Mikołaj Trzaska - Wołyń (2016)

Mikołaj Trzaska

Mikołaj Trzaska - alto & baritone saxophones, bass clarinet
Tomasz Stawiecki - tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Kacper Szroeder - trumpet
Jacek Mazurkiewicz - double bass
Michał Moniuszko - double bass

Wołyń


POLSKIE RADIO 2056

By Adam Baruch

This is the soundtrack album with music from the film "Wołyń", directed by the cult Polish screenwriter/director Wojciech Smarzowski, composed by Polish saxophonist/clarinetist/composer Mikolaj Trzaska and recorded by Trzaska, bassist Jacek Mazurkiewicz and an orchestra called The Klezmer Orchestra of Pogranicze Theater, which is located in a small town of Sejny close to the borders between Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. Trzaska wrote the music for all the films by Smarzowski ("Dom Zły", "Róża", "Drogówka", "Pod Mocnym Aniołem" and "Wołyń"), except for his debut film ("Wesele").

The most important aspect of cinematographic music is of course its relevance to the film, of which it is an integral part. The question if the music is able to be relevant as an auditory experience, unrelated to the visual dimension, is very complex. In most cases soundtracks lose their relevance completely, when placed on an audio record. In some relatively rare cases, the music assumes an independent identity from the film and proposes a relevant and coherent audible experience. In extremely rare cases the music is not only able to stand alone but constitutes a musical masterpiece if its own right. This is definitely one of those extraordinary events.

The music combines a multitude of sources originating in the extremely rich Polish Music tradition, which over a thousand of years amalgamated dozens of Slavic Folkloristic styles, Jewish Klezmer music, European Classical Music and of course also Jazz, which in Polish Culture has probably a more direct influence than anywhere else in Europe or the entire world for that matter. Trzaska, who is one of the pioneers of contemporary Jewish Music renaissance in Poland, is of course one of the most successful sorcerers where it comes to updating and transforming Jewish rooted music into modernist stylistic amalgams, which include a variety of Jazz sub-genres with an emphasis on Free Jazz and Improvised Music. These Jazz influences are perhaps less noticeable in this music, especially for listeners not familiar with them in depth, but it is there at all times, at the deep foundations of the music.

The overall somber and grave atmosphere of this music is of course related directly to the film's heartbreaking subject matter, but might be also related to more contemporary aspects of life, which influence us all. Trzaska, a deeply sensitive human being, projects his personality into his music, as all great Artists do, and yet his music becomes more universal because of it, rather than self-centered, as might be expected.

This is a very unique music, which could have only been created by a unique composer and the unique circumstances that influenced it: the convoluted history of the Polish People, their rich and complex Cultural background and the immense depth of their catastrophic experiences as a Nation. The decision the release this music on an album is very commendable. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Marcin Masecki - Polonezy (2013)

Marcin Masecki

Marcin Masecki - conductor, piano
Maurycy Idzikowski, Filip Mazur - trumpets
Michał Górczyński, Tomasz Stawiecki - clarinets
Bartek Smorągiewicz, Tomasz Duda - saxophones
Michał Tomaszczyk, Piotr Wróbel – trmbones
Jerzy Rogiewicz – drums

Polonezy (2013)

By Maciej Nowotny

Marcin Masecki - still young, in his thirties, a graduate of famous Berklee College of Music - has already gathered experience so unbelievably rich that it makes him personality absolutely unique on Polish music scene. In his teens he presented himself to the audience as prodigiously talented pianist employed by some of Polish best jazz musicians. He collaborated with such great players as Andrzej Jagodziński or Zbigniew Wegehaupt of older generation and also some of most successful of jazz musicians from younger one like Grzegorz Piotrowski (Alchemik's "Dracula in Bucharest") or Wojtek Mazolewski (Pink Freud's "Alchemia"). He summed up this period by releasing in 2006 the album "Live at Mińsk Mazowiecki" in so-well known jazz trio format with Garth Stevenson on double bass and Ziv Ravitz on drums which was easily one of the best mainstream recordings in last decade in Polish jazz.

After he had built for himself position on local jazz scene that many could only dream of, still being very young in his twenties, he became disillusioned with so-called mainstream and turned himself entirely toward avantgarde with - yet another surprise - occasional excursions toward indie or even pop music (Paristetris). Of particular interest are his piano solo projects ("Bob", "John" and "Die Kunst Der Fuge") and works for orchestra.

The first of latter was "Chopin Chopin Chopin" (2011) in which as in the lens were focused all features which makes music of Masecki so extraordinary: superb level of performance, child-like enthusiasm but first of all a total originality of his musical ideas which he builds upon as much jazz as classical music foundations. "Polonezy" could be justly seen as continuation to this very successful project. The size of orchestra has become a bit expanded but musicians taking part in recording of "Chopin Chopin Chopin" were kept on crucial positions. But most importantly the music on "Polonezy" retained the adventurous spirit of this first record.

No labels can describe appropriately what awaits you upon listening to this disc. The mixture is so bizarre, yet simultaneously so fresh and coherent that the listener can only choose between love and hate towards this music. For Masecki  there is no way in-between, no compromises, no prisoners taken. But if you are ready to check how would sound Chopin when played by Monk accompanied by auto-ironic swinging military band then you will probably end up being as much awed as I am after the consecutive rehearsals of this outstanding material.