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5 Reviews Found. Use search to find more reviews or follow the links in the review text.

ILONA DAMIECKA / FRANCESCA BERTAZZO HART ~ MONK`S MIDNIGHT
HEVHETIA 0128 (Barcode: 8588005257831) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz

Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016

This is the third album by Polish pianist / vocalist Ilona DamieckaFind albums by this artist and her second recording with the Italian guitarist / vocalist Francesca Bertazzo HartFind albums by this artist. The international quartet is completed by Polish bassist Pawel UrowskiFind albums by this artist and American drummer Eric AllenFind albums by this artist. The album, as the title suggests, presents ten Thelonious MonkFind albums by this artist compositions, nine of which feature lyrics mostly written by Jon HendricksFind albums by this artist.

Monk´s music is for me a temple of Jazz spirituality and incredible intellectual depth and albums like this one, which turn his music into "entertainment for the masses" really make me very angry. They might popularize the great composer´s music, but they also trivialize it, by leaving the thin melodic layer on the surface, rather than trying to explore it in depth. After all there are already so many albums similar to this one, why would anyone attempt to make another one.

As if the ad meritum problems of this album were not enough, it also suffers from the usual predicaments involving nonnative English speaking vocalist singing in English, which here are painfully obvious, although not equally shared by the two vocalist Ladies.

The instrumental parts are fine, nothing spectacular of course just straightforward Bebop played by European (well almost) musicians, which sounds exactly as expected. There is no iota of innovation, ambition or effort to create something meaningful here. The vocalese parts sadly are a pale shadow of what Jazz vocalist have been doing for many decades already.

Oh yes! The CD is gold plated!
Updated: 12/09/2016Posted: 12/09/2016CD 1 Digipak Gold Recommend To A Friend

JERZY MALEK ~ STALGIA
KAYAX 077 (Barcode: 5907678818348) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz

Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014

This is the sixth album by Polish Jazz trumpeter Jerzy MalekFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with American saxophonist Stephen RileyFind albums by this artist, pianist Piotr WylezolFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BaranskiFind albums by this artist and American (resident in Poland) drummer Eric AllenFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine compositions, seven of which are original composition by Malek, one is by Allen and the remaining one is a standard.

The music is typical American mainstream Jazz, which stays at all times within the clearly defined Jazz conventions and therefore fails to break any new ground or sound contemporary. It might have as well been recorded a few decades ago and no one would have noticed the difference.

Having said that, the original music is very well crafted and definitely deserving being heard. Nice melodies, perfectly executed by highly professional musicians, in short a perfect mainstream Jazz production, which many Jazz connoisseurs will undoubtedly enjoy to the max. The most important massage that comes across is that Polish Jazz musicians can play as good if not better than their American counterparts. The sound quality of the recording is nothing short of sensational.

Malek is a superb trumpeter with a beautiful tone. I wish he would make at least some effort to shake off the restrictions he is so deeply entrenched in, and show his listeners something else for once.

Paraphrasing on the "Holier than the Pope", this is a better mainstream American Jazz album than most Americans can record these days, but "The Times They Are A-Changin´"…
Updated: 18/09/2017Posted: 18/09/2017CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

OLA MONKO ~ WHEREVER YOU ARE
SOLITON 846 (Barcode: 5901571098463) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz

Recorded: 2017 Released: 2018

This is the debut album by Polish pianist / composer Ola MonkoFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with trumpeter Jerzy MalekFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Maciej SikalaFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BaranskiFind albums by this artist and American (resident in Poland and married to Monko) drummer Eric AllenFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine compositions, eight of which are originals composed by Monko and one is a standard, all of which were arranged by Monko. The album offers a warm clear sound, which fondly resembles the famous Blue NoteFind albums on this label Records sound created by the legendary Rudy Van GelderFind albums by this artist.

The music sits comfortably within contemporary mainstream Jazz, which is not surprising considering that Monko spent thirteen years living and playing Jazz in the US, where she was exposed to what the best American Jazz has to offer. Her compositions are all well built and offer solid melodies and coherent harmonic structures, which results in them sounding as good as any Jazz standard played today.

All the members of the quintet are veteran players with years of experience behind them and as the result the music flows smoothly and elegantly from one tune to another and the album seems to be over in a flash. All three soloists contribute inspired solo parts and the rhythm section keeps the music streaming in an amicable fashion.

Overall although not innovative as far as the Jazz idiom is concerned, this album offers splendid mainstream Jazz experience and presents an excellent collection of original tunes, which prove that the Polish Jazz musicians can play American mainstream as well as their counterparts across the pond and compose wonderful heartfelt tunes.

For mainstream Jazz lovers this album is a gem from start to finish and a most pleasant listening experience. Congratulations go to Monko for finally making her statement, hopefully only the first of many. Go Girl!
Updated: 27/10/2018Posted: 27/10/2018CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ ILLINOIS JACQUET IN MEMORIAM
NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz

Recorded: 2005 Released: 2017

As the title suggests, this is a tribute album to the great American saxophonist Illinois JacquetFind albums by this artist, recorded live by top Polish Jazz musicians. The album presents eight tunes recorded over a period of one year at the Gdynia Jazz club UCHO and two bonus tracks recorded earlier at the NOSPR concert hall in Katowice. The album features ten Polish tenor saxophone players, whose ages span four generations: Piotr CheckiFind albums by this artist, Michal Jan CiesielskiFind albums by this artist, Przemek DyakowskiFind albums by this artist, Tomasz GrzegorskiFind albums by this artist, Dariusz HerbaszFind albums by this artist, Janusz MuniakFind albums by this artist, Maciej SikalaFind albums by this artist, Wojciech StaroniewiczFind albums by this artist, Irek WojtczakFind albums by this artist and Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist. They are accompanied by various rhythm sections comprised of organist Wojciech KarolakFind albums by this artist, vibraphonist Dominik BukowskiFind albums by this artist, guitarists: Maciej GrzywaczFind albums by this artist, Marcin WadolowskiFind albums by this artist and Michal ZienkowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Janusz MackiewiczFind albums by this artist and drummers: Eric AllenFind albums by this artist (an American in Gdynia who played with Jacquet´s quintet and Big Band) and Tomasz SowinskiFind albums by this artist. Two of the tracks are originals by Jacquet and the rest are standards. Although recorded live, the album offers excellent sound quality.

The music is everything one might expect form a tribute album like this one: familiar tunes, superb playing and an obvious joy ride. This is Swing and Bebop at its best and the participants seem to have great fun but the performances are all professional and heartfelt. It is great to see four generation of Polish Jazz musicians cooperating on one stage and playing every inch as good as any American musician might do, again simply wiping out any inferiority complexes still present among Polish Jazz musicians and many Jazz fans in Poland.

Mainstream classic Jazz fans all over the world should have a great fun with this music, as it is full of the Jazz spirit and offers a high standard of playing well beyond of what is present on similar album recorded over the pond.

The entire project, including this superbly produced album with beautiful artwork and fabulous photography is an obvious labor of love and the people standing behind it deserve all the praise we can offer them, including buying the album. Great stuff!
Updated: 24/11/2019Posted: 31/07/2018CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

PIOTR WOJTASIK ~ TRIBUTE TO AKWARIUM
INDYGO 001 (Barcode: 5907222872000) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz

Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017

This is a sensational album by veteran Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Piotr WojtasikFind albums by this artist recorded with a large ensemble which comprises of some of Poland´s top Jazz musicians and a few guests from outside of Poland. In addition to the leader who plays trumpet and flugelhorn the other musicians are: trumpeter Sebastian SoldrzynskiFind albums by this artist, shakuhachi and other wind instruments player Igor PietraszewskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Viktor TothFind albums by this artist (Hungary) and Marcin KaletkaFind albums by this artist, keyboardists Leszek MozdzerFind albums by this artist and Dominik WaniaFind albums by this artist, guitarist Marek KadzielaFind albums by this artist, bassist Darek OleszkiewiczFind albums by this artist, drummer Eric AllenFind albums by this artist (USA resident in Poland) and percussionist Jakub MiarczynskiFind albums by this artist. Two female vocalists are featured on one of the tunes. The album presents a five part suite composed and arranged by Wojtasik and dedicated to the memory of the legendary Warsaw Jazz club Akwarium (active between 1977 and 2000), which used to be the Mecca of Polish Jazz in the past. A sixth bonus track is also included, which offers an alternate version of one of the suite´s parts. The music was recorded at the RecPublica Studios and engineered by Lukasz OlejarczykFind albums by this artist, who as usual stood up to the challenge.

I recently had the opportunity to hear this music performed live at its premiere concert at the Silesian Jazz Festival in Katowice, with a slightly different lineup, and the impact of the music was truly astounding. This studio version is of course much tamer and orderly, so in some respects it sounds quite differently, but of course it is no less remarkable. Wojtasik managed to combine several sub-genres of the Jazz idiom into one coherent piece of music, which presents a kaleidoscope of modern Jazz, pointing to its many sources from Bebop through Jazz-Rock Fusion to electronics. Based on strong melodic themes but allowing a lot of freedom to the individual musicians to explore and probe, this is a wonderful example of modern Mainstream Jazz, which manages to be fascinating, unexpected and searching.

The individual performances are all great, as expected from this level of musicians. Kadziela´s guitar parts are the nicest surprise as he manages to transform the last part of the suite into a modern day "Bitches BrewFind albums with this title" ambiance, which should make Miles DavisFind albums by this artist happily turn in his grave. Mozdzer´s synthesizer parts are somewhat tedious, especially in comparison to what Pawel TomaszewskiFind albums by this artist managed to come up with during the concert. Of course Dominik Wania plays some stunning piano parts and it is interesting to hear him in a large ensemble setting. But overall everybody plays their heart out and the result is simply superb.

It is great to see (and hear) that Wojtasik is still in great shape as a player / composer / bandleader and as a friend I wish him many years of good health and creativity. He can certainly be proud of his achievement here and I look forward to hear more of his work soon. His blessed work as an educator at the Katowice Music Academy is of course no less important, but seeing him play is a true Jazz experience. Te old lion is still capable of a mighty roar, which the younger lions are happy to return. Wholeheartedly recommended!
Updated: 30/12/2017Posted: 30/12/2017CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

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