Record Reviews

MONOSIES ~ STORIES OF THE GRAY CITY SOLITON 742 (Barcode: 5901571097428) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2016 - 2017 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz quintet MonosiesFind albums by this artist, led by guitarist / composer Lukasz KomalaFind albums by this artist, which also includes trumpeter Zbigniew SzwajdychFind albums by this artist, pianist Michal SalamonFind albums by this artist, bassist Krzysztof AugustynFind albums by this artist and drummer Mateusz KaronFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight original compositions, all by Komala. The music is very melodic, well within mainstream Jazz with slight Fusion touches, which are pretty natural when lead guitar is involved. Most of the tunes are pretty slow tempo, melancholic / romantic in nature, but excellently put together. Typically for the young generation of Polish Jazz musicians, the musicians mature with solid compositional abilities, which is apparent on almost all debut albums released on the Polish Jazz scene. All the eight tunes on this album are little gems, which are a pleasure to listen to. All the members of the quintet are also excellent instrumentalists. Szwajdych plays several superb trumpet solos, which are well suited to the melodic line of the compositions. Salamon plays fluidly and always with the exact dynamics required at each specific moment, Augustyn solidly supports the flow of the music with his bottom line pulsations and Karon keeps the energy of the music kicking in. Komala produces some very unusual guitar sounds, especially when playing chords, obviously using a plethora of electronic devices. His solos are more Fusion than Jazz oriented, but they are concise, coherent and elegant, and certainly avoid the unnecessary doodling that plagues most contemporary Fusion recordings. Overall this is an excellent debut album, which is full of great tunes and excellent performances. Guitar fans should have a lot of fun with this, but all melodic Jazz connoisseurs will find this album to be an exciting listening experience. Perhaps not very innovative, but this is definitely a sold, well executed project which presents Komala as a gifted composer and the entire ensemble as an eloquent group of young Jazz lions. Well done indeed!

Updated: 10/11/2017Posted: 10/11/2017

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TEMPERO ~ 6 PM NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2012 Released: 2012 This is the debut album by young Polish Klezmer Jazz quartet TemperoFind albums by this artist, which hails from Krakow, as do many other similar ensembles, and comprises of violinist Dominik BienczyckiFind albums by this artist, accordionist Konrad LigasFind albums by this artist, bassist Krzysztof AugustynFind albums by this artist and percussionist Lukasz KurzydloFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten traditional tunes, not all of which are of Jewish origin, arranged for the acoustic quartet. Since Tempero do not have a clarinetist as a lead instrumentalist, they are not a typical Klezmer ensemble to start with. The arrangements they utilize are also not really associated with Jewish music per se, and therefore although the repertoire might point towards Jewish musical sources, the result has almost nothing to do with true Jewish music. The overall sound and attitude are simply to refined, accurate and temperate for a Klezmer band. Having said that the members of Tempero are all excellent musicians, especially Bienczycki, whose performances are nothing short of virtuosity, but all three of his cohorts play excellently as well. The arrangements are all nontrivial and at times even quite interesting and the music is performed with zest, passion and elegance, resulting in a highly entertaining musical voyage. Jazz enthusiasts will find plenty of improvisation, again mostly by the violinist, who is simply divine. It would be most interesting to hear him in a bona fide Jazz setting. Overall this is quite nice album, which Jazz-World Music Fusion enthusiasts should find most entertaining. Definitely worth investigation!

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