboko zakorzeniony jest w tradycji swingu. Nie znajdziemy tu właściwie żadnych odstępstw od tradycyjnego brzmienia tego typu muzyki. Trzeba uczciwie przyznać, że aranże oraz ich wykonanie stoją na niezwykle wysokim poziomie. Ciężko spodziewać się czegoś innego po takim składzie. Uwagę zwraca także fakt, że Nika Lubowicz nie stara się imitować Elli. Frazę prowadzi w charakterystyczny dla siebie sposób, dzięki czemu standardy jazzowe ujęte na płycie, choć na wskroś swingujące, mają w sobie mały element oryginalności.

Niemniej jednak, w głowę zachodzę w jakim celu wydawane są tego typu albumy. Pomimo genialnego wykonania, obecności mistrzów polskiego jazzu i interesującego głosu Niki Lubowicz, nie ma w tej muzyce czegoś ekstra. Płyta niestety nie wnosi nic ciekawego do dorobku polskiej sceny jazzowej. Wszystko jest tu bardzo bezpieczne i ortodoksyjne. Przyjemne dla ucha… i właściwie to wszystko.

W materiałach promocyjnych możemy przeczytać, że album stanowi dla Niki Lubowicz artystyczny hołd dla twórczości Elli Fitzgerald, która była i nadal jest dla Niki wzorem i inspiracją. Jednak porządne wykonanie to niestety w moim odczuciu za mało. Rozumiem koncert ku czci Elli, a nawet całą trasę koncertową po Polsce. Nawet sam bym się na takie wydarzenie wybrał. Nie rozumiem jednak koncepcji nagrania takiego albumu. Jedynie bardzo zagorzali fani swingu być może znajdą tu coś dla siebie.

Nika Lubowicz – Noc Nad Betlejem (2016)

Nika Lubowicz

Nika Lubowicz - vocals
Dawid Lubowicz - violin, viola
Jakub Lubowicz - keyboards
Sebastian Zając - accordion
Marcin Murawski - bass
Krzysztof Szmańda - drums

Noc Nad Betlejem



FOR TUNE 0114

By Adam Baruch

This is second Christmas album I am writing about this year, which is highly unusual, as I mostly keep away from Christmas albums as far as I can, not that I have anything against Christmas per se, but because Christmas albums are usually pretty atrocious musically. However, for the second time it turns out that Christmas albums can be artistic and musically fulfilling.

Polish Jazz vocalist Nika Lubowicz, a member of the famed Lubowicz clan, gathered her two brothers: violinist Dawid Lubowicz and keyboardist Jakub Lubowicz, her husband accordionist Sebastian Zając, bassist Marcin Murawski, drummer Krzysztof Szmańda and a couple of guests, and together they perform ten Christmas Carols, six of which were composed by Nika's father Stanisław Lubowicz, one by Wacław Geiger and three are traditional Carols newly arranged for this album.

The music carries the Christmas spirit, as expected, but it is also rich in wonderful arrangements, some more Jazz oriented and others less so, and of course features Nika's lovely vocals, which are always a pleasure to listen to. Everything is kept in relaxed, almost blessed atmosphere, with the music and instrumental passages working perfectly together to create a coherent, highly aesthetic message.

The music also includes some Folklore elements, related to the Polish Highlanders, who live near the southern border of the country in the Tatra Mountains and the town of Zakopane, which of course is Nika's home ground. Overall this is a gorgeous, moving album, which although Christmas oriented, is perfectly listenable any day of the year, and which emphasizes the diversity and beauty of the Polish Culture.

Nika Lubowicz – Nika's Dream (2015)

Nika Lubowicz

Nika Lubowicz - vocals
Kuba Lubowicz - keyboards
Dawid Lubowicz - violin, mandolin
Krzysztof Lenczowski - cello
Marcin Murawski - bass
Marcin Ułanowski - drums
Bogusz Wekka - percussion
Artur Gierczak - guitar
Piotr Schmidt - trumpet
Andrzej Jagodziński - piano

Nika's Dream

FOR TUNE 0065

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by Polish Jazz vocalist/composer Nika Lubowicz, who is accompanied by a very impressive group of musicians, which includes her siblings: violinist Dawid Lubowicz (Atom String Quartet) and keyboardist Jakub Lubowicz, cellist Krzysztof Lenczowski (also Atom String Quartet), bassist Marcin Murawski, drummer Marcin Ułanowski, percussionist Bogusz Wekka, guitarist Artur Gierczak and trumpeter Piotr Schmidt. Veteran pianist Andrzej Jagodziński guests on a couple of tracks. The album presents nine tracks, three of which are standards, two are by Dawid Lubowicz, another two by Krzysztof Lenczowski and yet another two by Nika Lubowicz herself. All songs feature English lyrics except for the last track which has lyrics in Polish.

From the very first notes of this album it's plainly evident that this is no ordinary vocal Jazz album. The arrangements, which in most cases feature either the violin or the cello up front alongside the vocal parts, replace the usual "vocals with piano trio" setting. The arrangements also include other unusual lineups, keeping the listener on his toes at all times. The overall atmosphere of this album is all about the essence of music, freely crossing genre boundaries, comfortably and elegantly touching upon mainstream Jazz, ethnic music, Pop and Soul with the same artistically predetermined frivolity. I even have to agree with all the compliments listed in the album's liner notes authored by Krzysztof Herdzin, which happens extremely rarely.

Nika Lubowicz uses her vocal abilities wisely and intelligently, switching between lyrics and vocalese with grace. Her vocalese parts are in fact way more impressive than her actual singing lyrics, which as always in such cases suffer from the English pronunciation, being far from ideal. The closing track sung in Polish is a sore proof of this. Luckily her singing lyrics are altogether just a minor part of the entire endeavor. I have not timed the album but about half of the album's duration is instrumental, which is highly unusual for albums involving vocals, and which is a very courageous and in this case extremely tasteful decision.

This is the second album in the "pink" (Jazz vocals) series by For Tune Records, and it is again a big time winner. Albums of such quality and obvious aesthetic approach are extremely rare and the fact that at least once a year they do materialize makes life worth living, at least for people who love music. This is definitely a most impressive debut and so far the best vocal Jazz album released this year on the Polish Jazz scene. Well done girl!