Record Reviews

WOJCIECH MYRCZEK ~ CELEBRATING THE JOURNEY FOR TUNE 0155 (Barcode: 5906395808694) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2020 - 2021 Released: 2022 This is the third album by Polish Jazz vocalist Wojciech MyrczekFind albums by this artist recorded with a classic piano trio accompaniment, which features pianist Boguslaw KaczmarFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal KapczukFind albums by this artist and drummer Szymon MadejFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine songs, eight of which are American standards (sung in English) and one is a Polish song, obviously sung in Polish. Myrczek debuted a dozen years ago (2010) and his sophomore album “Love Revisited” was released in 2014, which means that eight years passed since we last heard from him, which on the hyper-busy Polish Jazz scene is almost an eternity. Lucky for Myrczek, as far as male Jazz vocals are concerned, nothing happened during this time to endanger his position at the top of that particular genre, and this album continues exactly where the previous one left us lingering, wishing for more. So yes, Myrczek is still a formidable vocalist, with a velvety voice and superb feel for the Swing. The trio accompanying him is also absolutely unblemished, comprising of some of the busiest relatively young Polish Jazz musicians, all with a considerable recording legacy. Kaczmar, who took part in several excellent vocal Jazz projects during the last few years, is an ideal choice for this kind of music and the rhythm section, despite a limited opportunity to show their chops, performs without a hitch. The question of course is, if riding the same horse will lead our hero safely into the sunset? Many Jazz vocalists succeeded in the past to ride on the wave of accomplishment for decades, without any dramatic modification of their style and aesthetics, but times they a-changin’, and musicians are expected to adopt new artistic paths in time, to keep being relevant. Although Myrczek offers slight stylistic diversion on a couple of tracks herein, this certainly does not go beyond an eyebrow rise. If my advice is worth anything, I’d love to hear an album with Polish songs (there are so many great ones) and more vocalese and elaborate instrumental arrangements, perhaps even a Big Band? One can always dream… Overall, this is a great classic male vocal Jazz album, which is a great fun to listen to and offers some both refined and enjoyable musical moments. Please don’t make us wait for another eternity to hear the next album, and take some risks next time. We will still love you whatever happens!

Updated: 09/06/2022Posted: 09/06/2022

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