Jazz Construction – Jazz Construction (2009) ****

Marcin Kania - saxophone

Krzysztof Lenczowski - guitar

Wawrzyniec Prasek - piano
Jacek Kaliszewski - bass
Wojciech Bylica - drums

MTS 014





By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by the young Polish Jazz quintet Jazz Construction, which comprises of saxophonist Marcin Kania, guitarist Krzysztof Lenczowski, pianist Wawrzyniec Prasek, bassist Jacek Kaliszewski and drummer Wojciech Bylica. Lenczowski also plays cello in the string quartet, which accompanies the group. The album presents eight original compositions, five of which were composed by Lenczowski and three by Prasek. The album was recorded at the wonderful Studio Tokarnia with Jan Smoczynski at the console, which of course is immediately audible, as the sound quality is gorgeous.

Although the music is quite diverse stylistically, the overall ambience presiding is that of melodic Jazz-Rock Fusion. The guitar, which stands out as the most effective solo instrument, is sonically very close to the classic early Pat Metheny sound, round and slightly melancholic, but always very effective. Each of the guitar solos on this album is a masterpiece of construction and a perfect example of showmanship by Lenczowski. But his colleagues are not far behind and they all display formidable technique and feel for the music. As usual with young Polish Jazz groups one keeps wondering how it's possible for such young players to sound so mature.

The group displays its Jazz roots by offering a couple of tunes, which are clever tributes to Jazz Giants like John Coltrane and Miles Davis and their overall approach is also Jazzier than most Fusion groups. The individual contributions of all the band members are truly praiseworthy. Overall, although hardly groundbreaking, this is a very solid debut effort, which features excellent original music and first-class performances, which are as good if not better from most similar material released anywhere in the world.

For some strange reason this album slipped under my radar at the time of its release, but it's never too late to acknowledge a worthy effort. Very well done gentlemen!

Fusionator – Kung Fu (2012)

Krzysztof Lenczowski - guitar
Wawrzyniec Prasek - keyboards
Lukasz Jan Jozwiak - bass
Szymon Linette - drums

with
Adam Baldych - violin (on 2 tracks)

Private Edition 5903292102993


By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by the young Polish Fusion band Fusionator, which comprises of guitarist Krzysztof Lenczowski, keyboardist Wawrzyniec Prasek, bassist Lukasz Jan Jozwiak and drummer Szymon Linette. The violin virtuoso Adam Baldych guests on two tracks. The album includes ten original compositions, six composed by Lenczowski, and two each by Prasek and Jozwiak.

The music is quite conventional as far as Fusion goes, with a tendency more towards Rock than Jazz, demonstrated both in the improvisational approach and the choice of rhythmic patterns. If fact Progressive Rock listeners should feel especially "at home" with this music, as it is similar to many other efforts in that area. Whatever is missing here as far as innovation and exploration are concerned is balanced by the excellently crafted tunes and the individual performances, which are mostly excellent, especially those by the guitarist, who is undoubtedly the most imaginative player in the group as well as the main composer. Stylistically he is heavily influenced by Mike Stern (who also tends to sound Rockier rather than Jazzier) and a plethora of other guitar heroes, but manages to find an individual voice, which is quite rare these days.

Although obviously an introductory effort, this is quite an impressive debut, which should provide an exciting listening experience for Fusion / Prog enthusiasts, especially in view of the complete lack of excitement in that area in years. There is a lot of potential herein, which hopefully will turn into a more mature achievements in the not to distant future. Definitely worth investigating!