Bartłomiej Oleś - drums, composer
Marcin Oleś - double bass
Bartek Prucnal - alto saxophone
Bartek Pieszka - vibraphone
album's title: “Eleven Phrases”
CSK Lublin – 01 (2024)
Review author: Viačeslavas Gliožeris
Andrzej Przybielski - trumpet
Marcin Oleś - bass
Bartłomiej Oleś - drums
Short Farewell: The Lost Session
AUDIO CAVE 2021/001
By Adam Baruch
This is an archival album presenting recordings made by the legendary Polish Jazz trumpeter Andrzej Przybielski, with the superb rhythm section consisting of bassist Marcin Oleś and his twin brother Bartłomiej Oleś (collectively known as Oleś Brothers). These recordings were considered lost for all these years until now, and after being miraculously recovered and restored, are presented here for the first time. The album presents eleven original compositions, one twelve minutes long and the others running from just under half a minute and up to about four minutes. Three of the compositions are credited to Przybielski, six to Oleś Brothers, one to the trio and finally one to Bartłomiej Oleś.
Przybielski and Oleś Brothers recorded together several times, going back to the turn of the Millennium. First they recorded two albums with the Custom Trio, which featured the Oleś Brothers: “Free Bop” and “Andrzej Przybielski & Custom Trio”. At the time the music included here was recorded (2003), they recorded the album “Abstract” and some years later (2010) they recorded the album “De Profundis”. This album is of course a precious addition to their common recorded legacy and a historic document of the outmost importance.
Przybielski, who died in 2011, was one of Polish Jazz most idiosyncratic figures, a fearless Avant-Gardist and a loner, who was rejected by the local Jazz mainstream and its establishment and as a result was offered relatively few opportunities to record and perform, always acting on the artistic fringe. His sublime technique allowed him to play with heartbreaking lyricism and uncompromising honesty, which sadly was recognized by but a few. I was extremely lucky and fortunate to meet and work with Przybielski during the recording of “The Book Of Job” album, which left an immense impression on me at the time.
It is great to see that Przybielski and his music are not forgotten and are preserved by those who knew and worked with him, carrying the legacy to the next generations. Projects, like this one, are beautiful examples of preservation of High Culture, especially in days when the world is being drowned is mindless excrements.
For true fans of Polish Jazz and European Avant-Garde, this album, despite its short playing time, is an absolute must, of course, literally worth its weight in gold. It would be sacrilegious to treat this music as accidental “leftovers” and it deserves to be treated with love and respect. A great memorial gesture celebrating the tenth anniversary of Przybielski’s premature departure.
Piotr Orzechowski - piano
Marcin Oleś - double bass
Bartłomiej Oleś - drums
Waterfall: Music Of Joe Zawinul
AUDIO CAVE 2020/011
By Adam Baruch
This is the debut album by a "dream come true" Polish Jazz piano trio, which combines the forces of the brilliant rhythm section comprising of twin brothers Marcin Oleś on bass and Bartłomiej Oleś on drums (collectively known as Oleś Brothers) with one of Poland's most idiosyncratic, expressive and open-minded pianists Piotr Orzechowski. It is therefore not surprising that the expectations from the music produced by this trio reach the zenith as far as Polish Jazz scene is concerned.
As the subtitle of this album ("Music Of Joe Zawinul") discloses, the subject of the album is the music composed by Austrian composer/keyboardist Josef Joe Zawinul, who left Austria in 1959 and moved to where Jazz "was happening", soon to become one of the most prominent musicians on the American scene, playing with Cannonball Adderley and then Miles Davis, before forming the revolutionary ensemble Weather Report and later Zawinul Syndicate.
Despite his success in America, Zawinul was in many respects a tragic figure as his European background and musical tradition never truly allowed him to integrate within American Jazz. Over the years he composed a superb body of music that attested to his European foundations, which was never fully understood by his fellow musicians at the time. Therefore the recognition of the European spirit in the music of Zawinul, which is fully recognized and openly stated by the creators of this album, offers an important historical and intellectual testimonial beyond the musical layer. This approach leads of course to a completely novel and unprecedented interpretation of Zawinul's music, dominant to such extent that most music listeners familiar with these compositions in their original recorded form will probably not recognize these compositions easily (if at all) on this album.
As a result, the listeners are exposed to a completely new depth and beauty of Zawinul's compositions, a presentation which deserves a highest respect for its ingenuity and boldness, qualities that are not surprising in case of Oleś Brothers and Orzechowski. The performances are of course absolutely stellar, with every single note and sound perfectly placed within the musical kaleidoscope. The clarity of the sound and the total involvement of these three musicians is absolutely phenomenal, standing apart from almost everything else one can find on record elsewhere. It seems that the magic touch of Oleś Brothers and Orzechowski combined becomes not only a sum of their sublime qualities but rather their product
A word of warning for listener's expecting anything like what Zawinul's music sounded originally - this album demands a completely different level of involvement, concentration and open-mindedness. Of course this is an immediate favorite as far as I am concerned, and as the year (dreadful 2020) nears its most welcome ending, this album jumps straight into the small heap of top albums of the year. It is a true revelation and I feel proud to be able to call the makers of this magnificent music my Friends. Thank you, as always!
Oleś Brothers & Christopher Dell
Marcin & Bartłomiej Oleś Duo