Lora Szafran/Bogdan Hołownia – Wars Szpilman Wasowski. I Tak Się Trudno Rozstać… (2018)

Lora Szafran/Bogdan Hołownia

Lora Szafran - vocals
Bogdan Hołownia - piano
Robert Murakowski - trumpet
Paweł Pańta - bass
Sebastian Frankiewicz - drums

Wars Szpilman Wasowski. I Tak Się Trudno Rozstać…



POLSKIE RADIO 2177

By Adam Baruch

This is a live recording by Polish Jazz vocalist Lora Szafran accompanied by a quartet led by pianist Bogdan Hołownia, which also includes trumpeter Robert Murakowski, bassist Paweł Pańta and drummer Sebastian Frankiewicz. The album presents twelve Polish evergreens (often called Polish standards), composed by three renowned Polish composers: Henryk Wars, Wladyslaw Szpilman and Jerzy Wasowski and featuring lyrics by celebrated Polish poets and lyricists.

The music holds no surprises to the Polish listeners, as these are songs that the older generation is very much familiar with and which have been around for many years being clearly an integral part of the Polish Cultural heritage. Of course, as such, they have all been performed and recorded many times before and as a result this album offers nothing new in this respect.

Szafran and the instrumentalist are all veteran performers and professionals, so this material offers no challenge whatsoever, especially in view of the fact that it was meant as entertainment and a nostalgic revisit of this material, rather than a Jazz event. Of course the performance was first class from start to finish. Overall this is a nice tribute to beautiful Polish songs, which offer wonderful music and intelligent, sensitive lyrics, and as such is sadly a symbol of how the values of popular music changed over time from artistry to trash.

Włodek Pawlik – Struny Na Ziemi (2011)

Włodek Pawlik

Lora Szafran - vocals
Marek Bałata - vocals
Robert Więckiewicz - recitation
Włodek Pawlik - piano
Paweł Pańta -  bass
Cezary Konrad - drums
Mikołaj Wielecki - percussion

Struny Na Ziemi


POLSKIE RADIO 1395

By Adam Baruch

This is a beautiful album by Polish pianist/composer Włodek Pawlik, which presents a Jazz & Poetry project dedicated to the poetry of Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, one of the most renowned 20th Century Polish literary figures, although quite controversial on the convoluted Polish political landscape. Pawlik created sixteen musical settings to poems by Iwaszkiewicz, which are executed by a fabulous cast which includes vocalists Lora Szafran and Marek Bałata, actor Robert Więckiewicz, bassist Paweł Pańta, drummer Cezary Konrad and percussionist Mikołaj Wielecki.

The Jazz & Poetry idiom has always been one of great fortes of Polish Jazz and the beautiful Polish poetry seems always to magically inspire musicians and makes them to come up with their best work. This album is another example of this phenomenon and it is absolutely wonderful from start to finish. Pawlik seems to be completely comfortable with the short "song" oriented environment and weaves a series of beautifully melodic, expressive and impressive pieces, which are certainly among his strongest manifestations as a composer.

The vocals and recitation are also superbly executed, with Szafran demonstrating again that she has but a few equals. A pity she does not record more, as her singing is always a source of heavenly pleasure. The instrumental quartet performs spotlessly, with Pawlik sensitive and lyrical phrases amicably and masterfully accompanied by the excellent rhythm section.

Overall this is a classic example of the Jazz & Poetry idiom, which glorifies the Polish Culture in the best possible way. The combination of words and music is probably the most powerful tool to bring the best out of the Artists and the listeners. Of course the lyrics in Polish seemingly limit the audience to the Polish speakers, but honestly this album can move the hearts of listeners who do not understand a word of Polish by the sheer magic of its intelligence and intellectual content. Strangely this album made very little impact on the Polish scene at the time of its release. Some people probably can't bury political hatchets even when it comes to Culture.

Małgorzata Maliszczak – Złote Myśli Kobiety (2015)

Małgorzata Maliszczak

Lora Szafran - vocals
Mietek Szcześniak - vocals
Beata Przybytek - vocals
Agnieszka Mali - vocals
various musicians

Złote Myśli Kobiety

POLSKIE RADIO 1954


By Adam Baruch

This is a wonderful album, which presents twelve original compositions by Polish pianist/composer Malgorzata Maliszczak, based on poems (by prominent Polish poetesses and poets), which present the feminine "point of view". The beautiful texts and superb music go hand in hand, creating a gorgeous set of songs, carefully arranged and Jazzed up, performed by four vocalists: Lora Szafran, Mietek Szczesniak, Beata Przybytek and Agnieszka Mali. The vocalists are supported by a great team of instrumentalist, including many of the top Polish Jazz players, like the great pianist Pawel Tomaszewski, bassist Andrzej Swies, drummer Pawel Dobrowolski and many others. Kudos to Tomasz Kalwak for producing this gem!

The album firmly continues the Polish Jazz & Poetry tradition, which goes back to the 1960s and always has been one of the most successful expressions of the local Culture. It is good to see that it has not been abandoned so far, even though the contemporary music scene makes every effort to annihilate every sign of Culture itself. Of course the fact that these poems were written in the Polish language limits the potential audience, I'm pretty sure that even non-Polish speakers should be able to enjoy this album in full.

Personally I find Beata Przybytek to be the most striking vocalist on this album, but all four artists make a grand job, including the veteran Szafran, who seems to be still in great form. The instrumental work is perfectly suiting the lyrical atmosphere, with subtle soloing and attentive accompaniment. This album simply says "elegance and grace" minute after minute, and when it is eventually over, one longs for more.

Overall this is a splendid effort and everybody who contributed to its creating deserves to be wholeheartedly thanked and congratulated. One can only hope that it will be heard by as many people as possible, who can truly appreciate it.

Lora Szafran – Spiewnik Nahornego (2003)

Lora Szafran

Lora Szafran - vocals
Włodzimierz Nahorny - piano
Mariusz Bogdanowicz - bass
Piotr Biskupski - drums

Spiewnik Nahornego

CONFITEOR 004



By Adam Baruch

Polish Jazz vocalist Lora Szafran is active on the local scene since the mid 1980s, when she graduated from the Katowice Music Academy. She sings Jazz but is also active on the mainstream Polish popular music market. This is her sixth album as a leader and it is dedicated to songs composed by the legendary Polish Jazz pianist/saxophonist/composer Włodzimierz Nahorny, who is also known as the author of popular evergreens. The album includes twelve songs composed by Nahorny, with lyrics (in Polish) by some of top Polish lyricists. Szafran is accompanied by a trio which includes Nahorny on piano with bassist Mariusz Bogdanowicz and drummer Piotr Biskupski and a string sextet, with string arrangements by Andrzej Jagodziński and Krzysztof Herdzin.

The album is kept in the classic mainstream Jazz tradition, performed spotlessly and with flair by all participants. Nahorny's music is timeless and remains fresh and beautiful in complete disregard of passing fads and fashions. His compositions are as good as any American standards. The intelligent lyrics are a painful remainder that song's lyrics are supposed to tell a story in an intelligent way, as they do here in complete contrast to today's monstrosities called songs.

Szafran sings perfectly and superbly, with her charming mannerisms and vocal tricks, which she manages to use as effectively as always. She is able to pronounce every word clearly and accurately, with feeling and obvious sentiment to the context, an art that seems to be lost completely these days. Her warm and round voice and professional finesse are irresistible. The interplay between her and the trio is always impeccable, which turns the entire recording into a musical love affair. Nahorny and the rhythm section are of course a living example of knights in shining armor.

This is an "old fashioned" album, but in spite of that often misused classification it sounds fresh and alive in spite of its delicacy, fragility and sophistication. I must be old fashioned myself, as this stuff simply melts my heart.

Lora Szafran – Lonesome Dancer (Polish Jazz Vol.76, 1989)

Lora Szafran - vocal

Wojciech Niedziela - piano
Jacek Niedziela - bass
Piotr Wojtasik - trumpet, fluegelhorn
Adam Czerwiński - drums

Lonesome Dancer (Polish Jazz Vol.76,  1989)

This is the excellent debut album by female Polish Jazz vocalist Lora Szafran, the best new arrival on the local scene in the 1980s in the vocal department. She was blessed with great musicality, versatility and superb vocal abilities, which are rare and precious. On this album she is accompanied by an exceptional quartet called New Presentation, consisting of the best young Polish Jazz musicians at the time: pianist / composer / leader Wojciech Niedziela, his brother bassist Jacek Niedziela, drummer Adam Czerwinski and the excellent trumpeter Piotr Wojtasik. Together they perform nine songs, two of which were composed by Wojciech Niedziela, two others are by other Polish composers and the rest are Jazz standards. The overall level of performance is truly excellent from start to finish and for people who love mainstream Jazz delivered with taste and virtuosity, this is a must.

Side Note: This is the last album released under the "Polish Jazz" series, and as the volume number suggests the entire series consists of 76 albums released between mid-1960s and late 1980s. Some of the best European Jazz ever recorded can be found in this exceptional collection of recordings, which is often collected by Jazz fans around the world. A giant box set with all the 76 albums in mini-sleeve replicas would be a "dream come true" for true lovers of Polish Jazz. Hopefully soon!

Track listing: 1. Summertime; 2. Sweet Love To Keep; 3. New York Lament; 4. New York Lament; 5. My Funny Valentine; 6. Lonesome Dancer; 7. Kiss Me Right; 8. Sleep Safe And Warm; 9. A melancholy 

By Adam Baruch

http://adambaruch.com/

Lora Szafran - Śpiewnik Nahornego (2003)

Confiteor, 2003

This record whose title may be translated as "Nahorny Songbook" contains compositions of pianist Włodzimierz Nahorny. Born in 1941 Nahorny's career is noteworthy for his numerous and successful collaborations with jazz vocalists. The albums he recorded with Breakout, Marjanna Wróblewska and Novi Singers are one of the most interesting in history of Polish vocal jazz.

This album however is only kind of sentimental journey through moods and sounds that were popular in 70ties of 80ties in Polish pop embellished by nice jazz singing by Lora Szafran. Nothing new and exciting is going on here unfortunately...

Check this sweet song by immortal Jeremi Przybora as sung by Lora Szafran:

Fazi Quintet Moon Ship - Stawka Wieksza Niż Życie (1997)

A trifle, nothing more, but I somehow like it. It contains set of standards, great tunes indeed, all coming from legendary Polish movies. Mariusz Mielczarek, playing on sax and leader of the band, his style rubato, very much like Coleman Hawkins, brings life to music that is so well known and never stray too far away from what listeners remember. Skip it if such film titles like "Stawka większa niż życie", "O7 - zgłoś się" or "Noce i Dnie" tell you nothing. But if they do you will love this music.

Please listen to sample of music from "07 - zgłoś się" which was local version of Bond movies taking place in communist Poland. Hardcore!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xccr-RmRjqU&feature=related