Stefan Nowakowski – kontrabas, gitara basowa Michał Milczarek – gitara, elektronika, sample Miłosz Oleniecki – fortepian, Fender Rhodes, syntezatory Wojtek Sobura – perkusja
"Kosmopolis"
Wydawca: AudioCave (2025)
Tekst: Maciej Nowotny
Contemporary Nosie Quintet, Pink Freud i Jazzpospolita - to są zespoły bez których trudno sobie wyobrazić polski jazz spod znaku nu-jazzu czyli muzyki inpirowanej tyleż jazzem, co elektroniką czy rockiem. Muzy ukochanej przez publiczność, o której jednak wielu krytyków niesłusznie pisało jakby była czymś gorszym. Tymczasem na Zachodzie, a zwłaszcza w UK ta muzyka rozkwitała i rozkwita, w dużej mierze budując dzisiaj tak podziwianą odrębną tożsamość tamtej sceny i zapewniając artystyczny most między najwyższych lotów muzyką improwizowaną, a muzyką popularną. Na szczęście i u nas po pewnej w ostatnich latach posusze - jeśli chodzi o ten rodzaj muzyki - słyszymy odrodzenie, o czym świadczy sukces takich składów jak EABS, Błoto czy Immortal Onion.
Niemal równo 14 lat temu miałem okazję posłuchać debiutanckiej płyty zespołu o nazwie Jazzpospolita zatytułowanej "Almost Splendid" i napisać na jej temat tekst, jeden z pierwszych na tym blogu. Od tamtej pory Jazzpospolita, wtedy zupełnie nieznana, przeszła długą drogę, wydając wg moich obliczeń (licząc z najnowszą) osiem płyt, zdobywając wierną publiczność w Polsce i koncertując z sukcesem nie tylko w naszym kraju. Przez ten okres język muzyczny wypracowany przez tę formację pzostawał zasadniczo taki sam, ale od jakiegoś czasu w składzie grupy zacząły zachodzić zmiany i obecnie z jej oryginalnego składu pozostał jedynie twórca zespołu i jego lider kontrabasista Stefan Nowakowski. Dla brzmienia tego bandu zawsze kluczowym instrumentem była gitara, na której kiedyś przez wiele lat grał w zespole Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer, którego zastąpił potem Łukasz Borowicki (polecam tekst na temat jego najnowszej płyty "Rituals"), a na najnowszej płycie kolejny młody talent Michał Milczarek. Co ciekawe zmiany nastąpiły też na pozostałych instrumentach, bo weteranów klawiszowca Michała Załęskiego i perkusistę Wojciech Oleksiaka zastąpili ciekawy młody pianista Miłosz Oleniecki i znany perkusista Wojtek Sobura.
Po tak mocnym składzie można się było spodziewać wiele i okazało się, że te wszystkie zmiany personalne zaowocowały powstaniem muzyki, która dla Jazzpospolitej jest radykalną zmianą w stosunku do muzyki jaką tworzyła do tej pory. Ta zmiana jest w istocie osnową tej płyty i może być dla wielu fanów zespołu pewnym szokiem. Aby to wytłumaczyć chciałem znów jeszcze na chwilę wrócić do mojej recenzji debitanckiej płyty Jazzpopolitej, bowiem w zadziwiajacy sposób, to co tam wtedy pisałem pozostało aktualne do dzisiaj. Dziwiłem się mianowicie temu dlaczego w polskim jazzie dominują z jednej strony hardkorowy mainstream a la klan Marsalisów, a z drugiej strony free jazz w swoim najbardziej awangardowej i mało przystępnej formie. Brakowało natomiast środka, jazzu nowocześnie zagranego, ale przystępnego, czesto inspirowanego rytmami tanecznymi, całego tego continuum od acid jazzu, po nu jazz, zahaczającego o klimaty a la Ninja Tune. Takich płyt zawsze było u nas bardzo mało, a wielka szkoda, i tę lukę próbowały wypełnić takie formacje jak Contemporary Noise Sextet, Pink Freud czy Jazzpospolita właśnie. Nigdy się to do końca nie udało i polscy muzycy nie wykorzystali fali zainteresowania publiczności tą muzyką, która na świecie przeżywała rozkwit, o czym świadczą sukcesy takich zespołów jak The Cinematic Orchestra, GoGo Penguin, Portico Quartet, Mammal Hands, BadBadNoGood czy Lamb.
Wszakże dziś jest już chyba na to za późno, bo ten język zdaje się już cokolwiek trącić mychą, a publiczność i krytycy, wydają się już oczekiwać czegoś świeższego. To nie przypadek, że także polskie zespoły poruszające się w tej estetyce przeżywają pewien kryzys. Contemporary Noise Sextet rozpadł się, Pink Freud zwolnił tempo, a Jazzpospolita nie tylko całkowcie przemeblowała skład, ale i przemodelowała swój muzyczny język.
Właściwie "starą" Jazzpospolitą usłyszymy jedynie w pierwszym utworze na płycie zatutułowanym "Atole", w którym dominować będzie wpadająca w ucho melodia i taneczny, transowy rytm. Już jednak od pierwszego utworu słyszymy też zmianę: brzmienie jest bardzo oszczędne, a granie delikatne. Szlagierową przebojowość muzyki Jazzpospolitej z poprzednich płyt zastępuje ambientowa przestrzeń (szczególnie udany "Eter"), w której rolę dominującą odgrywają środki sonorystyczne z zachowaniem minimalistycznego i transowego charakteru muzyki. Właściwie cała muzyka na płycie jest dekonstrukcją szlagierowego języka nu jazzu, który słyszymy wyraźnie w pierwszym utworze, z którego jak płatki róży, muzycy w kolejnych utworach odrywają niepotrzebne ich zdaniem elementy, by w ostatnim, tytułowym "Obiekcie", zostawić tylko przestrzeń, wolność i brzmienie. Nawet okładki płyty jakby wskazują na taką właśnie interpretację, bo chociaż na jej pierwszej stronie widzimy obiekt - bogato ornamentowaną kolumnę - to na ostatniej już tylko jej zarys, który wypełnia tylko, a może aż, pustka.
Patrząc z tej perspektywy na najnowszy album Jazzpospolitej, warto przede wszystkim tej płycie poświęcić odrobinę uwagi, bo od wielbicieli "starej" Jazzpospolitej wymaga ona pewnego wysiłku i chęci zanurzenia się w nowy dźwiękowy świat. Tak było w moim przypadku: pierwszy odsłuch był frustrujący, bo ciagle szukałem znanego mi brzmienia tego zespołu, ale kolejne odsłuchy otwierały mi nowe perpsektywy i zacząłem coraz bardziej doceniać wysiłek muzyków włożony w odświeżenie koncepcji swojego grania. I pojawiło się większe zainteresowanie, szacunek i uznanie, zwłaszcza że muzyka okazuje się świeża, wspaniale zagrana, pełna zupełnie nowych pomysłów, wcześniej nie słyszalnych niuansów. Słowem, brawo dla Jazpospolitej, nowej Jazzpospolitej, za odwagę i za z sukcesem zrealizowaną zmianę koncepcji swojego grania. Rzecz na pewno rzadka, wymagająca mądrości, dużej pracy i odwagi, tu się to udało, i z przyjemnością polecam to nagranie, a Jazposspolita dołącza do nielicznego grona combo w polskim jazzie, którym - jak np. RGG - udało się siebie wymyślić na nowo.
This is the sixth album by
Polish ensemble Jazzpospolita and the last one to feature the original lineup
of bassist Stefan Nowakowski, drummer Wojciech Oleksiak, guitarist Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer and keyboardist Michał Załęski. Vocalist Paulina Przybysz is
featured on one song and another vocalist Novika is featured on another song.
The album presents eleven original compositions, all co-composed by the
ensemble members, except the song featuring Przybysz, which was composed and
written by her (lyrics in English) and the song featuring Novika that includes
her lyrics (in Polish).
Stylistically the music
preserves the unique qualities characterizing all the earlier albums by the
ensemble, but is somewhat more Pop oriented, not only because of the presence
of vocals but primarily due to the melodies being more "tame" and
well organized and the instrumental passages being less expressive and
searching. In retrospect it might seem that they ran out of steam, being enslaved
within a formula, which stopped to "lay the golden eggs".
Nevertheless this music is
still a slick aesthetic experience and the atmosphere of dreamy, mysterious and
repetitive soundscapes did not lose its magic touch entirely. Przerwa-Tetmajer
still produces long, lazy guitar solos that seem to flow on the wind in slow
motion, and are easy to impress. The keyboards remain mostly in the background
in a supportive role and the rhythm section keeps the music moving ahead
gently, with little rhythmic variety. The two songs don't really belong with
the rest of the music and as far as I am concerned don't contribute anything in
the big picture.
Overall this is still
Jazzpospolita, and these guys are masters of ambient Jazz/Fusion, so the
album is still very enjoyable altogether, although it created little
reverberation on the scene at the time of its release. For dedicated fans of
the group this album is of course a must, but their next album with a new
lineup and new musical direction proves to be much more rewarding. Still
definitely worth investigating!
This is the seventh album by Polish
ensemble Jazzpospolita, led by bassist Stefan Nowakowski, which also includes keyboardist
Michał Załęski, guitarist Łukasz Borowicki and drummer Karol Domański. The
album, recorded following a period of hiatus, personnel changes and inactivity,
seems to find the ensemble back in full form. It presents eight original
compositions, four composed by Nowakowski, three by Borowicki and one by
Załęski, which is a change as on the earlier albums the music was always co-credited
to the entire lineup.
The album is dominated by the
beautiful sound of Borowicki's guitar, who recorded four splendid albums as a
leader before joining Jazzpospolita. Stylistically the music is somewhat more
Jazz oriented than the earlier albums by the ensemble, but preserves both the
Rock and Ambient subtext, which dominated the early releases and which brought
them the popularity they enjoyed for an entire decade. Załęski provides a rich
harmonic background for the guitar front lines and the rhythm section keeps the
music flowing steadily.
The music is difficult to classify,
as it easily belongs to a wide range of sub-styles of Fusion and even Progressive
Rock on one hand and at the same time is pretty unique. Beautiful melodic riffs
repeated over energetic rhythmic patterns are hypnotic enough to engulf the
listener and keep him enchanted as long as the music is playing and leaves him
wishing for more.
It is great to see
Jazzpospolita back on the scene and I hope to catch them live again soon, as their
live shows are always a remarkable experience. For their many fans this album
is a solid continuation of their earlier efforts, but it is also a great
opportunity for new listeners to get exposed to their music, which never fails
to satisfy.
This is the fifth (and first live) album by Polish Jazz-Rock Fusion group called Jazzpospolita, which comprises of guitarist Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer, keyboardist Michał Załęski, bassist Stefan Nowakowski and drummer Wojciech Oleksiak. As the title suggests, the album was recorded live during the group's tour in China and presents two CDs, each with seven original compositions, all composed and arranged collectively by the members of the group. The album includes live versions of all the nine compositions presented on the group's fourth album ("Jazzpo!") and five compositions from their earlier recordings. The music was mixed and mastered by Jan Smoczyński at the Tokarnia Studio with superb sonic result as usual.
Although these expanded live
versions of the Jazzpospolita's material don't present any new facets of the
group's superb live act, which I had the pleasure to experience at first hand
several times, they do affirm their positions as one of the most successful
young European groups that emerged in 2010s, with a strong appeal to the young
generation of listeners, apparently across the globe. The highly melodic and
hypnotic compositions, which create a trance-like and ever surreal atmosphere are
very communicable and appealing.
All four members of the group
manage to compliment their individual instrumental abilities and create a
unique sound and even style, which is immediately recognizable. The sterile
sound of the guitar, which is the leading instrument in most cases, brings
memories of the instrumental Rock groups from the early 1960s, but modernized
of course and supported by electric piano, create together a surprisingly
convincing effect, when supported by the highly skillful rhythm section.
Silence and breaks are an integral part of the Jazzpospolita magic, again quite
unusual in comparison to what is happening in contemporary music.
This album is an ideal entry
point into the Jazzpospolita world, especially for listeners unfamiliar with
their earlier albums and therefore highly recommended as such. But overall it
is a beautiful stretch of great instrumental music, which manages to create an
atmosphere of mystery and anticipation, keeping the listeners in suspense from
start to finish. Connoisseurs of atmospheric melodic improvised music should
have a field day with this album, which I warmly recommend!
This is the debut album by Polish group Jazzpospolita, which consists of guitarist Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer, keyboardist Michał Załęski, bassist Stefan Nowakowski and drummer Wojtek Oleksiak. The album presents nine original compositions (ten tracks with one tune repeated as a remix), all assumedly co-composed by all four band members.
As it sometimes happens, I listened to this album after being already familiar with the band's later work, therefore I can only imagine what my reaction would have been if I listened to it at the time of its release a few years earlier. Speculations aside, it still is a pretty amazing piece of music and a stunning debut. Arriving on such a busy scene as the Polish Jazz and alternative Rock with a spectacular, fresh and innovative album, which is completely different from almost anything that is already there, is truly remarkable.
This album defines the musical "language", which the group follows since its inception, which is quite difficult to define verbally. It is a mixture of melodic Ambient Music with Jazz improvisations, Rock rhythmic patterns and alternative Rock sonorities, which sounds simply different from anything else. For people desperately in need of known references from the past, it is somewhat comparable to the music released on the legendary "Buddha Bar" series, with many of the Chill-out and Lounge elements present but with the World Music references replaced by Jazzier vibes.
Regardless of the similarities, which might serve as points of reference, this music is fresh, exciting and sophisticated, which by itself is already quite rare. Combined with delicate melodic themes and first-class execution this album is by all means a very important step on the local music scene, proving that excellent music can be accessible to a large population of listeners, without even a hint of compromise and selling out.
In the last few days I have listened to this album repeatedly and I'm pretty sure it's there to stay on my short playlist for a while. Anybody not familiar with Jazzpospolita should definitely seek this little gem out ASAP and follow with their later albums. As far as I am concerned there is absolutely no "almost" involved herein; Splendid indeed!
This is
the fourth album by Polish group Jazzpospolita, which consists of guitarist
Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer, keyboardist Michał Załęski, bassist Stefan Nowakowski
and drummer Wojtek Oleksiak. The album presents ten original compositions
(eleven tracks with one tune repeated twice), all assumedly co-composed by all
four band members. The music was recorded at the legendary Studio Tokarnia with
Jan Smoczyński presiding at the knobs, which naturally results in excellent
sound quality, as usual.
This
album is the first new music Jazzpospolita reveals since their second album,
i.e. in over two years, which kept the many fans of the group in suspense. The
fact is that this is new music but there is not so much new in the music itself,
as if the group simply glided over time doing more or less the same thing they have
been doing more or less since they started. Nothing wrong with that of course,
but in a long range even the most loyal followers might loose interest.
But
innovation aside, Jazzpospolita is still a very unique voice on the Polish
scene, filling a niche for the young generation of music lovers, who are not really
into Jazz proper on one hand, but who are bored with the contemporary Pop and
Ambient scenes on the other hand. The group manages to produce nice melodic
riffs, stretched over extended ambient passages and featuring some impressive
guitar lead lines, which are overall quite hypnotic and engaging. This music
has a chameleonic quality of fitting into many different listening environments,
from background music while driving to intensive direct involvement with the
music.
The
four individual musicians make a remarkable contribution to the overall group sound
and feel of the entire ensemble. The guitarist carries most of the leading
voice, but his role would have been impossible without the rich background created
by the keyboards and the superb rhythm section. Rhythmically the music is
mostly Rocky, with steady bit and pulse, while the keyboards and the guitar
create the improvisational dimension, which associates the music with the Jazz
idiom. Combined with the Ambient sound the Rock and Jazz ingredients amalgamate
into a unique mixture, which is distinctly Jazzpospolita.
Of
course this is the best album the group created so far, and the most fun to
listen to, but the group should be aware of the danger of stretching this
formula for one more album. Hopefully they will reinvent themselves for the
next one, leaving us in the meantime having a good time with this one. Thank
you Gentlemen!
This is the third album by Polish group Jazzpospolita, which consists of guitarist Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer, keyboardist Michał Załęski, bassist Stefan Nowakowski and drummer Wojtek Oleksiak. In fact this album hardly counts as another stage in the group's recorded legacy, as technically in includes no new contributions by the group per se. The first CD of this double CD release includes six remixes (one of the tunes is included in two different remix versions) of their material from the previous two albums, created by other artists, while the second CD is a reissue of their early EP from 2009, which was not formally released previously. As usual there are no composition credits anywhere on the album's artwork, so the assumption is that the group members share the credits.
Considering
that both CDs are about 25 minutes in duration, it seems that this album is one
huge ego trip, which hardly justifies the lavish (and obviously expensive)
packaging and the entire hullabaloo about it. The music could easily fit on one
CD and a much modest packaging would have done the job. A numbered limited
edition is a luxury artists have first to earn by producing some viable
product.
It is
nice to have the "legendary" EP finally released, but the group did
move ahead since it was released and in retrospect it does not really hold the
ground that well. Yes it was innovative at the time, but also very amateurish
in many respects. Nevertheless, regardless of the many labels the
"critics" stick to their music, Jazzpospolita was quite unique and
interesting from the very start, which is already a great achievement.
The
remixes, on the other hand, are a complete waste of time, completely unattached
to the original music and make no sense whatsoever. Aesthetically there is
nothing exciting about the way they are done, not is there any innovation in
it. Personally I think that they do injustice to the original music, which is
interesting enough and does not need to be transformed into other musical
planes.
Overall
life is, as experienced people know, a game of Hit or Miss, and this album is
somewhat on the miss side, which of course is quite normal and happens to the
best. The road to hell is paved with good intensions…
Stefan Nowakowski – bass Wojtek Oleksiak – drums Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer – guitar Michał Załęski – keyboard
Impulse (2012)
This is the 2nd album (not counting their early EP) by the young Polish ensemble Jazzpospolita (Jazz Republic in Polish), one of the many very interesting ensembles emerging recently on the local scene. The current lineup of the group includes guitarist Michal Przerwa-Tetmajer, keyboardist Michal Zaleski, bassist Stefan Nowakowski and drummer Wojciech Oleksiak. The album consists of eight tracks, which are all original compositions (no compositional credits are given on the album's packaging).
Although obviously deeply rooted in the Jazz tradition (as their name suggests), the group expands their influences into other areas as well, including Rock, electronic and ambient. The music includes plenty of improvisation, but the overall sound is pretty metallic and electronic, which is quite innovative on one hand but often difficult to swallow on the other. They are clearly cross-genre, still searching for a unique identity, but their path of experimentation and reaching beyond the obvious is commendable.
In the more "conventional" pieces they sound pretty much Jazz-Rock, but on the more advanced / experimental pieces their sound could be called Psychedelic and even Spacey. Obviously there is a lot of versatility herein and listeners, who like to be surprised and kept in suspense, will enjoy this immensely.
The nature of the music makes it quite difficult to estimate the individual talents and abilities of the ensemble members; well perhaps it is for the best, as the ensemble sound is exactly their forte. Whatever one thinks about this music, one thing is sure: these young musicians do their thing, which is more that most of their contemporaries do.
This album is highly recommended to the more adventurous listeners, who are not afraid to struggle with first impressions and harsh sounds, and are willing to give this music a second chance. Eventually there is a high probability this will become some of their favorite music in the long term. Impressive stuff!
Guests: Lady Aarp (Kasia Kolbowska - harp, Sebastian Wtitkowski - dub, electronics) DJ Feel - psycho synth
Smierc w miekkim futerku (Wytwornia, 2012)
This is the debut album by the Polish ensemble Niechec ("Animosity" in Polish), which is a quintet comprising of five young musicians: saxophonist Maciej Zwierzchowski, guitarist Rafal Blaszczak, keyboardist Tomasz Wielechowski, bassist Stefan Nowakowski and drummer Michal Kaczorek. The album includes nine instrumental tracks, five of which were composed by Zwierzchowski, three by Nowakowski and one comes from outside the ensemble. Before this debut album the ensemble released a five-track EP, which included some of the material present here.
The album's unusual title ("Death In A Soft Fur Coat" in Polish), is the first hint as to the album being quite unusual, which is confirmed by its musical content. It is a completely new amalgam of Jazz tradition with contemporary sound and Rock heritage and could be roughly described as Jazz-Rock (for the lack of a better label), but as it crosses genres in every way imaginable, labeling this music is futile. What is important is the fact that the album is quite stunning and fresh, which is such a rare phenomenon these days.
The source of the sonic side of Niechec could be perhaps tracked back to the early 1980s and the great British band Madness, with its distinctive saxophone front-line created by Lee Thompson. Niechec also place the saxophone right up front, and with the lack of vocals it becomes the group's primary voice. Although the rest of the group provides mostly the background, upon which the sax parts are based, they are all great instrumentalists and they do a splendid job indeed. The acoustic piano parts by Wielechowski are especially impressive, but the rhythm section is also truly excellent.
Zwierzchowski is of course the front man here and his big, strong and impressive saxophone sound dominates the music. At times the sax is multi-tracked and the sound becomes even more massive. He uses an extensive vibrato, which is rarely used these days in Jazz and surprisingly (or not) parts of his solos are quite free form, surely not what one would expect from a Rock oriented album. He is perhaps not as technically proficient as other pure Jazz players at his age, but he has a unique voice and style, which are deadly effective and stunningly fitting for this king of music.
Stylistically the music is somewhere in between Jazz-Rock and Progressive Rock, with hints of contemporary cinematic music and alternative Rock. But all these labels are simple inadequate and listening in this case is the only alternative. Expect the unexpected!
Overall this is one hell of a debut album and one of the best albums released so far this year on the Polish scene. If this is the opening statement by these young lads, one can hardly imagine what the future has in store for them. Kudos and good luck! Music connoisseurs should grab this at their earlier convenience.
Stefan Nowakowski – bass Wojtek Oleksiak – drums Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer – guitar Michał Załęski – keyboard
Impulse (2012)
The Warsaw-based band releases their second album - a rare blend of classical and futuristic sounds. Impulse, released in February 2012, is a set of freely improvised, harmonically and rhythmically strong songs appealing to traditional jazz aficionados, as well as fans of post-rock and ambitious pop music. The new album is rich in guitar reverberations, overdrive sounds, delays and harmonic progressions.
Jazzpo, as they are known to their loyal fans, is a popular group of four young highly skilled musicians: Stefan Nowakowski, Wojtek Oleksiak, Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer,Michał Załęski. Emblematic of a rich Polish jazz heritage, their music shows an appreciation for the traditional and a taste for experimentation. They uniquely blend of nu-jazz, electronica and melodic themes. "Our inspirations are so varied it’s sometimes hard to understand how the four of us play so well together!" they say.
Since the 2010 release of Almost Splendid – a critically acclaimed album fussing classical and more imaginative melodies, the jazz quartet Jazzpospolita performed nearly one hundred concerts. They played at Open'er festivals, Men Playing/ Męskie Granie, Jazz Jantar, Garan Jazz Festival in Romania, and figured in the same line-up as Bonobo during their tour of Poland. The musicians state "We started to play live what progressively set a new, sharper sound. (…)". The album emanates their increased confidence and experience.
Guests:
Lady Aarp (Kasia Kolbowska - harp, Sebastian Wtitkowski - dub, electronics)
DJ Feel - psycho synth
Smierc w miekkim futerku (Wytwornia, 2012)
When few years ago Contemporary Noise Quintet began to mix rock, pop, film music with jazz it was really something fresh on our scene. Such albums as 'Pig Inside The Gentlemen' or 'Unaffected Thought Flow' quickly won listeners' hearts. Full packed concert halls all over Poland (and incidentally abroad) were clear evidence that this kind of music has future. It is therefore no surprise that soon after a bunch of new groups emerged intending to develop this concept. Daktari blend this music with klezmer or better say Tzadik-like moods; Tfaruk with electronic dance music; Light Coorporation with prog rock. All these bands and their albums were issued very recently in 2011 and are worthy your while. Niechęć deserves to be included among them delivering music as much coherent as any of above mentioned collectives. Is anything that singles out this album? Not really. That is its only disadvantage. It comes closest to CNQ in terms of purity of the genre but its compositions lack the sex appeal tunes penned by brothers Kapsa possess. All in all, this is strong debut. My taste which was formed on classical and jazz music might be a bit too spoiled to be kept on this kind of music for a long time. But when I asked some of my friends who came to jazz from listening to rock what do they think about this album, they unanimously reported to be very happy upon hearing this stuff...
Track listing: 1 After You; 2 Taksówkarz; 3 Mojry; 4 Niespokojny Relaks; 5 Relaks Dub; 6 Drugi Turnus W Pucku; 7 Prozak; 8 Fecaliano; 9 Śmierć W Miękkim Futerku
(Editor) Band called Niechęć (tranls. "distaste") announced its first singiel. Honestly I know next to nothing about them except they want to draw on the traditions of jazz among other such musical genres as rock or indie music in general. Personnel consists of: Rafał Błaszczak playing guitar, Maciej Zwierzchowski - saxophones, Tomasz Wielechowski – piano, Stefan Nowakowski – bass (the only musician I know who collaborated with Jazzpospolita on "Almost Splendid") and Michał Kaczorek - drums. The premiere of whole album is set for beginning of April 2012. Check music to learn how this band sounds like:
In Poland we have very strong mainstream jazz, free and improv jazz getting stronger every year but nu jazz, thriving in the West, is honestly speaking underdeveloped. I wish more Polish young musicians would follow suit of such Polish artists like Stealpot or Skalpel who once recorded for legendary Ninja Tune label. And there is so much to explore in this dancelike and electronical jazz sphere where such different artists as Parov Stellar and Bonobo on easy side or Peter Nils Molvaer and Lars Danielsson on more ambitous one coexist.
In recent years two bands in Poland distinguished themselves in this field and can be recommended wholehearteadly: Contemporary Noise Quintet/Sextet and Pink Freud. They play top notch nu jazz in very ambitious form especially in Pink Freud case. And though there is still plenty of work ahead of Jasspospolita before we can count them among those two top bands I must say that as for debut this is more than satisfactory recording.
Straightforward, unpretentious, yet very melodic and accessible it shall appeal to those who only accidentally look into modern jazz garden. But because it at times is dark in mood, scratchy and oniric it shall also keep attention of more sophisticated jazz listeners for longer than just one song. It lacks complexity, density and ironic power of Pink Freud albums or kitsch refinement of Contemporary Noise CDs but it nevertheless bring promise of some individual and interesting voice to speak on its own in future. As far as I am concerned they got credit from me for their next recording. Let me finally say that music is composed and executed by following artists: Stefan Nowakowski (bass), Wojtek Oleksiak (drums), Michał Przerwa-Tetmajer (gitara) and Michał Załęski (keyboards) and invite you to listen to a song from this album:
