Tamara Behler – wokal i wiolonczela Grzech Piotrowski – saksofony Shachar Elnatan – gitara Piotr Matusik & Michał Salamon – instrumenty klawiszowe Jan Wierzbicki – kontrabas Peter Somos – perkusja Bjorn Ingelstam – trąbka
Tytuł płyty: "Belair"
Wydawca: DNA • AUDIO / Ministerstwo Dźwięku (2026)
Tekst: Maciej Nowotny
Formalnie jest to debiut wokalistki i wiolonczelistki Tamary Behler. Płyta wydana ewidentnie z miłości do muzyki. To się czuje – i to cieszy. Do współpracy zaproszeni zostali znakomici muzycy z Polski i zagranicy, z aktywną, wspierającą rolą saksofonisty Grzegorza Piotrowskiego, który w znaczący sposób wpłynął na klimat tego albumu.
Muzyka na tej płycie brzmi pięknie – widać (a raczej słychać) pietyzm wobec brzmienia. W nagraniu uczestniczył Tadeusz Mieczkowski, nie bez powodu nazywany „polskim Rudym Van Gelderem”. To produkcja dopracowana, przestrzenna, oddychająca.
This is the debut album by young
Polish Jazz ensemble Quindependence which comprises of saxophonist/flautist
Krzysztof Matejski, trumpeter Dominik Borek, pianist Michał Salamon, bassist
Miłosz Skwirut and drummer Paweł Nowak. The album presents seven tracks, four
of which are original compositions (two each by Skwirut and Salamon), another
two are arrangements of the first two of the fascinating seven piano pieces by Erik
Satie called Gnossiennes and the last is a Polish Jazz standard by Zbigniew
Namysłowski.
The music is modern melodic mainstream
Jazz, with excellent original compositions and quite unusual complexity, which
offers an excellent listening adventure. Although still full of the typical
Polish lyricism and melancholy, the music goes beyond the typical conventions
and boldly steps into new territory, which even much more established ensembles
of this king rarely visit.
The instrumental proficiency of
these young players is also quite astounding, both on the individual level and
as an ensemble. The complex music flows naturally and coherently, allowing for
plenty of soloing opportunities and even some free form ensemble improvisation.
Salamon, who is both a gifted composer and beautifully lyrical pianist (well
remembered from the albums by F.O.U.R.S. Collective or Monosies ensemble), sets
the harmonic anchor for the proceedings and the horns deliver plenty of fiery moments.
Skwirut not only keeps the music on track by his bass pulsations but also offers
his two superb compositions, which are the most challenging pieces herein.
Overall this is a wonderful
debut album, which was sadly lost somewhere amongst the multitude of the
excellent Polish Jazz releases at the time. Since the album was not followed by
other releases, I assume it is not active any more, which is a pity. I have no
idea how it arrived on my desk four years after it was released, but better
late than never is absolutely true in this case as well.
This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz quintet Monosies, led by guitarist/composer Łukasz Komala, which also includes trumpeter Zbigniew Szwajdych, pianist Michał Salamon, bassist Krzysztof Augustyn and drummer Mateusz Karoń. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Komala.
The music is very melodic, well
within mainstream Jazz with slight Fusion touches, which are pretty natural
when lead guitar is involved. Most of the tunes are pretty slow tempo,
melancholic/romantic in nature, but excellently put together. Typically for
the young generation of Polish Jazz musicians, the musicians mature with solid
compositional abilities, which is apparent on almost all debut albums released
on the Polish Jazz scene. All the eight tunes on this album are little gems,
which are a pleasure to listen to.
All the members of the quintet
are also excellent instrumentalists. Szwajdych plays several superb trumpet
solos, which are well suited to the melodic line of the compositions. Salamon
plays fluidly and always with the exact dynamics required at each specific
moment, Augustyn solidly supports the flow of the music with his bottom line
pulsations and Karoń keeps the energy of the music kicking in. Komala produces
some very unusual guitar sounds, especially when playing chords, obviously
using a plethora of electronic devices. His solos are more Fusion than Jazz
oriented, but they are concise, coherent and elegant, and certainly avoid the
unnecessary doodling that plagues most contemporary Fusion recordings.
Overall this is an excellent
debut album, which is full of great tunes and excellent performances. Guitar
fans should have a lot of fun with this, but all melodic Jazz connoisseurs will
find this album to be an exciting listening experience. Perhaps not very
innovative, but this is definitely a sold, well executed project which presents
Komala as a gifted composer and the entire ensemble as an eloquent group of
young Jazz lions. Well done indeed!
This is the debut album by a young Polish Jazz ensemble F.O.U.R.S. Collective, formed in 2010. The current quintet lineup was completed when the trumpeter Piotr Schmidt joined the existing members: saxophonist Stanislaw Plewniak, pianist Michal Salamon, bassist Jakub Dworak and drummer Szymon Madej. The album presents nine original compositions, five composed by Salamon and four co-composed by Salamon and Plewniak.
The music is immediately recognizable
as "spanking new", full of energy and vigor, which often
characterizes the young Polish Jazz generation. Although kept well within the
mainstream / melodic idiom, the music demonstrates a wide range of stylistic
approaches, touching upon Jazz-Rock Fusion, classic modern Jazz and
amalgamating World Music elements. But most importantly the level of the
compositions is absolutely outstanding. Every tune on this album is a little gem,
with a beautiful melody line, flowing structure and an ideal vehicle for
improvisations.
The individual performances are
also first class; Salamon plays delicate acoustic piano and funky electric, Plewniak
is especially effective on the soprano and the rhythm section does exactly what
is right at all times, driving the music forward and providing the pulse which
is an essential ingredient of this music. Schmidt, who is the most experienced
player in the ensemble, sounds also invigorated in this setting and delivers some
scorching trumpet solos.
As a debut this is quite an achievement
in any sense. Superb music, great playing, talent, determination and musical intelligence
are all clearly visible here and hopefully this is just the first stem in a
long a successful future career. Well done amigos!
