Record Reviews

CRACOW JAZZ COLLECTIVE ~ NO MORE DRAMA FOR TUNE 0093 (Barcode: 5902768701692) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz ensemble Cracow Jazz CollectiveFind albums by this artist, an octet led by pianist / composer Mateusz GawedaFind albums by this artist, one of the most notable upcoming Polish Jazz musicians in recent years. The rest of the ensemble consists of other young and upcoming Polish Jazz musicians: trumpeters Cyprian BaszynskiFind albums by this artist and Dominik MietlaFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Marcin SlusarczykFind albums by this artist, Slawomir PezdaFind albums by this artist and Bartlomiej PrucnalFind albums by this artist, bassist Piotr PoludniakFind albums by this artist and drummer Dawid FortunaFind albums by this artist. The album presents three expanded compositions, all originals by Gaweda. The music embodies an amazing amalgam of contemporary Modern Jazz, which moves stylistically between swinging melodic themes and collective group improvisation with elegance and grace. The sound of the octet is typical of much larger ensembles and is no less powerful than a Big Band at times. The arrangements, which call for unisono brass parts and almost Rock like rhythmic riffs, create a fat sound, which is extremely effective. All these contribute to the fact that this is one of the most quite recordings on the Polish scene lately. The extended pieces offer plenty of opportunity to show the individual talents of the ensemble members, which are all very impressive, but also emphasize the ability of the musicians to sub-divide the lineup into sections, which play in a variety of combinations from unisono to individual improvised statements. The majority of the music is however very "well behaved" and follows strictly wonderfully arranged scenarios. This album reveals a much lesser known side of Gaweda, who so far is mostly known as a piano virtuoso of highly individual style, who plays mostly Free Jazz and Improvised Music, whereas here he symbolizes the Jazz tradition not only as the composer and arranger but also as a player, which can be followed through out this album. Perhaps the fact that this music was recorded a couple of years before it was released, portrays Gaweda at that time, which is not what he does now, but I certainly hope he will make more music as majestic and skillfully arranged as this one in parallel to his explorations of the Free realms. There is little doubt as to the fact that music is such complexity on one hand and perfect execution on the other is the proof of the incredible level of the young generation of Polish Jazz musicians, who are slowly taking over the local scene into their capable hands. In fact it is so good that it should studied by other young musicians as a model of what Jazz is all about. Definitely a shining gem of an album!

Updated: 15/07/2016Posted: 15/07/2016

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NSI QUARTET ~ INTRODUCING FONOGRAFICA 5903292106045 (Barcode: 5903292106045) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2013 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz NSI QuartetFind albums by this artist, which comprises of trumpeter Cyprian BaszynskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Bartlomiej PrucnalFind albums by this artist, American bassist Mike ParkerFind albums by this artist and drummer Dawid FortunaFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions; four by Prucnal, two by Baszynski and one co-composed by them both. As usual with those debut albums appearing on the Polish Jazz scene the first impression is always that of astonishment and awe, considering the age of the contributors and their relatively limited experience. But apparently one has to get used to expect the unexpected, when listening to those releases time after time. Obviously this quartet leaves a strong impression and introduces new faces, which are about to become a part of the local scene for years to come, and considering their abilities as of now, no one can predict how far they will go eventually. Musically however, NSI Quartet are quite different from other emerging young Polish Jazz ensembles, arriving on the scene in the last couple of years, primarily for the reason that they sound completely "non Polish" or even "non European", if such stylistic concept makes sense at all. If I had listened to the album blindfolded, I´d have never expected it originates in Poland or in Europe, as it sounds completely American in every respect; it is a semi-free kind of post Bebop, very popular on the USA scene, mostly among the Chicago-based AACM ensembles, in the late 1960s and 1970s. NSI Quartet´s music has the same kind of urgency, edge and even aggressiveness in it. But compared to the other Polish ensembles, it suffers on the melody front, emphasized even more strongly by the lack of a pianist in the group. Sure enough all this is intentional and of course completely acceptable, but the question "where is the melody?" did pop up in my mind from time to time while listening to this album. Of course these young lions can play and play they do – with vigor and seemingly endless energy. Technically everything is top notch and all the ensemble members display their effortless powers of Swing. Baszynski dominates the overall sound and his frequent solos are all on fire. Personally I find his playing a bit too busy, but it must be the youthful eagerness to show what he can do. Prucnal on the other hand simply makes his statements elegantly, without further ado. The rhythm section is also rather on the busy-side, but this type of music justifies this kind of relentless drive, even it is somewhat heavy on the ear to the average listener. Overall it´s still a damn good album, even if the music is a bit stuck in the past and the playing becomes somewhat over the top at times. These talented musicians will learn and keep surprising us in the future, that is for sure. Kudos for kicking off your career with a blast!

Updated: 01/06/2018Posted:

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NSI QUARTET ~ THE LOOK OF COBRA AUDIO CAVE 2017/005 (Barcode: 5905669566308) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the second album by Polish Jazz ensemble NSI QuartetFind albums by this artist, which comprises of trumpeter Cyprian BaszynskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Bartlomiej PrucnalFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej AdamczakFind albums by this artist and drummer Dawid FortunaFind albums by this artist. The quartet is joined by the excellent pianist Dominik WaniaFind albums by this artist on several tracks. The album presents seven original compositions, four by Prucnal, two by Baszynski and one co-composed by them both. The music tries to get away form the stylistic direction initiated on their debut, which used to concentrate on up-tempo post Bebop mainstream Jazz, based on simple melodic themes. This time the music is more open structurally and offers moments of almost Free improvisation and extensive exchanges between the musicians. The unusual sound of the quartet, which lacks a harmonic instrument, is not easy to get used to and therefore the tracks featuring Wania are much more balanced, with his input dramatically influencing the overall result. However, the fact that the ensemble expanded its basic conceptions proved to be problematic, causing the music to lose some of its coherence and sense of direction. The music is more interesting intellectually, but almost completely loses its sense of melody and harmony, creating an emotional void. The best example of this can be found the long trumpet / saxophone duet track, which simply goes nowhere. This album is a classic example of music played by excellent musicians, who are obvious professionals and talented individuals, which somehow fails to make an impact it could potentially reach. It is hard to pinpoint what exactly does not work here, and of curse this is just my very personal opinion. Perhaps the attempt to play less restricted music simply is beyond these particular musicians (excluding Wania of course) and sticking to the well paved roads is less problematic, as evident on the debut album. In short this album left me cold, without being able to make spiritual or emotional contact with the music it offers. Obviously well played, it sort of passed me by without leaving any impact, which is a great pity.

Updated: 26/05/2017Posted: 26/05/2017

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MIKE PARKER / UNIFIED THEORY ~ EMBRACE THE WILD NOT ON LABEL ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2015 American bassist / composer Mike ParkerFind albums by this artist spent a period of a year and a half living in Krakow and playing with local young Polish Jazz musicians. He was a member of the NSI QuartetFind albums by this artist, together with trumpeter Cyprian BaszynskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Bartlomiej PrucnalFind albums by this artist and drummer Dawid FortunaFind albums by this artist, recording with them their excellent eponymous debut album. In parallel and with the addition of the saxophonist Slawomir PezdaFind albums by this artist they also recorded this album, Parker´s second recording as a leader so far, which is released only now. It presents eight original compositions, all by Parker (except one co-composed with Prucnal), three of which are parts of a suite. As already mentioned in my review of the NSI Quartet album, Parker had a huge influence on his Polish cohorts, taking them away from the European Jazz idiom into more traditional American approach. On this album this is even more perceptible, as the band is playing Parker´s compositions and not those by the Polish players, like on the a.m. album. Parker´s music is a great example of modern American Jazz, which keeps up with the changes happening in the music and manages to get itself free from the stagnation that characterizes most American mainstream. His compositions are all well structured and include melodic statements, which then are improvised on, but the freedom and breathing space present in the music allow the musicians to take off and express their individuality, before returning to the compositional structure. All of his pieces are a pleasure to listen to, and the three-part suite that concludes the album is a profound and very moving composition that proves his great talent as a composer. Of course Parker also plays some tasteful bass parts and his Polish colleagues, all of them superb musicians as well, make this music to come alive in its full splendor. These are after all some of the young lions that will represent the European Jazz scene in a few years. Overall an excellent effort, in every respect, definitely worth listening to, so get it ASAP and help Parker to move on and create some more great music for all of us to enjoy!

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