Andrzej Kowalski Quartet – Abstrakt (2019)

Andrzej Kowalski Quartet

Andrzej Kowalski - guitar, piano
Robert Wypasek - saxophones, piano, synth
Jan Wierzbicki - bass
Adam Wajdzik - drums

Abstrakt

EBS GROUP RECORDS

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz guitarist/composer Andrzej Kowalski recorded in a quartet setting with saxophonist Robert Wypasek, bassist Jan Wierzbicki and drummer Adam Wajdzik. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Kowalski. It was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and offers a high sound quality.

The music is excellent modern mainstream Fusion, based on solid compositions which incorporate melodic themes and quite unusual rhythmic structures, creating a dynamically diverse atmosphere of tension. The compositions are way more complex than the average Fusion material and certainly more sophisticated and intelligently weaved.

These four young musicians share the responsibility for the music the quartet produces quite equally, which is rather unusual. Although the guitar and the saxophone deliver most of the soloing, as expected, the rhythm section is also constantly busy with laying out the complex pulsations and quirky tempi changes, all clearly audible for the entire duration of the music, as well as soloing impressively.

Overall this is a surprising and unusual debut album, which manages to step outside of the conventional Fusion frameset by adding more freedom, both harmonically and rhythmically, rejuvenating the somewhat stale genre and proving that it is still able to astonish the listener. The level of performances by these young musicians proves again that the Polish Jazz scene enjoys an incredible surge of juvenile blood transfusion into its veins, which keeps it alive and sparkling.

Sabina Meck Sextet feat. Wojciech Myrczek - Słowo Na T - premiera 29.11.2019

Sabina Meck - śpiew
Łukasz Kokoszko - gitara
Przemysław Chmiel - saksofon
Michał Jakubczak - fortepian
Piotr Narajowski - kontrabas
Szymon Madej - perkusja
Gościnnie: Wojciech Myrczek - śpiew

"Słowo Na T" to tytuł trzeciego z kolei albumu wokalistki Sabiny Meck, zawierającego jej kompozycje do własnych tekstów, tym razem polskich. Muzyka na płycie korzysta z elementów charakterystycznych dla jazzu, lecz wychodzi poza jego ramy, nawiązując do innych stylów muzycznych, nierzadko tak odległych od siebie jak rock i muzyka klasyczna. Forma kompozycji zbliżona jest do piosenek. Zamysłem twórczym było zestawienie prostych melodii ze ściśle zaaranżowanymi partiami akompaniamentu, a także pozostawienie przestrzeni do improwizacji, która daje możliwość ukazania indywidualności każdego z muzyków sekstetu.

Sabina Meck (a.k.a. Sabina Myrczek) jest wokalistką, kompozytorką, aranżerką, producentką i autorką tekstów. Ukończyła kompozycję i aranżację w Instytucie Jazzu Akademii Muzycznej im. Karola Szymanowskiego w Katowicach. W 2017 roku otrzymała Stypendium Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego za wybitne osiągnięcia artystyczne. Wiosną 2016 roku, ukazał się debiutancki album solowy Sabiny, zatytułowany "Love is Here" (For-Tune). Na płycie znalazły się autorskie kompozycje wokalistki. Sabina Meck otrzymała nominację do nagrody Fryderyk 2017 w kategorii Fonograficzny Debiut Roku, Muzyka Jazzowa. Laureatka I nagrody w konkursie Blue Note Poznań Competiton (2014) w kategorii wokalnej. 

W 2015 roku, wraz z założonym przez siebie zespołem Soundmeck, zdobyła Grand Prix na festiwalu Grupa Azoty Jazz International Contest w Tarnowie. Jury przyznało Sabinie również indywidualną nagrodę specjalną - Największy Talent Festiwalu. Jesienią tego samego roku, otrzymała II miejsce w IX Konkursie Kompozytorskim im. Krzysztofa Komedy w Słupsku, w kategorii "temat jazzowy", za utwór "A part of me". W kwietniu 2017 roku, nakładem Agencji Muzycznej Polskiego Radia, ukazał się album "Eruption," prowadzonego przez Sabinę zespołu SoundMeck. W listopadzie 2019 roku, pojawi się trzeci album wokalistki, z muzyką autorską, nagrany w formacji Sabina Meck Sextet.

Michał Ciesielski – Share Location (2019)

Michał Ciesielski

Michał Ciesielski - piano

Share Location

SOLITON 986






By Adam Baruch

This is the second album under his name by Polish Jazz pianist/composer Michał Ciesielski and also his second solo piano outing, same as his debut recorded in 2012. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Ciesielski.

The music offers a melodic journey inspired by the places in the composer's life and telling an autobiographical story about his road to maturity. The youthful and full of enthusiasm compositions present on his debut album are replaced by a much more serious and insightful explorations. Although still beautifully melodic, the music is more complex and requires attentive listening in order to be fully appreciated. Polish folkloristic motifs are also strongly present in the music, which seem to be an organic part of many Polish Jazz compositions one way or another.

Same can be said about the piano playing, which is much more concentrated and even minimalist at times, often closer to Classical Music than Jazz. Obviously Ciesielski does not need to prove himself as a talented pianist any more after playing and recording extensively over the years, and this recording enables him to concentrate on his own Artistic expression at its most intimate naked truth.

Overall this is a splendid collection of wonderful compositions, which offer highly melodic themes and lyrical atmospheric vistas, beautifully performed by the composer. The entire album is coherently put together and presents an opportunity to get familiar with the work of one of Poland's promising young composers, who is making a constant progress on his musical path. It is best to leave the music to speak for itself.

Joanna Bejm – Jesteś (2019)

Joanna Bejm

Joanna Bejm - vocals
Rafał Stępień - keyboards
Marcin Skaba - violin
Wojciech Pulcyn - bass
Sebastian Frankiewicz - drums

Jesteś

SOLITON 972


By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by Polish vocalist/songwriter Joanna Bejm recorded with a Jazz trio consisting of keyboardist Rafał Stępień, bassist Wojciech Pulcyn and drummer Sebastian Frankiewicz. Violinist Marcin Skaba plays on six tracks and several additional guests participate on selected tracks. The album presents ten original songs, all composed by Bejm or co-composed by her and Skaba. All the lyrics are by Polish poetess Halina Poświatowska, one of Poland's most striking literary figures. As such the album falls comfortably within the Polish Jazz & Poetry idiom.

As someone familiar with Poświatowska's poetry I admit approaching this album with great anticipation mixed with some trepidation, considering the depth and intellectual complexity of the literary layer. I am glad to say that Bejm managed to embrace the poetry with considerable talent and respect, carefully selecting the poems and dressing them in appropriate musical attire. There is always a danger that profound literary work could be trivialized by inappropriate musical treatment, which sadly does happen from time to time, but certainly did not happen in this case.

The music is, as expected, full of typical Polish melancholy and lyrical emotionality, which Polish Jazz warmly embraces on a day to day level, but in particular within the Jazz & Poetry projects. Low key ballads with slow intrinsic motion are like a gentle wind carrying the words like yellow autumn leaves. The deep sadness, which characterizes the poetry, is somewhat softened by the music, making it perhaps more approachable to the listeners.

The instrumental parts are all excellent, as expected from these seasoned veterans. The rhythm section is steady like a rock and sensitive like velvet, Stępień is a superb player both on the acoustic piano and the electric keyboards, always playing only what is truly needed and his piano soli are the cherry on top. The guests add their part amicably and the entire album offers a coherent musical continuity.

Bejm manages the vocal parts with respect and restrain, which of course is ideal in this case. She is an instrument delivering the poems, which are the focus of this album and she cleverly eschews unnecessary theatrics, which would have spoiled the magic. Considering the fact that this is her debut album, she does a remarkable job.

The only small criticism I could think of is the packaging of the album, which sadly does not include the printed version of the poems – an addition that as a Jazz & Poetry buff I consider absolutely necessary. Of course there are copyright issues, etc, but it would have been nice to have them. Overall this is a beautiful piece of Art, an absolute must for all Jazz & Poetry lovers around the world, even those who are not native Polish speakers – the music transcends language barriers. Well done Milady!

Buba Badjie Kuyateh & Michał Górczyński – Cut The Air (2017)

Buba Badjie Kuyateh & Michał Górczyński

Buba Badjie Kuyateh - kora
Michał Górczyński - bass clarinet

Cut The Air

MULTIKULTI MPF 004




By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album by the duo comprising of Gambian (resident in Warsaw) kora player Buba Badjie Kuyateh and Polish bass clarinetist Michał Górczyński. The album presents six lengthy musical dialogues, credited to both players.

The music is an absolutely glorious testimony of two superb musicians conversing with each other despite the seemingly remote cultural backgrounds. As a result of this telepathic connection the music, mostly improvised, merges the cultures together in a complete natural and harmonic way, as if these cultures were one, or perhaps proving that all music cultures are one indeed.

The individual abilities of these two musicians are obviously virtuosic, but this music has nothing to do with showmanship or exhibitionism, which so often destroy music, being all about the human cooperation, understanding and spiritual unity, being a true "Art of the Duo" in its best incarnation.

Górczyński, whose roots encompass a wide diversity of musical influences, from Hassidic music, European Folklore, Jazz and Improvised Music, seems to be perfectly at ease with the West African music and his conversations with Kuyateh fit perfectly within the newly created amalgam. The natural contrasts between these two instruments are completely obliterated here and the instruments simply compliment each other despite their different scales and harmonics.

Overall this is a phenomenal album, which should leave no music connoisseur cold, regardless of his musical preferences. This music is universal and goes straight into the listener's soul and heart, completely effortlessly and overwhelmingly. When the idiom World Fusion was coined, this is what that idiom was really intended to be all about. This is definitely one of the finest achievements of its kind and should be a part of every decent music collection. Obviously essential!

Maciej Sadowski Kwadrat - Jazz Dla Zwierząt (2019)

Maciej Sadowski Kwadrat

Dawid Lipka - trumpet
Michał Jan Ciesielski - saxophone
Marcin Gałązka - guitar (4)
Maciej Sadowski - bass
Tomasz Koper - drums

Jazz Dla Zwierząt




EASTRINGS 0001

By Adam Baruch

This is the debut album as a leader by Polish bassist/composer Maciej Sadowski, recorded with his quartet called Kwadrat (square in English, clearly alluding to the quartet), which also includes trumpeter Dawid Lipka, saxophonist Michał Jan Ciesielski and drummer Tomasz Koper. Guitarist Marcin Gałązka guests on one track. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Sadowski.

The music, although melody based, is very original and moves freely across several genres, touching on Rock, Fusion, Groove, mainstream Jazz and even Improvised Music. The compositions are the absolute focus of this album, although the instrumentalists are all extremely effective. Sadowski is an experienced player with an impressive portfolio of recording as a sideman and studio musician and he shines on this album as well. The most fascinating aspect of the music is the central role of the bass and a strong polyrhythmic diversity excellently handled by the drummer. But of course the trumpeter and saxophonist offer impressive soloing all the way through and contribute to the overall success.

Although seemingly an acoustic quartet, there is an extensive use of electronic devices, adding sheets of sound behind the instruments and creating a very impressive and unusual overall sound. One could say that these effects serve as an additional member of the quartet playing the synthesizer. On the track featuring the guitar player his guitar also sounds almost entirely like a synthesizer. The most extraordinary synthesizer effects are associated with the bass, which sounds often like a bass clarinet when playing arco. In short this album offers really innovative approach to playing the instruments, and combined with the superb and unique compositions the overall result is absolutely refreshing.

Overall this is definitely a surprisingly excellent debut album, which deserves a lot of attention and again shows that the new generation of Polish Jazz players possesses unlimited creativity, rarely found elsewhere. Absolutely delightful listening experience - Hats off!

Bipolar Order z koncertem premierowym w klubie Six Seasons !!!

Bipolar Order – koncert premierowy

21 listopada 2019 (czwartek), godz. 20.00
Six Seasons ul. Klimczaka 15 Warszawa

Powidoki tworzą się przy jednoczesnym postrzeganiu dwóch stykających się plam koloru. Kolor plamy, na której koncentrujemy spojrzenie pod wpływem sąsiadującej barwy, zmienia się. Plama neutralna na polu zielonym wydaje się czerwona, na fioletowym - żółta, na pomarańczowym - niebieska. Zjawisko to jest reakcją zmysłu wzroku na podrażnienia oka barwnym doznaniem. Jak zatem nazwać to zjawisko w przypadku muzyki? Kiedy na jednej scenie zderza się energia dwóch równorzędnych liderów – świeżo upieczonego ojca szukającego możliwości do złapania choćby jednej małej chwili snu, zainspirowanego młodą sceną nowojorskiego jazzu, oraz druga, kontrastująca z nią - twardo stąpającego po ziemi Kaszuba zainspirowanego brzmieniami folklorystycznymi, a całość dopełnia zawodowa sekcja, tworzy się zupełnie nowe, niecodzienne i nieoczywiste doznanie.

Jak mówią sami artyści:

"Nie jest to część wspólna, tylko nowy twór. W trakcie występu pojawia się nowa przestrzeń. Dojrzewamy do tego, żeby ją poznać, uczymy się jej i staramy się ją ujarzmić".

Bipolar Order to zespół powstały w 2018 roku z inicjatywy saksofonisty Mateusza Chorążewicza oraz gitarzysty Jakuba Żołubaka. Towarzyszą im basista Łukasz Ostrowski-Kunert oraz grający na perkusji Maciej Wojcieszuk. Ich debiutancki album "Duality" wydany nakładem wydawnictwa Allegro Records swoją premierę miał 18 października 2019. Premiera koncertowa odbędzie się 21 listopada w warszawskim klubie Six Seasons. Koncertowi towarzyszyć będzie specjalnie przygotowany na tę okazję pokaz światła wprowadzający klimat, który w połączeniu z muzyką na długo pozostaje w pamięci. "To wydarzenie to wspaniała propozycja nie tylko dla fanów jazzowych brzmień ale dla wszystkich, którzy czwartkowy wieczór chcą spędzić w wyjątkowy i niecodzienny sposób" – rekomendują organizatorzy.

Radek Wośko Atlantic Quartet - listopadowa trasa promująca płytę "Surge"

Stian Swensson - gitara
Søren Gemmer - fortepian
Mariusz Praśniewski - kontrabas
Radek Wośko - perkusja

Radek Wośko Atlantic Quartet to projekt flagowy, założony przez polskiego perkusistę jazzowego i kompozytora z Kopenhagi Radka Wośko, który ma za sobą już prawie 10 albumów z własną muzyką, i który wystąpił w uznanym przez krytyków międzynarodowym projekcie z udziałem legendy polskiego jazzu, trębacza Tomasza Stańki. Zespół łączy muzyków z Danii, Polski i Norwegii, prezentując nowoczesny jazz na najwyższym poziomie. Muzyka czerpie zarówno z głębokich słowiańskich korzeni, kultury nordyckiej, jak i współczesnej muzyki klasycznej.

Członkowie grupy są solidnie zakorzenieni w nowoczesnym jazzie, ale tworzą równolegle w innych dziedzinach sztuki; Stian Swensson jako kompozytor muzyki kameralnej, a Søren Gemmer z akustyczno-elektroniczną improwizacją i czytaniem poezji z duńskim aktorem Thure Lindhardtem. Nowa płyta jest kontynuacją myśli kompozytora i lidera, który łączy inspiracje zarówno przestrzenią, intensywną, bezpośrednią ekspresją, jak i współczesną muzyką kameralną, starając się, by każdy utwór niósł ze sobą silny element melodyczny i głębię emocjonalną.

Marek Jakubowski Quartet - Colors (2019)

Marek Jakubowski Quartet

Marek Konarski - saxophone
Jacek Szwaj - piano
Damian Kostka - bass
Marek Jakubowski - drums

Colors

ALLEGRO 037



By Adam Baruch

This is the third album as a leader by Polish Jazz drummer/composer Marek Jakubowski. The first two albums, recorded in a classic piano trio format, were recorded in 2013 (i.e. six years ago) and this debut album in a quartet setting was recorded in 2017 (i.e. two years ago), which means that Jakubowski is certainly taking his time to create new music for his releases, not like many other musicians who somehow feel obligated to release albums in an almost obsessive paste. The quartet includes saxophonist Marek Konarski, pianist Jacek Szwaj and bassist Damian Kostka, all members of the young and upcoming generation of the Polish Jazz scene. The album presents ten original compositions, all by Jakubowski.

The music is all well within the modern mainstream Post-bop mold, but the compositions are all very well weaved and complex enough to serve as excellent vehicles for the quartet members to show their chops. The ballads display the characteristic Polish melancholy, which of course is expected. As usual with Jakubowski's albums, the focus is certainly on the compositions rather than on the performances, which of course does not mean that those are inferior in any way. In many ways Jakubowski is almost a class of his own as far as Jazz compositions on the Polish scene are concerned, and deserved a much wider recognition than he enjoys today.

Both Konarski and Szwaj offer excellent soloing, showing deep empathy with the compositions and Kostka stands shoulder to shoulder with the leader to keep the music well on track rhythmically, also soloing superbly on the way. This is European mainstream Jazz at its finest hour and a delightful listening experience to all fans of this idiom.

It is good to see (hear) Jakubowski back on the track, hoping he will not keep us waiting so long next time, as he is certainly is one of the most talented Polish Jazz composers with a deep love and respect to all that is characteristically Polish in music, going back to Frederic Chopin's legacy. A true beauty warmly recommended!

Dan Phillips Trio - Sound Energy In Space (2019)

Dan Phillips Trio

Dan Phillips - guitar
Krzysztof Pabian - double bass
Timothy Daisy - drums

Sound Energy In Space

LIZARD BREATH 755491136904




By Adam Baruch

This is the sixth album by American guitarist/composer Dan Phillips and his trio with Polish (resident in US) bassist Krzysztof Pabian and American drummer Timothy Daisy. It presents ten original compositions, nine by Phillips and one co-composed by Phillips and Pabian.

The music is consistent with earlier recordings by the trio, presenting modern Jazz with some Fusion undertones and a lot of open space, which allows the musicians to express themselves extensively. Daisy's presence opened a lot of new possibilities for the trio's overall musical scope, as he is equally competent playing almost straightforward/swinging rhythms and free improvisation with the same ease and elegance.

Fabian, as always, is the backbone of this music and his steady and beautifully rounded pulsations keep the music together. Phillips' clean guitar tone and excellent technique create a barrage of notes which are all perfectly audible. Although not stated on the album's artwork, some of the tracks feature electronically generated "white noise", which most probably refers to the album's title and which I could easily live without.

Overall this is a nice album, which guitar and Free Jazz fans should be able to enjoy in the same way as all earlier recordings by this trio. However in the great scheme of things it seems like the trio is somewhat stuck in the same space-time coordinates and even the change of the drummer didn't manage to create enough momentum to make it move forward in any direction. Of course this does not negate some fine playing present herein.