Record Reviews

ZBIGNIEW LEWANDOWSKI QUINTET ~ A NEW OPENING PSJ WROCLAW 004 (Barcode: 5906492433102) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2024 This is an album by veteran Polish Jazz drummer / composer Zbigniew LewandowskiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with saxophonist / flautist Tomasz PruchnickiFind albums by this artist, pianist Robert JarmuzekFind albums by this artist, bassist Jakub OlejnikFind albums by this artist and American guitarist Kenny CarrFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, all of which are original compositions, three by the leader and five by Pruchnicki. The album was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, offering a wonderfully worm and clear sound quality. The album marks a most welcome return of Lewandowski to recording duty, which has been interrupted by a three-decades long gap. Judging by the energy and quality of the new recording, Lewandowski lost none of his skill and talent over time. The music is somewhere between mainstream and modern Jazz, based on excellent compositions with strong melodic themes and interesting rhythmic textures, flowing coherently for the entire duration. Carr’s guitar work adds a slight Fusiony touch here and there, but all in great taste and impeccable precision. All the quintet members get ample opportunity to show their chops, and all stand up to the challenge without a hitch. Lewandowski adds a dense rhythmic layer, but without dominating the proceedings unnecessarily, which is excellently complemented by the bass lines, both on bass guitar and acoustic bass. Overall, this is an excellent mainstream Jazz recording, with a gentle touch of Funk and Groove, which is a real pleasure to listen to and which managed to make me smile when listening, which happened pretty rarely these days. Accessible to a wide Jazz loving audience, this is a true little gem, a nice reminder of the good old days and a pleasant dose of good time!

Updated: 18/05/2024Posted: 18/05/2024

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BARTOSZ PERNAL SEXTET ~ INTO THE WILD BCD 47 (Barcode: 5906881885475) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2020 This is the debut album as a leader (as far as I know) by Polish Jazz trombonist / composer Bartosz PernalFind albums by this artist recorded in a pianoless sextet setting with trumpeter Dominik GawronskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Wojciech LichtanskiFind albums by this artist and Marek KonarskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Jakub OlejnikFind albums by this artist and drummer Grzegorz PalkaFind albums by this artist. The album presents six original compositions, including the title track three part suite, all by Pernal. The album was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and was engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, offering a wonderful sound quality, as expected. The music is typical modern Jazz, based on melodic compositions and skillfully arranged for the Brass dominated sextet, which has a very unique sound due to lack of harmonic support. The extended pieces offer plenty of opportunity for all the participants to solo at length and the first-rate rhythm section keeps the music moving forward on secure ground. Despite their relative young age all the members of the band are seasoned and experienced instrumentalists, as evident by their performances herein. The outstanding drumming by Palka is an absolute highlight and definitely worthy of special attention. The album is not trying to be flashy or dazzling, but it offers solid, well developed musical ideas, superbly performed and coherently put together, which turns it into a most enjoyable and rewarding listening experience, worth returning to, especially for enthusiasts of Brass sections and multi-part expanded Jazz compositions. Overall this is a great piece of music, perhaps more in the "musician´s musician" mold, as it offers many tricks of the Jazz trade on different levels, starting with the compositions and then almost orchestral arrangements, the delicate balance between the instruments and crowned by the wonderful execution. Definitely well done!

Updated: 25/12/2020Posted: 25/12/2020

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KAROLINA PERNAL ~ CLARIDAD SJ 033 (Barcode: 5912596066665) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Karolina PernalFind albums by this artist recorded in a quintet setting with Italian saxophonist / clarinetist Achille SucciFind albums by this artist and Polish pianist Kuba PluzekFind albums by this artist, bassist Jakub OlejnikFind albums by this artist and drummer Wojciech BulinskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents six tracks, five of which are original compositions: three by Karolina Pernal and two by her spouse trombonist Bartosz PernalFind albums by this artist and one is a Sam RiversFind albums by this artist composition arranged by Bartosz Pernal. The album was recorded at the Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist with the usual excellent sound quality. The music is all kept within the melodic mainstream Jazz idiom, with solid original compositions by the Pernals, which are mostly ballads with typical Polish melancholic streak. It is easy on the ear but eventually rather uneventful, although professionally performed by the quintet members with Pluzek being the most interesting soloist by far. Having said that, this album offers a pleasant listening experience to mainstream Jazz connoisseurs and can be enjoyed in full, like many similar other albums in that vein. Karolina Pernal is one of relatively few female Polish Jazz instrumentalists, and as such she deserves support and encouragement to achieve an equal footing with her many male cohorts. This debut offering is surely just a first step on the way to a hopefully wonderful musical career.

Updated: 14/12/2018Posted: 14/12/2018

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PIOTR RACHON QUARTET ~ AMAZONIA V 020 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2021 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Piotr RachonFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with guitarist and electronics manipulator Vojto MonteurFind albums by this artist (of EABSFind albums by this artist fame), bassist Jakub OlejnikFind albums by this artist and drummer Pawel NienadowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents six lengthy tracks, all about ten minutes in duration, all composed by the leader, one based on a classical piece and two based on traditional Mongolian melodies. The music floats somewhere between modern Jazz and Fusion, depending how much guitar and electronics are involved at a given moment. The piano parts are definitely more Jazz associated, whereas the guitar has a distinct Fusion sound and feel. But the collective result is quite interesting and lively, although the entire album somewhat lacks a clear musical focus, perhaps searching for a direction, hopefully to be better nailed on the next recording. Another problem (at least for me) is the strange muffled sound of the recording with a bizarre balance, which places the bass right up in the mix. Olejnik’s bass playing is absolutely fine on the album, but he is dominating the entire proceeding, simply being up front at all time. I suppose the mix is intentional and a matter of taste, but it is certainly disturbing for me. But with all these minor glitches aside, this is still a very interesting piece of music, which can be enjoyable to a wide audience and certainly holds the attention of the listener for the entire duration. Both Rachon and Monteur play excellent solo parts and the rhythm section is up to par with the challenges, with Olejnik’s superb bass pulsations pushing the music steadily forward. Overall, this is an interesting debut effort for the leader and the quartet as a whole, with interesting compositions, excellent performances and an unusual sound, which is certainly a matter of acquired taste. Well done!

Updated: 21/04/2024Posted: 19/04/2024

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KUBA STANKIEWICZ ~ INSPIRED BY LUDOMIR ROZYCKI ANAKLASIS 027 (Barcode: 5907795212241) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2019 - 2022 Released: 2023 This is an album by Polish pianist / composer Kuba StankiewiczFind albums by this artist, which presents eight (one in two versions) interpretations of music composed by the Polish Classical Music composer Ludomir RozyckiFind albums by this artist. The music is mostly performed in a solo piano setting, except one track (recorded in the US) in a classic piano trio setting with bassist Darek OleszkiewiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Tina RaymondFind albums by this artist, two more piano trio tracks with bassist Jakub OlejnikFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw JaroszFind albums by this artist, and finally one track, which features vocals by Grazyna AuguscikFind albums by this artist. The album was released by the prestigious Polish AnaklasisFind albums on this label label as part of its “Revisions” series, and is the second album by Stankiewicz in that series. The music is stunningly beautiful, full of typical Polish lyricism and melancholy, which pours out of Stankiewicz like a sound painting, deeply touching the listener’s heart, despite the fact that it is all extremely delicate and fragile. As usual in his case, the recording was preceded by years of study and research of the music by Rozycki, before these personal inspirations were formed and eventually recorded. Since I have witnessed this modus operando by Stankiewicz during the many years of our acquaintance, I am of course hardly surprised by the method, but as usual greatly surprised by the result, which in his case is always unpredictable. Stankiewicz is definitely the most expressive, refined and romantic pianist among his Polish colleagues, many of which are of course piano Masters of international fame. Every delicate touch of his fingers on the keyboard is always absolutely right not only melodically and harmonically, but most importantly emotionally. This album presents him both in the solo piano and piano trio environments, the latter his most natural habitat, and proves again that he is simply an extraordinary musician in a class of his own. Listeners of this album might as well try and explore some of the fascinating music by Rozycki, which is sadly rather neglected these days. He was an extremely prolific composer and much of his work, especially in the Neo-romantic style, is definitely worth getting familiar with. Overall, this is another brilliant album by a great Polish Jazz Artist, which consistently expands his remarkable recorded legacy. His many admirers won’t hesitate before grabbing a copy and for those people, who never heard any of his recordings, this is a wonderful gateway to his musical world. Congratulations go also to the Anaklasis label for doing such a remarkable job with this series!

Updated: 02/11/2023Posted: 02/11/2023

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KASIA STANKOWSKA ~ NIE MA SZCZESCIA BEZ MILOSCI ARTMONIA 5902768831009 (Barcode: 5902768831009) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2013 Polish pianist / composer Wladyslaw SzpilmanFind albums by this artist was one of the great icons of the country´s musical scene for many decades. He achieved popularity already as a very young and exceptional pianist in the 1930s. During the Nazi occupation of Poland during WW II Szpilman, who was a Jew, was hiding in Warsaw and managed to survive the Holocaust, helped by his Polish friends and even a German officer, who was a music connoisseur. Szpilman´s WW II fortunes were the subject of his memoirs and after his death in 2000 it was the subject of Roman PolanskiFind albums by this artist´s movie "The Pianist", which won three Oscars and worldwide acceptance as a cinematic masterpiece. The lesser know facts about Szpilman, certainly outside of Poland, are his numerous activities in post-war years as the director of Music Department of the Polish Radio, creator of the Sopot Song Contest, which runs now consecutively for over fifty years, composer of many Classical works, concert pianist touring worldwide and additionally also author of hundreds of songs, many of which were extremely popular and eventually became evergreens. This album by Polish Jazz vocalist Kasia StankowskaFind albums by this artist takes twelve of Szpilman´s popular songs and presents them in Jazzed up versions. She is supported by a trio with pianist Lukasz PerekFind albums by this artist, who is also responsible for the arrangements, bassist Jakub OlejnikFind albums by this artist and drummer Przemyslaw JaroszFind albums by this artist. Saxophonist Maciej SikalaFind albums by this artist is the guest star and contributes some spectacular solos on several of the songs. Stankowska has a warm and expressive voice, which suits these songs ideally. The piano trio accompanying her does a perfect job, creating a nostalgic atmosphere of a smoky cabaret set sometime in the late 1950s / early 1960s, which I still recall from my childhood, when I was often smuggled under heavy long coat into these sinful establishments, getting my first-hand Jazz experiences. The piano parts are brilliantly arranged and perfectly executed and the rhythm section keeps the music steady and firm, with delicate dynamics and intelligent accents, always at the right moments. Sikala adds great ornamentation, breaking the nostalgic and relaxed mood with his delicate yet forceful solos, which shine like white pearls on a black dress. Szpilman´s status allowed him to select superb lyrics to his songs, written by famous Polish poets and lyricist, that are classy, coherent and elegant, and Stankowska makes the best of that asset, which deserves a special mention. All in all this is a most pleasant and rewarding musical experience, a classic example of "less is more". Keeping a low profile and avoiding excessive experimentation proves exactly right in this case. Beautifully simple, but not simplistic, beautifully melodic, but nor trivial, beautifully lyrical, but not banal…just beautiful. Diana KrallFind albums by this artist, eat you hat!

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