Coherence Quartet - Coherence (2013)

Coherence Quartet

Łukasz Kluczniak - alto sax
Robert Jarmużek - piano
Marcin Lamch - double bass
Grzegorz Masłowski - drums

Coherence (Multikulti, 2013)

By Ken Shimamoto

By now, the cohort of musicians that revolutionized jazz in the ‘60s has pretty much vacated the evening stage (with the notable exception of Wayne Shorter). However, new generations of players who drank deep from that well continue to carry the flag of post-bop modality. Coherence Quartet is a worthy example of this phenomenon.

They’re led by Robert Jarmuzek, a pianist-composer who draws inspiration from the masterwork of McCoy Tyner, and feature altoist Lukasz Kluczniak, a highly rated veteran with a searching style. On their debut disc, "Coherence", the players (who also include bassist Marcin Lamch and youthful drummer Grzegorz Maslowski) lay down an hour’s worth of music that mirrors the strengths of the classic ‘60s John Coltrane and Miles Davis units, as well as Miles’ sidemen (particularly Shorter and Herbie Hancock) on the dates they led for Blue Note.

On “530” and “Closerer,” Jarmuzek crashes oceanic chords while Kluczniak essays stellar scalar runs, the band gliding along with assured swing, fueled by Maslowski’s loose-limbed percussive thunder. “Ecol” and “March” are ruminative pastels, reminiscent of the quieter moments on Miles’ "Nefertiti". “Opener” kicks off with a muscular ostinato from Lamch, over which Kluczniak sketches out the Shorteresque melody. The album’s finest moment is the closing “Kurkuma,” 15 minutes over which the four men use shifting colors and dynamics to create and sustain a mood of somber reflection.

Mikrokolektyw - Absent Minded (2013)

Mikrokolektyw

Artur Majewski - trumpet, cornets, electronics
Kuba Suchar - drums, percussion, electronics

Absent Minded (2013)





By Ken Shimamoto

Forward-thinking American jazz musicians have made a ton of important and influential recordings for European labels, but seeing an exploratory European outfit on an American label is more of a rarity. So it was a noteworthy event when the Polish duo Mikrokolektyw – drummer Kuba Suchar and trumpeter Artur Majewski – released their debut disc "Revisit" and the live DVD "Dew Point" on Chicago-based indie Delmark back in 2010.

In operation for over half a century, Delmark’s revered in jazz circles for releasing some of the earliest waxings of Sun Ra and the first recordings by the musicians who would become the Art Ensemble of Chicago, as well as a stack of seminal urban blues discs by Junior Wells, Magic Sam, and J.B. Hutto, among others. Producer Raymond Salvador Harmon heard them in 2007 and brought them to the label.

Suchar and Majewski, refugees from imploded Polish jazz supergroup Robotobibok, deftly combine the natural sounds of their instruments with electronic elements – more seamlessly integrated on this new release than on their debut - creating a sound that is simultaneously timeless and of its moment. (I’ve heard Dallas-based drummer Gerard Bendiks and trumpeter Chris Curiel pull off a similar gambit, with the addition of a spoken word artist, in Swirve.)

Suchar’s integration of tuned percussion and sampling with his traps gives Mirokolektyw a broad sonic palette, ranging from lapidary gamelan sounds to seething atmospheric textures. On “Dream About The One,” they careen into Edgard Varese territory. Majewski’s voice on trumpet recalls both the majestic loneliness of Miles Davis and the multicultural extroversion of Don Cherry. The proximate model for a trumpet-percussion duo is Cherry and Ed Blackwell’s Mu, but the musos in Mikrokolektyw are clearly their own guys. At times, Majewski sounds like the voice of a lost traveler, soliloquizing as he stumbles through the dense forest of Suchar’s drum clatter. An early candidate for my “best of 2013” list.

Mikołaj Trzaska - Mikołaj Trzaska Gra Różę (2013)

Mikołaj Trzaska

Mikołaj Trzaska - Bb, bass clarinets, alto saxophones
Wacław Zimpel - alt, Bb, bass clarinets
Michał Górczyński - Bb, bass clarinets
Mike Majkowski - double bass
Adam Żuchowski - double bass
Paweł Szpura - drums

Mikołaj Trzaska Gra Różę (2013)

By Ken Shimamoto

On "Mikołaj Trzaska Gra Różę", recorded live in front of a highly demonstrative audience, multi-reedman Mikołaj Trzaska leads a quintet that’s heavy on deep, woody sounds. The leader, his fellow clarinetist Waclaw Zimpel, and a third reedist, Michal Gorczynski, all play Bb and bass clarinets. Mike Majkowski and Adam Zuchowski play matching double basses, and Pawel Szpura is a masterfully supportive percussionist. Their music draws on free jazz and European free improvised music as well as modern classical music, while forging a distinctive group identity. Symphonic in scope, the seven tracks flow together seamlessly, as if they were movements of a single long piece.

The opening track, “By Boat,” is a leisurely voyage, alternating episodes of horn polyphony with others where the soloists spar with the rhythm section. At one point, the confluence of voices builds to a peak of intensity reminiscent of ‘60s freeblow freakouts, before taking a sharp left turn into more abstract waters. “Buckets On the Doorstep” is a stately chamber piece for the horns and basses. At first, a bass clarinet plays long tones against a pointillistic pizzicato bass. Snatches of melody slither to the surface, then gradually recede.

After this sedate opening, “Bicycle Herd” jars the listener awake with horns that blare and drums that clatter like Brotzmann and Bennink at their most anarchic, then enters a less crowded sonic space. The contrast heightens the impact of the quiet passage, throwing each sound into brilliant relief. A dialogue between bass clarinet, arco bass, and lightly tapped percussion ensues, followed by a lachrymose lament that gives way to a busier contrapuntal exchange. The track segues into the somber-sounding “Despair on Birch.” The group’s gift for empathetic interaction and dynamic variation is a thing of wonder.

“Walk To the Edge” features a stately theme, filled with spiritual longing, played first in unison, then with counterpoint by clarinets and arco bass. In between, the basses play a duet in which melody alternates with bowed multiphonics. Throughout, Szpura’s responsive sprung rhythm provides a sense of openness. On “Harvest Ax,” the jostling horns and basses build tension, while the expansive drums release it. As the piece winds down, a theme of striking simplicity emerges to provide a backdrop for snaky solo explorations, then closure.

The crowd roars its approval, then Trzaska and Co. encore with “Wedding, Boat and the End,” a slight return that carries a palpable sense of dread, ending the proceedings on an uneasy note. Overall, this record is a unified work that leaves the listener with a sense of completeness. An important release.