Record Reviews

MATEUSZ PULAWSKI / LUNAR QUARTET ~ CHANGE OF SEASONS NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is the second album by Polish (resident in Amsterdam) guitarist / composer Mateusz PulawskiFind albums by this artist and his Lunar QuartetFind albums by this artist, which also includes Israeli saxophonist Itai WeissmanFind albums by this artist, German bassist Hendrik MuellerFind albums by this artist and Hungarian drummer Aron NyiroFind albums by this artist. Saxophonist Fernando SanchezFind albums by this artist plays on three tracks, vocalist Esther Van HeesFind albums by this artist guests on two and trumpeter Evgenii BondarevFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album presents nine tracks, seven of which are original compositions by Pulawski, one is a standard and one is by fellow Amsterdam saxophonist Emiel WienholtsFind albums by this artist. The music is mostly well within the modern Jazz mainstream, based on melodic themes, which sometimes get lost within the proceedings when the quartet members and guests start to play their respective solos. The tunes develop slowly and hesitantly and the harmonics are harsh, which makes listening to the music an effort. When the music moves into less constrained environment, everything gets better, but that happens only on a couple of tracks. Technically all the participants play well, with Pulawski displaying an impressive fluency and proficiency as a player, but this is not translated effectively into creating notable music. The rhythm section and the saxophonist play straightforwardly and are obviously happy within that idiom, but offer no challenge or innovation as far as the music is concerned. Perhaps Pulawski is still searching for his direction and personal voice, but at this stage he is not there yet. Nevertheless he seems to be consistently developing his career, and I can only wish him the best of luck.

Updated: 08/10/2016Posted: 07/10/2016

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