Record Reviews

KUBA WIECEK TRIO & PAULINA PRZYBYSZ ~ KWIATECZKI (POLISH JAZZ VOL. 87) WARNER MUSIC POLAND 190296481222 (Barcode: 190296481222) ~ POLAND ~ Pop & Rock Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is an album by Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Kuba WiecekFind albums by this artist and his trio, with bassist Michal BaranskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Lukasz ZytaFind albums by this artist with vocalist Paulina PrzybyszFind albums by this artist. The album offers twelve songs, based on a twelve poems cycle by Polish 16th Century poet Jan KochanowskiFind albums by this artist. All the songs were co-composed by Wiecek and Przybysz. Although seemingly a Jazz & Poetry project, in reality this album has almost nothing to do with Jazz even in the most liberal definition of the term. It is a Pop album, and a bad one at that, with many elements that dominate contemporary Pop, such as simplistic melody themes, strong bass & drums sound, layers of ambient and electronics sounds that don’t add anything to the music, New Wave, Hip hop, Rap and many other elements, which results in a mishmash that is quite difficult to swallow, surely for a Jazz listener. There is a faint improvisational element hidden deeply in the background, which basically is completely out of context. The vocals are theatrical and full of mannerisms, which have no connection whatsoever to the original poetry. To put the record straight, I love Wiecek’s music within the Jazz idiom and of course I completely respect his Artistic freedom, which allows him to explore any avenue he chooses, but I don’t have to approve automatically of everything he does. Baranski and Zyta are brilliant musicians, which can be heard even here. Sadly, this album is beyond my tolerance and inserting it as part of the Polish Jazz series is nothing short of sacrilegious, even in my extra-liberal terms of reference. Overall, this is just a boring, badly conceived album, which often offends my basic aesthetic values. Of course this is only my highly personal view, but I am never keen to criticize work by Artists, that I respect and love. Well, shit happens… Side Note The iconic "Polish Jazz" series of recordings, originally released between 1965 and 1989 by the Polish state owned record company Polskie NagraniaFind albums on this label, which used the MuzaFind albums on this label label as its moniker, consists of seventy six LP albums. It presents the history of Polish Jazz recordings during that period, which includes some of the most important Polish / European modern Jazz milestones and reflects the extraordinary development of Jazz music behind the Iron Curtain. It is one of the most important historic documents of Polish Music and of course Polish Culture in general. The series had an eminent logo designed by Roslaw Szaybo and the albums were numbered sequentially from Vol.1 to Vol.76 accordingly. The album's artwork was wonderfully stylish and modernist, featuring the brilliant photographs and characteristic design by the legendary Polish Artist Marek Karewicz. Stylistically the series presented all Jazz genres, from Traditional Jazz to Avant-Garde / Free Jazz, which was extraordinarily liberal considering the cultural censorship imposed by the Socialist Regime. It suffered from some inconsistency, as far as the musical quality and aesthetics were concerned, as well as the internal "politics" of the Polish Jazz scene at the time, but in retrospect it achieved a spectacular overall result, unparalleled as far as consistently documenting a national Jazz scene is concerned. After the Polskie Nagrania catalogue was bought by Warner Music PolandFind albums on this label, the new owner started a reissue process of the Polish Jazz series, carefully remastered, repackaged and including extensive liner notes, which keeps the artwork as close to the original design as possible. So far forty four volumes of the original series were reissued. In 2016 Warner Music Poland decided to continue the original series by releasing new contemporary Polish Jazz recordings under the same format and even to continue the sequential numbering starting with Vol.77 – a decision I personally consider almost sacrilegious. Some things are simply untouchable, and the "Polish Jazz" series is surely one of those things. If Warner Music Poland wants to produce Jazz albums, which is always more than welcome, they could have started a new series, under a new title, rather than exploiting the reputation of the historic series. As a result, some artist whose albums are released as part of the new series might be led to expect instant gratification, fame and stardom, just for being an artificial part of a prestigious past, which of course is as bogus as it is sad.

Updated: 23/04/2023Posted: 23/04/2023

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GRZEGORZ ROGALA PROJECT ~ POLISH PSALTER ARS SONORA 5903855701052 (Barcode: 5903855701052) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is the first volume of psalms recorded by Polish Jazz trombonist Grzegorz RogalaFind albums by this artist and his ensemble, which includes soprano singer Barbara RogalaFind albums by this artist, German saxophonist Roman OttFind albums by this artist, Swedish bassist Anders GropFind albums by this artist and American drummer Frank ParkerFind albums by this artist. Theorbo player Filip ZielinskiFind albums by this artist guests on three tracks. The album presents seven tracks, all of which are based on Biblical David’s psalms, loosely translated into Polish language by 16th Century poet Jan KochanowskiFind albums by this artist, with music by his friend, composer Mikolaj GomolkaFind albums by this artist. The idea is continued on the second volume of this project, presented on a separate album, recorded by a different lineup (except for the Rogala couple) three years later. The music is an amalgam of the original pieces, sung by Barbara Rogala and then expanded into instrumental parts with Jazzy arrangements, performed by the instrumental ensemble, resulting in a characteristic Jazz-Classic Fusion. The album manages to create a fusion of the original Renaissance music with Jazz, which works splendidly, despite the obvious Centuries long time gap between them. It takes a while to get used to the transitions between the two musical spheres, there and back, but once over that hurdle everything works smoothly and the music is quite delightful. Most of the splendid soloing within the Jazzy parts is performed by Ott, whose playing fits the spirit of the project perfectly, but all the instrumentalist play excellently in both domains. The presence of the theorbo strengthens the link to the original sound of the music. The soprano vocal parts are of course the anchor of the entire project, and are performed with confidence and clarity. Overall, this is a very original undertaking, which demands open-mindedness and skill to pull off. The excellent arrangements and obvious dedication demanded from all the participants pays off and the resulting music is deeply moving and highly aesthetic. Although unusual and somewhat challenging, it should keep most Jazz lovers happy, especially those with affinity to vocal Classical music and the Renaissance period. Very well done indeed and wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 25/05/2024Posted: 25/05/2024

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GRZEGORZ ROGALA PROJECT ~ POLISH PSALTER VOL. 2 ARS SONORA 5903855701854 (Barcode: 5903855701854) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the second volume of psalms recorded by Polish Jazz trombonist Grzegorz RogalaFind albums by this artist and his ensemble, which includes soprano singer Barbara RogalaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Szymon BonkowskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Witold JaniakFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal RutkowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Kamil MiszewskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, all of which are based on Biblical David’s psalms, loosely translated into Polish language by 16th Century poet Jan KochanowskiFind albums by this artist, with music by his friend, composer Mikolaj GomolkaFind albums by this artist. The music is an amalgam of the original pieces, sung by Barbara Rogala and then expanded into instrumental parts with Jazzy arrangements, performed by the instrumental ensemble, resulting in a characteristic Jazz-Classic Fusion. The album manages to create a fusion of the original Renaissance music with Jazz, which works splendidly, despite the obvious Centuries long time gap between them. It takes a while to get used to the transitions between the two musical spheres, there and back, but once over that hurdle everything works smoothly and the music is quite delightful. Most of the splendid soloing within the Jazzy parts is performed by Janiak, whose delicate arpeggios fit the spirit of the project perfectly, but all the instrumentalist play excellently in both domains. The soprano vocal parts are of course the anchor of the entire project, and are performed with confidence and clarity. Overall, this is a very original undertaking, which demands open-mindedness and skill to pull off. The excellent arrangements and obvious dedication demanded from all the participants pays off and the resulting music is deeply moving and highly aesthetic. Although unusual and somewhat challenging, it should keep most Jazz lovers happy, especially those with affinity to vocal Classical music and the Renaissance period. Very well done indeed!

Updated: 08/03/2024Posted: 08/03/2024

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KUBA STANKIEWICZ ~ KOCHANOWSKI PIESNI KSQ 002 (Barcode: 5903796604009) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is an album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Kuba StankiewiczFind albums by this artist recorded in a classic quartet setting with saxophonist Maciej SikalaFind albums by this artist, bassist Wojciech PulcynFind albums by this artist and drummer Sebastian FrankiewiczFind albums by this artist. The album presents twelve songs composed by Stankiewicz and sung by vocalist Jacek KotlarskiFind albums by this artist, which feature poems by Polish Renaissance (16th Century) poet Jan KochanowskiFind albums by this artist, who is considered the Godfather of Polish Poetry and modern Polish language. Stankiewicz undertakes a highly risky task in his attempt to write contemporary music to the poems by Kochanowski, which was attempted by Polish composers many times before with radically different results, especially so when this attempt is to be within the Jazz idiom. I must say that although I know Stankiewicz since many years, he managed to knock my socks off, as the music he managed to create here is simply sensational, both in its beauty and incredible sensitivity to the subject matter. It combines the best of the Jazz tradition, all sounding like a collection of wonderful standards that the listener is somehow familiar with, despite the fact that they appear here for the first time. He also uses the core of Polish folkloristic themes, that every Polish composer is unable to avoid, and which bring the music closer to its literary / linguistic source. And yes, Stankiewicz is the greatest contemporary Polish romantic composer, which is plainly apparent on this album. The rest of the team are all seasoned veterans, who play with Stankiewicz since many years and are all top Polish Jazz figures, which guarantees the spectacular result achieved here. Kotlarski is also an excellent choice, fitting like a satin glove to this project. His extensive stage experience comes handy and his performances here are simply perfect. During my recent visit in Warsaw, stuck between the returning Covid-19 waves, Kuba was one of the very few people we managed to meet and spend a lovely evening with, which is always a great experience. His charming personality and true friendship, as well as mutual respect that we share towards each other, are a rare treasure. He gave me this and one more album (which will be reviewed soon) and I had no idea how superb this music is going to be, so now is the time to thank him. Overall, this is an exceptional Jazz & Poetry album, one of the best of its kind that appeared on the Polish scene in many years. I simply can’t imagine any Polish Jazz lover and poetry lover not to grab a copy of this album instantly, especially in these dark days of sickness and despair. This is a true out-of-body experience! Thank you, my Friend, for sharing your talent with us – you make the reality easier to bear.

Updated: 20/11/2021Posted: 20/11/2021

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