Adam Lemańczyk – fortepian, instr. klawiszowe Antoni Olszewski - kontrabas, git. basowa Mateusz Krawczyk - perkusja
gościnnie Marta Wajdzik - saksofon altowy w "Go Around"
Album: "Go Around" (2022)
Ta recenzja powinna ukazać się już dawno. W końcu album „Go Around” był w moim TOP - 5 A.D.2023! Niestety… praca, praca, przygoda w stacji RadioJAZZ.FM... no i to nieszczęsne półtora roku w Legii Cudzoziemskiej...
Jednym z przywilejów bycia Redaktorem (wybaczcie dużą literę, każdy ma jakieś słabości) jest fakt, że do naszego bloga dociera mnóstwo przedpremierowej muzyki, w tym szczególnie dużo tej od debiutantów. Do debiutów zawsze przywiązywaliśmy olbrzymią wagę i już wiele lat temu stworzyliśmy specjalną kategorię, którą wyróżnialiśmy najlepsze z nich. Warto ją przeglądnąć, by się przekonać, jak świetne nieraz były to płyty i jak wielu z tych młodych artystów zrobiło następnie kariery: FOCUS ON DEBUTS. Dziś przyglądamy się debiutanckiemu wydawnictwu, które z pewnością zasługuje na Waszą uwagę – „Basel Smash” od kwintetu Baptiste Stanek 5tet, które ukazuje się 16 maja 2025 roku nakładem LOUMI Records, a które zainteresowało mnie ze względu na obecność na nim naszej bardzo młodej i utalentowanej saksofonistki Marty Wajdzik.
This is the debut album by young
(eighteen years old) Polish saxophonist / flautist / composer Marta Wajdzik
recorded in a quartet setting with veteran Jazz musicians: keyboardist Paweł Tomaszewski, bassist Robert Kubiszyn and drummer Paweł Dobrowolski. Zuzanna Wajdzik (Marta's
sister) adds vocalese on a couple of tracks. The album presents seven original
compositions, all by Wajdzik.
The music is all melody based mainstream
Jazz, bordering on Fusion due to electric keyboards and bass ambience and
dynamic drumming. Some ethnic influences are also present in the music, which
offers a nice variety. The compositions are solid and coherent, serving as
ideal basis for the extended improvisations and the up-tempo rhythmic character
of most of the tunes makes the music flow briskly from one tune to another,
offering a pleasant listening experience.
Most of the solo work on the
album is performed by the myriad of keyboard instruments, and Tomaszewski's
limitless imagination finds plenty of opportunities to skyrocket. Wajdzik solos
sparingly, which is understandable considering her limited experience and
technical skills, and she mostly states the melodic themes, leaving the
expressive improvisations in the hands of Tomaszewski. The rhythm section is
superb all the way, playing respectively in the background with an occasional bass
solo, but offering interesting bottom harmony and rhythmic intensity.
One might wonder if the album
was not recorded a bit too early as far as Wajdzik is concerned. With all due
respect to wunderkinds, their stories usually end in a rather grim manner in
the long range. Hopefully this is not the case here and I am anxiously awaiting
her real debut sometime in the future. Overall this is an impressive
debut, but not entirely earned by Wajdzik herself and with another team of
players might have sounded quite different. Good luck and may the Force be with
you young Lady!
Stanisław Słowiński - violin
Zbigniew Szwajdych - trumpet
Marta Wajdzik - saxophones, flute
Szymon Mika - guitar
Kuba Płużek - piano
Justyn Małodobry - double bass
Dawid Fortuna - drums
with AUKSO Chamber Orchestra
This is the third album as a
leader by young Polish Jazz violinist/composer Stanisław Słowiński, recorded
with a Jazz septet comprising of musicians that took part in the recording of the
two earlier albums: trumpeter Zbigniew Szwajdych, saxophonist/flautist Marta
Wajdzik, guitarist Szymon Mika, pianist Kuba Płużek, bassist Justyn Małodobry
and drummer Dawid Fortuna, as well as the Aukso Chamber Orchestra conducted by
Marek Moś. The music, recorded live, presents a violin concerto in three
movements, and includes both the audio (CD) and video (DVD) version of the
premiere performance of the concerto.
The music is a typical romantic
Classical concerto, incorporating melodic themes strongly based on Polish
folkloristic influences, full of melancholy and beautiful lyricism. The Jazz
and Classical elements are loosely integrated, which causes the music to move
between the Classical and Jazz worlds rather than present a unified/amalgamated approach, with the solo violin parts serving as a bridge between
the two worlds.
As expected, the performances,
both by the septet members and the string orchestra, are excellent from start
to finish, as are the violin solo parts by Słowiński. He joins the ranks of the
young Polish violin stars, which are constantly growing, building the new
generation of the Polish
Jazz Violin
School. This ambitious undertaking is
perhaps a tad too tamed overall, with Słowiński taking no risks and following
19th Century Classical Music conventions and mainstream Jazz
patterns, whereas contemporary listeners probably expect a little more
experimentation these days.
Having said that, this album is
a solid, well structured and beautifully performed piece of music, which can be
enjoyed by a wide range of listeners, both from the Jazz and Classical Music
circles. Definitely worth investigating!
