Record Reviews

MICHAL TOMASZCZYK & PETTER OLOFSSON ~ SKETCHES FROM THE NORTH NOT ON LABEL 001 (Barcode: 195448415902) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by a duo comprising of Polish Jazz trombonist / composer Michal TomaszczykFind albums by this artist and Swedish bassist Petter OlofssonFind albums by this artist, both members of the Swedish Norrbotten Big BandFind albums by this artist, where they met. The album presents twelve original compositions, eleven by Tomaszczyk and one improvised piece credited to both members of the duo. The album offers an exceptional sound quality and is one the best bass sound recordings I came upon in years. The music is a wonderful collection of beautifully crafted melodic themes preformed by the duo with superb passion, virtuosity and panache. Despite the seemingly limited possibilities offered by just two instruments like trombone and acoustic bass, the music sounds complete and fills the aural space with an extraordinary experience, which is almost unprecedented since trombone / bass Jazz duo recordings are extremely rare. The album is of course a superb example of the "Art of the Duo" and the "less is more" idioms, which are always joyous experiences, and this one is definitely one of the most unusual and striking of them. I have followed Tomaszczyk since his debut album "Unspoken WordsFind albums with this title" released almost a decade ago and this album finally portrays his full capacity and instrumental virtuosity to the fullest extent. This is definitely a gem of an album, which every true music lover should be able to enjoy, way beyond just the strict Jazz audiences and one can only hope it will eventually find its way into all respected record collections, as it fully deserves. Brilliant stuff!

Updated: 24/12/2020Posted: 24/12/2020

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