Record Reviews

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.29 POLSKIE RADIO 2061 (Barcode: 5907812245344) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1966 Released: 2017 This is the twenty-ninth installment in the series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings from the radio vaults. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The tracks presented here were recorded live in October 1966 during the ninth Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw and are the first volume of a collection of tracks from that event. The first five tracks present a duo comprising of American (resident in Europe since the mid 1960s and until his death in 2002) pianist / composer Mal WaldronFind albums by this artist and Swedish bassist Kurt LindgrenFind albums by this artist. They perform five original compositions by Waldron, which are a beautiful example of Waldron´s unique Blues based music, which characterized his output at the time. The intimate duo format is a prime example of the "Art Of The Duo", which emphasizes the telepathic communication between the duo members. The next track presents another duo, this time comprising of Norwegian saxophonist Jan GarbarekFind albums by this artist and Lindgren. They perform just one standard together, again showing the marvelous intimacy of the duo format and of course Garbarek´s early style, which is rarely heard on record and was captured here just before his debut recording session a month later. The next track presents yet another duo, this time comprising of Norwegian vocalist Karin KrogFind albums by this artist and Waldron. They perform just one standard together, which showcases Krog´s early vocal style. She recorded her debut album a couple of years before her appearance in Warsaw and was about to record her second album ("Jazz MomentsFind albums with this title") with Garbarek a month later, which would be his debut recording session mentioned above. The last three tracks present a trio consisting of Krog, Garbarek and Lindgren and present three classic standards, one of which is also featured on the a.m. second album by Krog. The intimacy of these performances is simply brilliant and absolutely unique. The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

Updated: 06/05/2017Posted: 05/05/2017

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ POLISH RADIO JAZZ ARCHIVES VOL.31 POLSKIE RADIO 2076 (Barcode: 5907812244149) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1966 Released: 2018 This is the thirty-first installment in the series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings from the radio vaults. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland´s most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well. The tracks presented here were recorded live in October 1966 during the ninth Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw and are the third volume of a collection of tracks from that event. The first four tracks present the American violinist / vocalist Stuff SmithFind albums by this artist, accompanied by an ad hoc trio which included Czech (at that time) pianist Jan HammerFind albums by this artist, Swedish bassist Kurt LindgrenFind albums by this artist and Italian drummer Franco ManzecchiFind albums by this artist. The quartet performs four standards and the entire set is rather unimpressive to say the least. Smith died shortly after this appearance and these ware among his last recordings. The next track presents a quartet led by Swedish trombonist Eje ThelinFind albums by this artist with French saxophonist Barney WilenFind albums by this artist (mistakenly listed as Wilen Barney), Swedish bassist Palle DanielssonFind albums by this artist (misspelled as Danielsen) and American drummer Billie BrooksFind albums by this artist. The quartet performs one lengthy (almost half an hour long) just about entirely improvised piece of Free Jazz, which at the time was considered quite Avant-Garde, but portrays the rapid development of European Jazz at the time, catching up with the Free Jazz developments in the US. The next track presents a quartet co-led by two USSR Jazz musicians: guitarist Nicolai GrominFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Georgy GaranianFind albums by this artist, with bassist Adolf SatanowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Aleksander GoretkinFind albums by this artist (all the Russian names are misspelled). The quartet performs one original composition by Gromin, kept in the mainstream Jazz idiom. The next and last and most interesting track presents a Polish / Czech quintet comprising of trumpeter Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Jan Ptaszyn WroblewskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Jan Hammer, bassist Jacek BednarekFind albums by this artist and drummer Grzegorz GierlowskiFind albums by this artist. The quintet performs one original composition by Stanko, brilliant and typical of the era, which is an absolute cherry on top of the entire album and reflects the strength of the Polish Jazz scene at the time. The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes / booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted: 01/05/2018

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend