Zespół i orkiestra pod dyr. Waldemara Parzyńskiego
Album: "Pejzaż Polski"
Wydawnictwo: GAD Records (2023)
Tekst: Piotr Banasiak
Historia legendarnej grupy Novi Singers od samego początku toczyła się równolegle w dwóch światach: świecie muzyki jazzowej i świecie filmu. Dość przypomnieć, że jednym z pierwszych nagrań zespołu był niezapomniany utwór tytułowy do serialu tv "Wojna Domowa". W dziejach muzyki filmowej Singersi zapisali się nie tylko jako wyśmienici wykonawcy, ale także jako kompozytorzy - o czym często się zapomina. Dzięki wysiłkom archeologicznym niezmordowanego GAD Records możemy odkrywać kolejne fragmenty twórczego dorobku członków zespołu. W ślad za kompilacją "Mini" penetrującą lata 60te otrzymujemy "Pejzaż Polski" - rzut oka , a w zasadzie ucha na filmowe kompozycje z lat 70tych, autorstwa filara Novi Singers - Waldemara Parzyńskiego.
Bernard Kawka - vocals
Ewa Wanat - vocals
Waldemar Parzyński - vocals
Janusz Mych - vocals
Adam Makowicz - piano
Roman Dyląg - bass
Zbigniew Namysłowski - saxophone
This is a Japanese reissue of the legendary album by the no less legendary Polish Jazz vocal quartet NOVI, led by vocalist/composer Bernard Kawka, which also included Ewa Wanat, Waldemar Parzyński and Janusz Mych. On this album they are accompanied by a rhythm section, which comprises of Polish pianist Adam Matyszkowicz (a.k.a. Adam Makowicz) and bassist Roman Dyląg and American (resident in Europe since 1964) drummer Billy Brooks. American trumpeter Idrees Suleiman and Polish saxophonist Zbigniew Namysłowski participate on selected tracks. The album presents five original compositions, three by Kawka and two by Parzyński, and four standards, three arranged by Parzyński and one by Kawka.
The album was produced by my
friend and mentor, Joachim Berendt, and was recorded at the celebrated SABA
studio in Villingen, Black Forest, where so many of the great European Jazz
albums were recorded between mid-1960s and late 1970s. It was one of the first
recordings of a Polish Jazz ensemble made outside is their country and across
the Iron Curtain, which was a sensational occurrence at the time. Berendt, who
was an avid Polish Jazz lover and supporter, helped the Polish Jazz scene
tremendously during its hard times. Sadly he is rarely remembered today, which
is of course a crying shame.
Musically as well and sonically
this is definitely one of the best recordings by NOVI,
recorded at their creative peak. Chronologically this was their second album,
but since it was not released in Poland (and still is not available
there) it is not usually counted as part of their Polish discography. Both the
vocal and the instrumental parts are absolutely perfect and are part on the
vocal Jazz canon, created earlier on by the French vocal Jazz ensembles Les
Double Six and The Swingle Singers. The original vinyl copy of this
album is a mega-rare collectors' item and is priced accordingly. This Japanese
reissue is also pretty rare these days. For Polish Jazz collectors and faithful
fans, this is an absolute must of course.
This is a reissue of the third album by Polish Jazz vocal quartet NOVI Singers, led by vocalist/composer Bernard Kawka and including vocalist Ewa Wanat, Janusz Mych and Waldemar Parzyński. The album, originally entitled "NOVI Sing Chopin", presents eleven compositions by the Polish National composer Frederic Chopin, arranged for the vocal quartet singing a cappella.
Obviously following in the
footsteps of The Swingle Singers, who recorded arrangements of music by Johann
Sebastian Bach and other Classical composers, NOVI
undertook this difficult and very ambitious project to sing Chopin's music in a
similar Swing fashion and against all odds succeeded beyond all expectations.
This recording immediately achieved a status of a cult album, and although not
really a Jazz album per se, was warmly embraced by the Jazz community as part
of its milieu.
In many aspects the album
symbolizes the Polish Culture, as it embodies the idea of Polish Music, which
became a part of Polish Cultural Heritage, transforming in time and staying
contemporary regardless the changing frame of reference, in this case the Jazz
idiom. The vocal performances on this
album are absolutely brilliant and remain unmatched by any other vocal group
since attempting to tackle Chopin's compositions, not only on the Polish scene,
but globally.
This reissue is well remastered
from the original studio tapes and presents a wonderful sonic quality,
especially in view of the challenging task of recording human voices. It does
not correct, unfortunately, the lack of information that has been associated
with this album since day one as to the arrangement credits and the name of the
bass player who accompanies the vocal quartet (i.e. the album is not strictly
an a cappella recording as the vocals are accompanied by a bass player). This is a timeless classic of
course and an absolute must have for any Polish music fan, Jazz or otherwise!
This is a reissue of the second album by the seminal vocal group NOVI Singers, one of the most acclaimed Polish Jazz acts in the 1960s and 1970s, and one of the most influential vocal ensembles of all times. Led by the charismatic vocalist/composer/arranger Bernard Kawka, the group also included the sensational female vocalist Ewa Wanat and two more male vocalists/composers/arrangers: Janusz Mych and Waldemar Parzyński. Following the formula set by their sensational debut album, they perform original music composed and arranged by Kawka, Mych and Parzyński (except for one Classical piece).
The vocal quartet is
accompanied by a superb instrumental team, which includes some of the best
Polish Jazz musicians at the time, including pianist Adam Makowicz, drummer
Czesław Bartkowski and many others, as well as the Polish Radio Jazz Studio
Orchestra, led by Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski. The rich instrumental arrangements
were one of the differences between NOVI Singers and
the earlier European Jazz vocal ensembles like Les Double Six or The Swingle
Singers.
This album, as all early
recordings by NOVI Singers, is absolutely immune to
the tides of time and sounds today as magnificent as it was at the time of its
recording. NOVI Singers definitely left a mark on the Jazz vocal idiom, setting an
incredibly high standard, which sadly was later on followed by only very few
similar ensembles.
Side Note: This is one
of those Polish Jazz albums, released by the Polskie Nagrania/Muza label,
which should have been released as part of the legendary "Polish
Jazz" series at the time, but somehow never made it. From the historic
perspective it definitely deserved to be a part of that series and this was
partially corrected by this edition, as it is one of the items in the expanded
"Polish Jazz Deluxe" series of reissues.
This is the twenty-fourth installment in the series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings from the radio vaults. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland's most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well.
The thirteen tracks collected
here were recorded during three separate occasions by the sensational Polish
Jazz vocal quartet NOVI Singers: a Polish Radio Studio session from 1968 (four
tracks), a live performance at the 1969 Jazz Jamboree Festival (five tracks) and
finally a live performance at the 1971 Jazz Jamboree Festival (four tracks). NOVI Singers, formed in 1964 by Bernard Kawka, included also Ewa
Wanat, Janusz Mych and Waldemar Parzyński. During the studio session they were
accompanied by an orchestra of unknown lineup, during the 1969 concert they were
accompanied by a trio comprising of organist Krzysztof Sadowski, bassist Janusz
Kozłowski and drummer Andrzej Dąbrowski and finally during the 1971 concert
they were accompanied by a Big Band which included trumpeters Stanisław
Mizeradzki and Bogdan Skawina, trombonist Stanisław Cieślak, saxophonists
Tomasz Szukalski, Janusz Muniak and Zbigniew Namysłowski, guitarist Marek
Bliziński, pianist Jan Jarczyk, bassist Tadeusz Gogosz and drummer Kazimierz
Jonkisz.
The material is mostly original
with five compositions by Kawka, two by Parzyński and one by Mych. Three tracks
are standards, one was composed by Namyslowski and one is an arrangement of a
Classical piece by Frederic Chopin, which the quartet performs a cappella.
Inspired by such vocal groups
like the French Les Double Six and The Swingle Singers, also originally formed
in France, NOVI Singers took the vocal group artistry a notch further, presenting a
wide and ambitious repertoire ranging from arrangements of Classical Music via complex
Jazz compositions, mostly original, featuring advanced vocal shenanigans and
finally arrangements of Pop material. They used lyrics in some of their
material but were absolutely at their best when singing wordless vocalese,
which they brought to perfection.
This particular album had the
potential of being one of the most interesting releases in this series, since
live material by NOVI Singers is almost completely
absent from their recorded legacy, but sadly it suffers from some problems,
which make it much less attractive that it should have been. Firstly the tracks
recorded during the three separate sessions have been sequenced here quite
randomly, rather than being presented grouped together by session. Secondly the
recording quality is sadly very problematic on most of these tracks and even
the careful restoring and remastering was not able to make them sound better. Of
course the human voice is the most difficult recording challenge and
considering the limitations present at the time the quality should be judged leniently,
but in this case the sound quality seriously hinders the listening experience. Thirdly,
as usual for this series, there is no background information about the artists,
historic background, etc. which recordings of such importance truly deserve.
Nevertheless all things
considered, this is still a very important document of the Polish Jazz legacy
and considering the importance of this material this album immediately becomes
another must have for all Polish Jazz fans and collectors of Polish Jazz
recordings.
This is the fifth album by the Polish Jazz vocal ensemble Novi Singers, recorded after the ensemble's founder/leader/primary composer/arranger Bernard Kawka left Poland for the greener pastures of the Big Apple, following a whole wave of his compatriots, like Michal Urbaniak, Urszula Dudziak, Adam Makowicz and others. Kawka's departure seemed to have little impact on the remaining three members of the ensemble: Ewa Wanat, Janusz Mych and Waldemar Parzyński. They immediately embarked upon the recording of this album, which as usual included original material, composed by Parzynski (seven of the nine compositions on this album) and Mych (the other two compositions). Three of the compositions included also lyrics (in English).
The ensemble was accompanied by
an instrumental combo, which featured top Polish Jazz musicians: keyboardist
Wojciech Karolak, guitarist Marek Bliziński, bassist Paweł Jarzębski and
drummer Czesław Bartkowski, and the Polish Radio Jazz Studio Orchestra conducted
by Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski. In addition to the original album, this remastered
edition includes four bonus tracks, two of which feature the vocalist Tomasz
Ochalski, who expanded the ensemble to the original quartet lineup for a brief
period. The original album was released only three years after it was recorded,
which was an example of how political bureaucracy dictated the fate of
musicians behind the Iron Curtain.
Musically this album was a
continuation of the fantastic work they did on the previous releases, but the
stress of loosing their leader and the confusion that followed is pretty
obvious. The selection of material and inclusion of songs is obviously a step
towards commercialism, but the album still presents several top-notch numbers,
beautifully and skillfully executed, which stand up to par with their earlier
work. But overall the glory days of Novi Singers were
over and although they would record a couple of additional albums, they were
moving further away from the revolutionary and innovative vocal achievements of
their early days.
Considering the fact that this
music has been unavailable for such a long time this is definitely another
project by GAD Records, which deserves to be praised. Novi Singers fans will find this an
indispensable part of their collection and hopefully we will get a complete set
of Novi Singers reissues sometime in the future.
Bernard Kawka Aleksander Gluch Waldemar Parzyński Janusz Mych Ewa Wanat
Bossa Nova (Polish Jazz Vol.13, 1967)
This is the debut album by the sensational Polish vocal quartet NOVI, which was one of the greatest Polish Jazz acts in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Continuing the tradition of Jazz vocalese groups like the French Les Double Six and Swingle Singers, NOVI expanded the borders further on into more experimental areas and used more instrumental backing, provided the best Polish Jazz musicians at the time. The quartet was led by singer / arranger / composer Bernard Kawka and included also the incredible female vocalist Ewa Wanat and two additional male vocalists Janusz Mych and Waldemar Parzynski. All the singers were also capable instrumentalists. Together they created beautiful vocal harmonies of exceptional sophistication and unique style, unparalleled to this day. On this album they performed all original material, composed by all three male singers with Kawka responsible for six of the fourteen tunes and the incredible arrangements turning everything into a distinctive NOVI vocal signature. This is definitely one of the most unique Polish Jazz acts and an absolute must for every vocal jazz connoisseur!
Track listing: 1. Brownie; 2. Cichy wieczór; 3. Żółty słoń; 4. Trzeba wracać; 5. Nastroje małych misiów; 6. Dwa po dwa; 7. Następny proszę; 8. Pyzate słoneczniki; 9. Jak powrócić do tej chwili; 10. Mini dziewczyna; 11. Bariera uczuć; 12. GOGO; 13. Król Salomon; 14. Tańczące orzechy
Ewa Wanat - vocals
Bernard Kawka - vocals
Janusz Mych - vocals
Waldemar Parzyński - vocals
Guests:
Zbigniew Namysłowski - alto sax
Janusz Muniak - alto & tenor sax
Tomasz Szukalski - tenor sax
Waldemar Kurpiński - baritone sax
Stanisław Cieślak - trombone
Stanisław Mizeracki - trumpet
Tomasz Stańko - trumpet
Włodzimierz Nahorny - piano
Marek Bliziński - guitar
Wojciech Bruślik - bass guitar
Janusz Stefański - drums
Tadeusz Szostak - trumpet (6, 10)
Paweł Jarzębski - bass guitar (6, 10)
Kazimierz Jonkisz - drums (6, 10)
Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski - conductor
Rien Ne Va Plus (1973)
This is the 4th album by the sensational Polish vocal quartet NOVI, which was one of the greatest Polish Jazz acts in the 1970s. Continuing the tradition of Jazz vocal groups like the French Les Double Six and Swingle Singers, NOVI expanded the borders further on into more experimental areas and used more instrumental backing, provided the best Polish Jazz musicians at the time. The quartet was led by singer / arranger / composer Bernard Kawka and included also the incredible female vocalist Ewa Wanat and two additional male vocalists Janusz Mych and Waldemar Parzynski. Together they created beautiful vocal harmonies of exceptional sophistication and unique style, unparalleled to this day. The performed a mixture of original material, mostly composed by Kawka, and standards or contemporary Pop material, but the incredible arrangements turned everything into a distinctive NOVI vocal signature. On this specific album they are accompanied by an all-star band, led by saxophonist Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski, which includes such luminaries as saxophonists Zbigniew Namyslowski, Janusz Muniak and Tomasz Szukalski, trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, guitarist Marek Blizinski, pianist Wlodzimierz Nahorny, drummer Janusz Stefanski and many others. This is definitely one of the climax moments of the Polish Jazz in the 1970s and an absolute must for every vocal jazz connoisseur!
Side Note: This is one of those Polish Jazz albums, released by the Polskie Nagrania / Muza label, which should have been released as part of the "Polish Jazz" series at the time, but somehow never made it. From the historic perspective it definitely belongs to be a part of that series and this was partially corrected by this edition, as it is one of the items in the expanded "Polish Jazz Deluxe" series of reissues.
Track listing: 1. Oh Woman (W. Parzyński - A. Więcko) [04:05]; 2. The Look Of Love (B. Bacharach - H. David) [04:02]; 3. My Own Revolution (B. Kawka - A. Więcko) [04:26]; 4. The Fool On The Hill (J. Lennon - M. McCartney) [04:37]; 5. Second Sight (B. Kawka) [04:34]; 6. Blue Moon (R. Rodgers - L. Hart) [03:25]; 7. Like A Dream In The Sky (B. Kawka - A. Więcko) [06:01]; 8. Rien Ne Va Plus (B. Kawka - A. Więcko) [04:08]; 9. Canto Triste (E. Labo - Eng., Hall) [04:00]; 10. Introduction (Z. Namysłowski)
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