Leszek Żądło Quartet - Komeda. Wygnanie z Raju (2019)

Leszek Żądło Quartet

Leszek Żądło - tenor & soprano saxophones
Leszek Kułakowski - piano
Piotr Kułakowski - double bass
Jacek Pelc - drums

Komeda. Wygnanie z Raju

FOR TUNE 0140

By Alek Jastrzębski

Jednym z ciekawszych aspektów zajmowania się muzyką są niekończące się odkrycia i niespodzianki, wynikające z ciekawych zbiegów okoliczności, prowadzących do niecodziennych połączeń. Bo kto by się spodziewał, że sprzątanie archiwum w 2013 roku może doprowadzić do wydania płyty w roku 2016, opartej na musicalu z lat 60. o tematyce science fiction, w który dodatkowo zamieszany był jeszcze Krzysztof Komeda? Cóż, na pewno nie ja.

"Wygnanie z Raju" to tytuł zapomnianego musicalu z lat 60. autorstwa Andrzeja Tylczyńskiego i Krzysztofa Borunia. Za piosenki odpowiadał Jerzy Abratowski, z kolei napisanie muzyki części baletowej przypadło Krzysztofowi Komedzie. Spektakl wystawiono jedynie 10 razy w sezonie artystycznym 1968-1969, co gorsza nie został w żadnej formie zarejestrowany, przez co zdawało się, że kolejna porcja muzyki słynnego pianisty zaginie na zawsze w odmętach ciszy. Nie dopuścił do tego właściwie czysty przypadek, dzięki któremu syn Tylczyńskiego, raptem 7 lat temu, odnalazł nuty w czasie porządkowania ojcowskich archiwów. Później wystarczyło tylko przearanżować muzykę, napisaną pierwotnie na orkiestrę, na kwartet jazzowy, czego podjął się Leszek Żądło i Matthias Preissinger. Według mnie to nie lada wyzwanie, wymagające odwagi i dużej kreatywności. Tym bardziej cieszę się, że Żądło podjął to ryzyko, dzięki któremu otrzymaliśmy składającą się z jedenastu części jazzową suitę.

Jak na suitę przystało, całość skonstruowana jest misternie - utwory naturalnie przechodzą w kolejne, ale jednocześnie dobrze radzą sobie także poza kontekstem. Jednak pełnię zamysłu kompozytorskiego ukazują dopiero odsłuchiwane w kolejności, w której zostały zagrane na płycie. Daje się wtedy wysłyszeć dramaturgię, mającą oddawać tę odpowiednio wyreżyserowaną jeszcze przez Komedę. Efekt ten potęguje fakt, że "Komeda. Wygnanie z Raju" jest albumem koncertowym, zarejestrowanym podczas warszawskiego Singer Jazz Festival we wrześniu 2016 roku. 

Według mnie to właśnie sala koncertowa jest miejscem, w którym emocje artysty są najbardziej szczere i poprzez muzyczne porozumienie ukazuje on prawdziwą wartość swoją i zespołu. Słychać to szczególnie w hipnotyzujących improwizacjach i sprawności, z jaką muzycy przeskakują między poszczególnymi stylami (na płycie znalazło się miejsce nawet dla tanga i samby), a także w niesamowitym nastroju, budowanym lirycznymi frazami i pociągającą melodyką, otulającą słuchacza już od pierwszych dźwięków. Efekt ten wzmacnia fantastyczna sfera produkcyjna, znajdująca idealną równowagę między pełnią brzmienia na modłę nagrań studyjnych, a dźwiękiem sali koncertowej, zapełnionej przez publiczność. I choć cała płyta trzyma równie wysoki poziom, z jakiegoś powodu szczególnie porusza mnie ballada, będąca ósmą częścią suity. 

"Komeda. Wygnanie z Raju" przypomina, że niejednokrotnie historia powstania danego albumu jest nie mniej ciekawa od samego materiału dźwiękowego. Co więcej, opowieść ta może wpłynąć na jego odbiór, dla każdego słuchacza zapewne w inny sposób. W moim przypadku historia, kryjąca się za muzyką, dodała jej głębi i nad wyraz często kierowała moje myśli w stronę pytania: ileż takich perełek kurzy się gdzieś w zapomnianych stertach papierów, w jeszcze bardziej zapomnianych archiwach?

Jacek Pelc Band – On The Road (2016)

Jacek Pelc Band

Maciej Sikała - tenor & soprano saxophones
Bartosz Hadała - piano, keyboards
Maurizio Rolli - bass guitar
Jacek Pelc - drums

On The Road



PRIVATE EDITION

By Adam Baruch

This is a wonderful live album by Polish Jazz/Fusion drummer/composer/bandleader Jacek Pelc, recorded in a quartet setting with saxophonist Maciej Sikała, keyboardist Bartosz Hadała (resident in Canada) and Italian bassist Maurizio Rolli. The album presents seven tracks, six of which are original compositions by Pelc and one is an arrangement of a famous Pop song by the group Skaldowie, dedicated to the memory of the great Polish guitarist/composer Jarosław Śmietana, with whom Pelc played for many years.

The music is a mixture of mainstream Jazz and Funk/Groove, with excellent melody lines and superb rhythmic approach. As such it is easily accessible to a wide range of Jazz and Fusion listeners, who enjoy sophisticated individual contributions by the band members, which are the highlight of this album.

All four instrumentalists really play their hearts out, each contributing several outstanding solos and the quartet performs like a well oiled reliable mechanism, which never fails. Rolli is the great surprise on this album, as his virtuosic performances are simply breathtaking both when he plays his wonderfully structured solos and when he amicably accompanies his fellow band members. His electric bass performances are among the finest one can find anywhere on record in recent years. Pelc also does a great job behind the drums, playing very intensively but at the same time not overriding the other band members. He is one of the most melodic/musical drummers on the Polish Jazz scene, something I recently had an opportunity to witness in person.

Overall this is an honest, extremely well played Jazz/Funk album, which is a great fun to listen to, and which will hopefully reach many fans of the genre around the world, as it truly deserves. It proves that the veteran Polish Jazz scene is still alive and kicking, contrary to the general media trend, which often tends to overlook or plainly forget these wonderful musicians. Funs of virtuosic electric bass playing and students of the instrument simply must grab a copy of this album to realize what this instrument can do in the right hands. Well done!

Leszek Kułakowski Quartet feat. Eddie Henderson - Cantabile In G-Minor (2011)

Leszek Kułakowski Quartet

Eddie Henderson - trumpet
Leszek Kułakowski - piano
Piotr Kułakowski - double bass
Jacek Pelc - drums

Cantabile In G-Minor

MULTIKULTI IMJ 004



By Adam Baruch

This is an album by Polish Jazz pianist/composer Leszek Kulakowski, recorded in a quartet setting with celebrated American trumpeter Eddie Henderson, bassist Piotr Kułakowski and veteran drummer Jacek Pelc. The album comprises of ten original compositions, all by Kułakowski. The music was recorded in 2006, but released only in 2011.

The music is set well within the mainstream Jazz boundaries, with clear melodic themes and pretty straightforward improvisations, all very well performed by the quartet members, but hardly innovative or challenging. Kułakowski is a very skilled weaver of melodies, and his slow melancholic themes are usually more moving than the mid to up-tempo numbers.

All the players are of course very experienced performers and the overall level of personal output is excellent. Piotr Kulakowski plays some beautiful bass riffs and holds the quartet together and Pelc is always doing what is expected of him in every situation. Leszek Kułakowski is a charmer, as usual, and his delicate piano chords and solo parts are heartwarming. Henderson, after playing Funk and Jazz-Rock Fusion for many years, is back as a post Bop player, doing a splendid job both on trumpet and Flugelhorn. However, in comparison to many Polish Jazz trumpeters, who appeared on the scene in recent years, his performances quite honestly a bit pale as to what one might expect.

All in all this is a fine mainstream album, which many Jazz fans should be able to enjoy and one that is definitely worth discovering. Perhaps not the strongest statement by Kułakowski to date, but this is definitely a valuable component of his splendid legacy so far.

Jaroslaw Smietana – From One To Four (2009) ****

Jaroslaw Smietana - guitar

Janusz Muniak - saxophone

Piotr Baron - saxophone

Krzysztof Scieranski - bass

Antoni Debski - bass

Jacek Pelc - drums

APEX 328

By Adam Baruch

This is the second album as a leader by the fabulous Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Jaroslaw Smietana, who died recently tragically prematurely, succumbing to cruel illness. Smietana was one of the most active players on the local scene and contributed enormously to its development over the years. This album presents him, as the title suggests, in different settings: solo, duo, trio and quartet, playing with some of the best Polish Jazz musicians active at the time: saxophonists Janusz Muniak and Piotr Baron, bassists Krzysztof Scieranski and Antoni Debski and drummer Jacek Pelc. They perform eleven compositions, five of which are originals: three by Smietana and one each by Scieranski and Pelc, and the rest of the material is all standards.

This is one of the Jazziest albums recorded by Smietana, with fewer Fusion ventures, and his beautiful Jazz sensitivity is especially apparent herein. But all the other players also contribute very fine examples of intelligent, intimate musical conversations with the leader. Scieranski's bass and Baron's saxophone are simply delightful. Smietana experiments with the guitar synthesizers and performs on three quite distinctly sounding guitars, with his delicate touch being definitely one of the finest ever. Also the three duets with veteran saxophonist Janusz Muniak are among the album's most enchanting moments.

In retrospect this is a very strong album from start to finish with no weak moments or unnecessary "fillers", and a superb legacy which Smietana left for all of us to enjoy. A must for all Polish Jazz fans!

Side Note: The Poljazz label, which originally released this album, was active for 20 years (between 1972 and 1991) and was owned by the Polish Jazz Society. Considering the fact that the music industry in the Socialist State was centralized and totally controlled, with just one State owned music company producing all the albums, the possibilities to record and release Jazz albums were extremely limited. Poljazz was conceived and founded in order to allow for many more Jazz (and other) albums to be released independently from the State owned Polskie Nagrania / Muza and as such revolutionized the music industry at the time, being the only such enterprise in Eastern Europe. The Polish label Anex reissued many of the original Poljazz albums on CD, bringing this fabulous music back to life.

Leszek Kułakowski - Slap & Caress (2005)

Leszek Kułakowski - keyboards
Dominik Bukowski - vibraphone
Piotr Bukowski - bass
Jacek Pelc - drums

MUSIC VOX 001






By Adam Baruch

This is an excellent quartet recording by the Polish pianist / composer / educator Leszek Kułakowski with the superb veteran vibraphonist Dominik Bukowski, bassist Piotr Kułakowski and drummer Jacek Pelc. The album includes nine original compositions, all by Leszek Kułakowski.

Kułakowski is recognized as one of the most respected Polish Jazz musicians, with many achievements as a leader of his own ensembles, composer of Jazz and Jazz-Classical Fusion pieces and distinguished Jazz educator since many years. This album presents just one of his diverse activities in the field, i.e. small ensemble Jazz.

The piano / vibraphone quartet, a sadly neglected lineup, opens up many possibilities of expression, which would be otherwise unattainable and Kułakowski makes the best out of this opportunity. The keyboards / vibraphone dialogue is the focal point of this music, which allows the melodic themes to be separately developed by both players simultaneously. The excellent rhythm section supports the soloists sympathetically and elegantly, maintaining the delicate balance between the foreground and the background. Overall the performances are first-rate and the level of professionalism is amazing, as expected.

But of course the real forte of this album is the superb level of the compositions, which are all simply stunning. Kułakowski manages to construct his own language, which encompasses elements of Jazz and contemporary Classical idioms, even if those are somewhat hidden beneath the surface. These are hardly the average ditties, which often appear on Jazz albums only to disappear into obscurity soon after. They all have a character and maintain a level of intellectual curiosity, which deserves all praise.

Kułakowski is often associated with the Polish Jazz legend Krzysztof Komeda in many contexts. Although his compositions are not directly derived from Komeda's legacy, they show the same conciseness and ability to condense a deeply emotional musical message into a seemingly simply melodic theme. And of course Komeda also had a vibraphonist in his early groups - the legendary Jerzy Milian. Capish?

So here we have a beautiful mainstream Jazz album, which is full of great music, excellent performances and sophisticated, delicate scents of European Jazz at its best. Who can ask for anything else in these circumstances? Oh well, a bottle of good wine would be nice…

Leszek Kulakowski – Piano Concerto / Sketches For Jazz Trio & Symphony Orchestra (2012)

Leszek Kulakowski - piano / composer
Bogdan Kulakowski - piano
Piotr Kulakowski - bass
Jacek Pelc - drums

Baltic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra
Szymon Bywalec - conductor

DUX 0387



By Adam Baruch

Polish pianist / composer Leszek Kulakowski is undoubtedly one of his country's most idiosyncratic musical personalities, spearheading and representing the continuous love affair between Jazz and Classical music in his country. Considering the fact that most Polish Jazz musicians are graduates of musical academic institutions, some of them with Classical as well as Jazz studies behind them, it is hardly surprising that the amalgamation of these two genres happens quite often on the Polish scene. Some Polish Jazz musicians play their interpretations of Classical compositions, most often those by the Polish pianist / composer Frederic Chopin; others utilize Classical music methods, devices and techniques in their Jazz compositions; and yet others compose large scale compositions, often involving entire symphonic orchestras, like the music by Kulakowski included herein.

This album includes two separate works by Kulakowski, both involving piano and a symphony orchestra: his "Piano Concerto" and the "Sketches For Jazz Trio & Symphony Orchestra". The piano concerto is performed by his brother Bogdan Kulakowski as the soloist and the sketches are performed by a piano trio, this time with the composer in the piano chair, with bassist Piotr Kulakowski and drummer Jacek Pelc. Both works are performed with the Baltic Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in Gdansk conducted by Szymon Bywalec. The music was recorded live at the Baltic Philharmonic in Gdansk during the Komeda Jazz Festival.

Although this is by far not the first attempt of its kind to merge Jazz and Classical music, the music on this album is quite surprising, principally as far as the attempt to create a bona fide Classical composition, especially in the case of the piano concerto, rather than a more "entertaining" mixture of the genres, which could be much more accessible to the average listener. There have been very few attempts to compose a piano concerto, soaked with Jazz undertones and yet so typically Classical in approach and structure. The obvious example of George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F (and his other works) comes to mind immediately, not suggesting any direct links between these works, but as a point of reference. The composer seems certainly to be able to create a fully organic, although stylistically retrograde, piece of Classical music, which is moving and aesthetically fulfilling. The Jazz citations, chords and references will be of course more obvious to listeners with a Jazz background rather than to those with a strict Classical one, but both should be able to immensely enjoy the music.

The sketches are definitely more "entertaining", with easily recognizable melody lines and fine lyrical atmosphere, lush string accompaniment and nice orchestral "outbursts" always in the right places. This is an elegant and intelligent piece of music, and although less original than the piano concerto, it has its own merits, especially the wonderful balance and integration between the trio and the orchestra, which is usually the weakest link of this type of musical encounters.

The performances are quite excellent, both those by the soloists and by the orchestra. The live recording is somewhat mushy and lacking definition, but mostly well balanced, but that is a matter for fineschmeckers to deliberate upon; most listeners should be utterly satisfied with the sonic quality, on top of their admiration of the musical contents.

This album is an excellent testimony as to the versatility, quality and artistic ability of the Polish Jazz scene, which has truly very little competition elsewhere. Of course it is another superb addition to the musical legacy of Leszek Kulakowski, who is surely about to take all his admirers by surprise again sometime in the near future. Kudos Maestro!

Jaroslaw Smietana – Talking Guitar (Polish Jazz Vol.93 Deluxe, 1984)

Jarosław Śmietana - Electric Guitar

Henryk Miśkiewicz - Alto Saxophone
Zbigniew Jaremko - Tenor Saxophone
Henryk Majewski - Trumpet
Robert Majewski - Trumpet
Roman Syrek - Trombone
Jan Baytel - Flute
Wojciech Groborz - Fender Piano, Synthesizer
Antoni Dębski - Bass Guitar
Jacek Pelc - Drums, Percussion
Jerzy Bartz - Conga, Percussion 

Talking Guitar (Polish Jazz Vol.93 Deluxe, 1984)  

This is an excellent debut album as a leader by Polish guitarist / composer Jaroslaw Smietana, presenting a set of ten original compositions performed by a superb team of musicians, including his ex-cohorts from the Extra Ball ensemble. The list of names reads like a who’s who of the local scene at the time and includes keyboardist Wojciech Groborz, bassist Antoni Debski, drummer Jacek Pelc, percussionist Jerzy Bartz, saxophonists Henryk Miskiewicz and Zbigniew Jaremko, trumpeters Henryk Majewski and Robert Majewski (father and son), trombonist Roman Syrek and flautist Jan Baytel. The music is all Fusion oriented, with great melody lines. Smietana plays some excellent solos and is well supported by his partners. Overall this is mainstream Fusion, which ruled in the 1980s, so one must not expect complexity and innovation in what is supposed to be “good time” music, which it certainly is. The level of professionalism and talent expected from Polish Jazz are certainly there. Recommended to Fusion fans!

Track listing: 1. Bieganie po Manhattanie 2. Alisia 3. Tabasco Song 4. Podróżując we śnie 5. Trzech panów w łódce 6. Samba Carrera 7. Papierek lakmusowy 8. Od siedmiu wzwyż 9. Polowanie na robaczka 10. Samochody w pokrowcach

By Adam Baruch
www.adambaruch.com

Jaroslaw Smietana – Sounds & Colors (Polish Jazz Vol.73, 1987)

Jaroslaw Smietana – electric guitar, acoustic Fender guitar, keyboards, voices

Jacek Pelc – premier drums, paiste cymbals, percussions
Antoni Debski – Fender bass, synthesizer
Piotr Baron – Selmer Mark VII tenor saxophone, soprano, clarinet, keyboards

 Sounds & Colors (Polish Jazz Vol.73, 1987)

This is an excellent album by Polish guitarist / composer Jaroslaw Smietana, his first recording under his name in the legendary Polish Jazz series, although he already released two albums with his group Extra Ball a decade earlier. Undoubtedly the best Polish Fusion guitar player, Smietana is also a great tunesmith; this album includes six of his wonderful compositions (and one standard), performed by a superb quartet, which includes side by side with the leader saxophonist Piotr Baron (one of future best Polish sax players), bassist Antoni Debski and drummer Jacek Pelc. The music is very similar to what one might expect from the best Fusion groups around at the time, especially Weather Report, which is a clear model. The guitar (and occasional keyboards) - sax exchanges could be very easily mistaken for another Joe Zawinul / Wayne Shorter dialog. But there is enough originality here, both in the compositions and the performances, to dismiss any accusations of plagiarism. These excellent musicians are not to be taken for granted and overall this album is as good, if not better, that any other Fusion album recorded anywhere on this planet. Fusion fans will definitely enjoy this album with no reservations, but the general Jazz loving public should be able to have a great time with it as well. It lost nothing of its charm over time!

Tracj listing: 1 Sounds And Colours; 2 Okapi, Pekari, Karibu; 3 Flashing Dance; 4 Every Day Niagara; 5 Turtle Song; 6 Days Of Wine And Roses; 7 Try To Make It Belter

By Adam Baruch

http://adambaruch.com/

Leszek Kulakowski Quartet feat. Eddie Henderson - Cantabile In G-Minor (Multikulti, 2011)

Leszek Kułakowski Quartet feat. Eddie Henderson
Leszek Kułakowski - piano
Eddie Hederson - trumpet
Piotr Kułakowski - doublebass
Jacek Pelc - drums

Cantabile In G-Minor (Multikulti, 2011)

Right now in Hollywood all kinds of pre-quels are trendy and this CD is kind of such project not from one but even from two perspectives. First, although released by Multikulti label in 2011 it was actually recorded in 2006. It therefore evidences an earlier stage in Kułakowski artistic development before magnificent "Code Numbers" (2010), the album where he ventured on very subtle and personal dialogue with modern avantjazz aesthetics. This CD however is wholesome mainstream effort with all spatiality and demureness of late ECM style augmented by bop notes from time to time coming from Eddie Henderson's trumpet.

And this is that second perspective as brought into recording by powerful Henderson presence who took lessons from legendary Louis Armstrong and had personal relationship with such luminaries of bop era trumpet as Miles Davis or Lee Morgan. Henderson saturates this recording with deep and wide legacy of Blue Note golden years  which sounds surprisingly fresh though more than 50 years has passed since its peak!

In the end this album, like best Hollywood pre-quel movies, though definitely predictable and nothing-new, still is executed with such mastery, maturity and musicality that few mainstream recordings of this year 2011 could withstand comparison with it! The high level of muscianship it owes not only to above mentioned Eddie Henderson's trumpet or Leszek Kułakowski's piano but also to extremely timely and sensitive pulse as supplied by Piotr Kułakowski's double-bass and Jacek Pelc drums.

Speaking shortly, this one swings like hell and if you love mainstream jazz you should not let this CD pass unlistened to.  

Check concert version of tune titled "Taniec świetej krowy" (Dance of holy cow"). Great music!

Author: Maciej Nowotny

http://kochamjazz.blox.pl/html