Record Reviews

KRYSTYNA STANKO ~ EURODYKA STM 009 (Barcode: 5906489287343) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the 11th album by Polish Jazz vocalist / songwriter Krystyna StankoFind albums by this artist, recorded with a fabulous team of old and new friends, which include vibraphonist Dominik BukowskiFind albums by this artist, bass guitarist Paul RutschkaFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BakFind albums by this artist and drummer / percussionist Mikolaj StankoFind albums by this artist. Norwegian trumpeter Arve HenriksenFind albums by this artist guests on three tracks, which he also arranged. Other guests include Portuguese vocalists Joao de SousaFind albums by this artist, Ukrainian vocalist Laura MartiFind albums by this artist and Hungarian clarinetist Daniel MesterFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten tracks, four composed by Stanko, one co-composed with Bukowski, four composed by Bukowski and finally one composed by Rutschka. Stanko also wrote all the lyrics for the vocal tracks, in two cases co-written by her vocal partners. The album continues a strong shift towards Jazz-World Fusion, with familiar Latin undercurrents, and even more remarkably towards vocalese, which is featured extensively on most of the tracks, to my personal delight. Since each of the songs is dedicated to a different European city, and combined with the album’s title, this is an obvious tribute to the European Culture, without any geographic / political boundaries, emphasizing the vast diversity on one hand and the common ground, on the other, which generates such a wonderful congruence. The music is perfectly suited for the purpose of the message, and amalgamates many Folkloristic influences, all wonderfully intertwined within the Jazz envelope. As already stated earlier, Stanko choses to sing a brilliant wordless vocalese as much as possible, which overcomes any linguistic barriers, and even when she does sing in Polish, the phrasing and musicality fits the universal aura of the music perfectly. Bukowski, who is a faithful musical partner of Stanko since many years, leaves a distinct mark of his ingenious musicality on the album, but all the participants contribute wonderfully, to create a serene but deeply cutting aesthetic experience, which this music generates. I have been following Stanko since the beginning of her career and her remarkable ability to re-invent herself time after time, intelligently, gently and lovingly is absolutely marvelous. This album is built from an infinite number is little moments, sounds, notes and silences, woven carefully by Stanko and her team, like only she can. She has never disappointed my sensitive musical taste buds, and this album certainly fits perfectly my feelings of respect and adoration for her many talents, as much as her personality. Overall, this is another highly successful, tasteful, sensitive and remarkable achievement by Stanko, who in many ways is a class of her own on the Polish / European vocal Jazz scene. This music is so universal, that any language barriers become completely meaningless and this music should be highly appealing to and Jazz lover on this planet and perhaps the whole Universe. Love you, as always!

Updated: 23/03/2024Posted: 23/03/2024

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