Zbigniew Lewandowski - Zbigniew Lewandowski (2020)

Zbigniew Lewandowski

Andrzej Przybielski - trumpet
Piotr Baron - saxophone
Andrzej Olejniczak - saxophone
Paweł Ścierański - guitar
Krzysztof Ścierański - bass guitar
Mieczysław Jurecki - bass guitar
Jose Torres - percussion
Zbigniew Lewandowski - drums, synth

Zbigniew Lewandowski

GAD 121

By Adam Baruch

This is a reissue of the debut album by Polish Jazz drummer / composer / bandleader Zbigniew Lewandowski, originally released on the legendary Poljazz label. The music was recorded in 1983 during two sessions separated by several months, with two lineups. The first lineup was a quintet which included alongside Lewandowski also iconic trumpeter Andrzej Przybielski, saxophonist Piotr Baron, guitarist Paweł Ścierański and bass guitarist Krzysztof Ścierański. The second lineup was extended to an octet and included also saxophonist Andrzej Olejniczak, second bass guitarist Mieczysław Jurecki and percussionist Jose Torres. The original LP presented six tracks but this remastered edition was expanded by two additional tracks from the first session, previously unissued. All the compositions were by the musicians participating in the recording except for one standard.

The music, influenced by the revolutionary work of Miles Davis, has a distinct Fusion tinge, but is very far from an attempt to copy the great Master. Przybielski, aged thirty-nine at the time of the recording, was already Poland's most idiosyncratic Jazz musician and trumpet Genius. He displays the full range of his abilities, and the fact that the music is Fusion oriented, offers a rare opportunity to hear him in that specific idiom, rather than within his "usual" Avant-Garde environment. His performances on this album are amongst the most extensive documents of his playing, including his weird sense of humor. In retrospect this album emphasizes the devastating loss Polish Jazz suffered with his untimely death in 2011. I had the immense luck and pleasure to produce the album "The Book Of Job", just a couple of years after this recording was made, which also featured Przybielski at his absolute best.

Baron, only twenty-two years old at the time, also contributes wonderfully to the album's overall ambience, offering his compositions, most of the arrangements and excellent soloing. The rest of the players were already more experienced and their professionalism and obvious talents are clearly evident in the resulting music. Overall this is a momentous recording, perhaps one of the most important Polish Jazz albums from the 1980s, and beyond. Polish Jazz/Fusion fans should be grateful to GAD Records for resurrecting this gem and saving it from oblivion. Brilliant stuff!

Zawartko/Piasecki – Leć Głosie (2015)

Zawartko/Piasecki

Magdalena Zawartko - vocals
Grzegorz Piasecki - bass
Piotr Wojtasik - trumpet
Tomasz Wendt - saxophone
Artur Tuźnik - piano
Wojciech Buliński - drums
Marek Kądziela - guitar
Jose Torres - percussion



Leć Głosie

PRIVATE EDITION

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by Polish Jazz duo comprising of vocalist Magdalena Zawartko and bassist Grzegorz Piasecki, recorded with other top Polish Jazz musicians: trumpeter Piotr Wojtasik, saxophonist Tomasz Wendt, pianist Artur Tuźnik, guitarist Marek Kądziela, drummer Wojciech Buliński and percussionist Jose Torres. The album presents eight compositions (one repeated twice as intro and outro) which include Classical and Folklore pieces and two original compositions, one each by Zawartko and Piasecki, also inspired by external sources.

The concept behind the music is the amalgamation of Folklore and Classical Music with Jazz, which of course has been already attempted numerous times before, but in this case the selection of the music, the arrangements and the entire production of the project, which were entirely in the hands of the duo, as well as the superb execution of the music by the excellent team generate a wonderful and entirely successful outcome.

Zawartko sings occasional lyrics but mostly uses vocalese and her voice is by and large used as another instrument within the instrumental environment. Piasecki plays brilliant bass parts and naturally gets more exposure than bassists usually get in ensemble projects. The rest of the instrumentalists, mostly veterans of the scene, perform accordingly, without a hitch.

Overall this is an excellent piece of music from start to finish, intelligent, elegant and highly sensitive, tastefully conceived and brilliantly executed, in accordance to the usual high standards of the Polish Jazz scene. I have no idea why this album landed on my desk years after it was released, but better late than never. Highly recommended!

Ewa Bem – Tribute To Marek Bliziński (2015)

Ewa Bem

Ewa Bem - vocals
Marek Bliziński - guitar
Janusz Strobel - guitar
Jan Borysewicz - guitar
Jarosław Śmietana - guitar
Wojciech Waglewski - guitar
Jose Torres - percussion

Tribute To Marek Bliziński


POLSKIE RADIO 1945-1946

By Adam Baruch

This is a wonderful archival 2CD album by the Polish vocalist Ewa Bem, which she dedicates to the memory of the superb and tragically prematurely departed Polish Jazz guitarist Marek Bliziński, who died from cancer just a few days before his forty second birthday. Bliziński was the first modern Polish Jazz guitarist of international class and for many years during the 1970s and 1980s was considered the top guitarist on the Polish Jazz scene.

Bem and Bliziński recorded together several times as a duo and these recordings were collected on the album "Dla Ciebie Jestem Sobą", released by the Poljazz label, which is reissued here as the first CD of this album. The album consists of eleven songs, nine of which were written by Polish composers and lyricists, and two are standards with lyrics translated into the Polish language. In retrospect, although over three decades have passed since this music was recorded, these songs sound remarkably fresh and sparkling, losing none of their original charm. As noted in the liner notes, these duo recordings were inspired by the Ella Fitzgerald/Joe Pass sessions, which produced four superb albums released in the 1970s and 1980s. Blizinski's virtuosic guitar riffs are beyond reproach, precise and incredibly sensitive, and he proves being not only an exceptional player, but also a most sympathetic musical partner. Bem's youthful energy and obvious talent come to full fruition on this recording, presenting her as fully mature vocalist in complete control of her vocal abilities. Her interpretations of these songs show that she feels comfortably in a Jazz environment, but easily moves into Cabaret and Pop, with the same seriousness and dedication.

The second CD of this album presents a live recording of a concert from 2000, which was a tribute to Bliziński and which presents new versions of the songs originally recorded on the duo album with Bem being accompanied by four Polish guitarists: Jan Borysiewicz, Janusz Strobel, Jarosław Śmietana (who sadly also died from cancer in 2013) and Wojciech Waglewski. The vocal/guitar duos are accompanied by percussionist Jose Torres. In addition to the songs from the original album the duos perform also songs written by the guitarists. Everybody seems to be in top form and the music flows splendidly from one song to another with Bem being on top of things at all times. Her vocal abilities are in excellent form during the entire concert and she elegantly moves between genres, whether it is Jazz, Pop or Blues. The entire concert is a very heartfelt tribute to the memory of Blizinski, who of course deserves to be remembered for his invaluable contributions over the years.

The entire album has excellent sound quality and is carefully produced and packaged, bringing back to life an important segment of the Polish Jazz history, and as such is of course most welcome.

Slawomir Kulpowicz – Three Etudes / Prasad In Mangalore (2009) ***1/2

Slawomir Kulpowicz - piano

Jarooslaw Smietana - guitar

Witold Szczurek - bass

Krzysztof Przybylowicz - percussion

Jerzy Bartz - percussion

Jose Torres - percussion

ANEX 319

By Adam Baruch

Following the demise of The Quartet, Polish Jazz pianist / composer Slawomir Kulpowicz founded a new ensemble, which he called In-Formation. Over time several different versions of In-Formation existed, including a duo, a piano trio, quartet and even sextet. In-Formation recorded two albums and later took part in the recording of this album, which was eventually released as a Kulpowicz solo album. The album consists of three solo piano pieces recorded for the Polish Radio and three pieces recorded live by In-Formation during the Jazz Jamboree Festival with guitarist Jaroslaw Smietana, bassist Witold Szczurek (a.k.a. Vitold Rek) and percussionists Krzysztof Przybylowicz, Jerzy Bartz and Jose Torres.

All the music was composed by Kulpowicz and is a direct continuation of his John Coltrane / McCoy Tyner influenced style presented earlier by The Quartet. But in time the music becomes more contemplative and also more personal, as evident mostly on the solo piano pieces. In parallel the Indian and other World Music influences are trickling in steadily and can be already clearly heard herein. The In-Formation pieces are truly superb and present the group as a great vehicle for the Kulpowicz compositions. They also expose Smietana as the first rate player he always was, regardless of the setting.

In retrospect this is a great document of the Polish Jazz scene in the early 1980s and an important part of the legacy Kulpowicz left behind him, which should serve as an endless source of inspiration to new generations of Polish Jazz players. Definitely worth investigating!

Side Note: The Poljazz label, which originally released this album, was active for 20 years (between 1972 and 1991) and was owned by the Polish Jazz Society. Considering the fact that the music industry in the Socialist State was centralized and totally controlled, with just one State owned music company producing all the albums, the possibilities to record and release Jazz albums were extremely limited. Poljazz was conceived and founded in order to allow for many more Jazz (and other) albums to be released independently from the State owned Polskie Nagrania / Muza and as such revolutionized the music industry at the time, being the only such enterprise in Eastern Europe. The Polish label Anex reissued many of the original Poljazz albums on CD, bringing this fabulous music back to life.

Zbigniew Namyslowski – 3 Nights (1999)

Zbigniew Namyslowski - saxophone
Krzysztof Herdzin - piano
Olo Walicki - bass
Grzegorz Grzyb - drums
with
Piotr Wojtasik - trumpet
Grzgorz Nagorski - trombone
Cezary Paciorek - accordion
Jose Torres - percussion

POLONIA 174/176

By Adam Baruch

This album by Polish Jazz Colossus saxophonist Zbigniew Namyslowski documents a live recording captured during three consecutive nights at the legendary Warsaw Jazz Club "Akwarium". Accompanied by his regular (at the time) quartet, with pianist Krzysztof Herdzin, bassist Olgierd Walicki and drummer Grzegorz Grzyb, as well as guest musicians: trumpeter Piotr Wojtasik, trombonist Grzegorz Nagorski, accordionist Cezary Paciorek and percussionist Jose Torres, Namyslowski played a different program each night, which comprised entirely of his original compositions, twenty three of them in total.

Although not intended as such, this recording is a sort of retrospective, both for Namyslowski the composer and Namyslowski the player. Approaching the age of sixty Namyslowski celebrated four decades of activity on the local and international scenes: recording some of the Polish Jazz milestone albums, grooming generations of Jazz musicians and playing countless concerts, an impressive record, which only very few other musicians share with him. Among the compositions performed one can find a few of his early tunes, going over thirty years back before the date of this recording, as well as some recently composed ones.

The three nights seem to have quite a different character, although it's difficult to guess if that was intended. The first night is all up-tempo tunes, performed by a septet with strong presence of the percussion, which spices the music with a Cuban feel. The second night is more modern mainstream, performed by a sextet and the last night is the most adventurous, with odd meters and World Music influenced compositions, which are often Namyslowski's trademark. Overall the quality of the compositions and the performances are of course excellent. Namyslowski always knew how to pick up his group members, almost always from the ranks of one young generation after another. Walicki and Grzyb represent the youngest (at the time) generation and both prove to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the veterans. Herdzin, who played for several years with Namyslowski in the late 1990s, was still relatively unknown at the time (in the years to come his career was about to literally explode) and is the most interesting soloist on this album except the Boss of course. The guest players are all well known and their contributions are professional, but not very inspiring, except perhaps for Paciorek, who is so original that his playing is always fascinating.

In the long discography by Namyslowski, this is perhaps not one of his milestone recordings, but in retrospect it definitely reflects his exceptional abilities as a player, composer and bandleader. The sound quality of these live recordings is spotless and has a warm aura and superb presence. This is a must have for the many Namyslowski fans and Polish Jazz buffs in general!

Zbigniew Namyslowski – Dances (1997)

Zbigniew Namyslowski - saxophone, flute, trombone
Krzysztof Herdzin - piano
Olgierd Walicki - bass
Grzegorz Grzyb - drums
Cezary Paciorek - accordion
Maciej Strzelczyk - violin
Jose Torres - percussion

POLONIA 133



By Adam Baruch

This album by veteran Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Zbigniew Namyslowski summarizes many years of his career by concentrating on one of the most important characteristics of his music: the symbiosis of Jazz and World Music, or more precisely Jazz and folklore, as represented by dances from different regions. The album comprises of fourteen original compositions by Namyslowski, all of which are based on specific dance rhythms, like tango, waltz and samba or Polish folk dances like mazurka, kujawiak and oberek. Several of the compositions included on this album are new arrangements of compositions recorded and released previously over time.

The music is performed by a quartet, which besides Namyslowski, who plays saxophone, flute and trombone (his original instrument) includes also pianist Krzysztof Herdzin, bassists Olgierd Walicki and drummer Grzegorz Grzyb. Three additional players expand the lineup to a septet: accordionist Cezary Paciorek, violinist Maciej Strzelczyk and percussionist Jose Torres. A Cuban percussion group guests on one tune (obviously the samba).

Namyslowski's ability to compose melodies, which fit the various rhythms and meters, including some very odd meters indeed, is absolutely phenomenal. This album is full of such clever tunes, which happen also to be delightful and sound completely "easy" in spite of their complex and capricious nature. The actual performance is of course first-rate, as always with ensembles led by Namyslowski, who is very strict and meticulous as far as playing is concerned.

In many respects this is the most unconventional album ever recorded by Namyslowski in which Jazz plays still a central role, but is intertwined with the folkloristic elements so tightly, that is sounds often like a soundtrack to a documentary produced by National Geographic. Jazz connoisseurs will find this album absolutely charming in every respect, even though it covers musical ground not habitually associated with Jazz.

It might be very difficult to find, but I urge every Polish Jazz enthusiast to lay their hand on a copy of this gem. Listening to this music is such a great fun!

Zbigniew Namyslowski – Open (Polish Jazz Vol.74, 1987)

Zbigniew Namysłowski - alto & sopranino saxophones

Kuba Stankiewicz - piano, keybords
Dariusz Oleszkiewicz - bass
Jerzy Głód - drums
Jose Torres - percussion

Open (Polish Jazz Vol.74, 1987)

This is a superb album by Polish Jazz veteran, saxophonist / composer Zbigniew Namyslowski, recorded with a great quintet which includes pianist Kuba Stankiewicz, bassist Dariusz Oleszkiewicz, drummer Jerzy Glod and percussionist Jose Torres. All the music, except for one standard, was composed by Namyslowski, who seems to be completely untouched by time, full of creative and performing powers and always at the edge of latest Jazz developments. It is his music, which is the true magic here, and although his performances as well as those of the other players are all excellent, the music is immediately recognizable as Polish Jazz, which is hardly surprising when coming from one of the Godfathers of the genre. It was always Namyslowski's ability to create a perfect link between the Jazz tradition and Polish folklore, which is deeply embedded in his cultural background, which made him a model for a new breed of European Jazz players, those who would stand proudly and say that they can contribute something new and fresh to the already established tradition of American Jazz and make it their own. In retrospect this is another milestone recording in the long and glorious recorded legacy that Namyslowski managed to bestow upon us, and hopefully will be also enjoyed by future generations. A must!

Track listing: 1. Double Trouble Blues; 2. Cuban Tango Mohito; 3. Bop-Berek; 4. 3xSpagetti; 5. Rachitic March; 6. Who Can I Turn To; 7. Very Sad Bossa; 8. Cy To Blues, Cy Nie Blues

(Editor) Based on Polish folk dance oberek "Bop-Berek" may be also translated as "bop hide-and-seek". Typical Namysłowski sense of humour... This tune is featured on this album although here played in different casts and few years later...

By Adam Baruch

http://adambaruch.com/

Tomasz Stanko – C.O.C.X. (1983)

Tomasz Stańko - trumpet

Antymos Apostolis - guitar, guitars drums, bass and percussion
Vitold Rek - bass, gong
Jose Antonio Torres - conga, percussion

This great album by Polish trumpeter / composer Tomasz Stanko marks his entry into the second period of his career, which is an almost complete about face in comparison to his earlier work, which was mostly associated with Free Jazz. During the next decade (1980s) Stanko will record primarily with young musicians, often associated with Rock rather than with Jazz, creating a unique (as always) brand of Jazz-Rock Fusion. This album, recorded in a quartet setting with guitarist Apostolis Anthimos (of SBB fame), bassist Witold Szczurek and percussionist Jose Torres, presents a series of beautiful melodies, which are performed in a pretty straight-forward manner, with Stanko and Anthimos exchanging licks and improvising on top of a steady rhythm section work. Hardcore Free Jazz / avant-garde enthusiasts might find this music "strange" and simplistic, but honestly it is far from being trivial at any point. It is simply different, and Stanko, as an artist, should be without doubt allowed some slack to move forward and change direction, same as Miles Davis and others did. His trumpet playing is a s virtuosic as always, and nothing beats Stanko playing a ballad – absolutely nothing! At the time of its release the album was received coldly and reluctantly by most of the local critics, who used the weathered "going commercial" arguments, without truly understanding the nature of the change. In retrospect this album is a valuable addition to Stanko's musical heritage, which has very few competitors. Brilliant stuff!

Author: Adam Baruch

http://www.adambaruch.com/

check also his music boutique: https://www.jazzis.com/shop/