Record Reviews

LEGEND OF KAZIMIERZ ~ JERUSALEM NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2005 Released: 2005 The music of the Polish ensemble Legend Of KazimierzFind albums by this artist emphasizes the fact that music knows no borders. Although certain melodic patterns, rhythms, instruments and degrees of lyricism might originate in the four distant corners of the world, no one is surprised today to hear Middle Eastern instruments on an album recorded in Eastern Europe, or Balkan odd meters on an album recorded in America. In fact the amalgam of World Music is just one side of the multi-cultural revolution that is changing human society, which for millennia used to be closed within regional boundaries. Kazimierz, a suburb of the Polish town of Krakow, has been associated with its Jewish population, which lived there for centuries, flourishing not only economically but also culturally. The traditional Jewish music, which sounded in the streets of Kazimierz, performed by Klezmer ensembles, is no longer a part of the everyday experience in Kazimierz, but it is anything but forgotten. The renaissance that the Jewish Culture enjoys in Poland produced dozens of Klezmer ensembles, who imitate the past experience to the best of their abilities. What sets Legend Of Kazimierz far apart form the many other Polish ensembles playing seemingly similar music, is their understanding that imitating the music of others is simply not creative enough and therefore they consciously take the best of the Jewish Music elements and amalgamate them with a plethora of other influences, like Balkan, Gypsy and Middle Eastern elements and a pinch of Jazz, creating a completely new music, full of vitality and finesse. The members of Legend Of Kazimierz are all multi-talented, skilled and dedicated musicians, a fact which becomes obvious from the very first moment one hears the music herein. This is their second album, following in the steps of their superb debut recorded a couple of years earlier, which continues the same musical path. This music is not only a great fun to listen to, but also demonstrates the intricacies of World Music, its beauty and incredible depth. The virtuosi performances and the elegant arrangements take the music to a truly artistic level, without spoiling the joy. If you are reading these words before you have heard the music, you are in for a pleasant surprise; if you have already heard it you´ll have to agree that this is something special, something we all wish would have happen more often that it does in real life. Enjoy! Side Note The above are my liner notes included on this album's artwork. I am honored when asked by the Artists to write liner notes for their albums, always hoping that my words reflect the true spirit of the music. This is also a symbol of our mutual respect and friendship developed over the years. The same is also true when Record Labels ask me to write liner notes for their releases, mostly in the case of reissues of archival albums, which is a symbol of their appreciation of my knowledge and historical perspective and my recognition of their dedication to the preservation of the history of recorded music and the effort to keep human Culture and Aesthetics alive.

Updated: 19/09/2018Posted:

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LEGEND OF KAZIMIERZ ~ SEVEN WONDERS NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2013 Released: 2013 This is the debut album by young Polish Klezmer Jazz sextet Legend Of KazimierzFind albums by this artist, which hails from Krakow, as do many other similar ensembles, and comprises of bassist Mateusz FrankiewiczFind albums by this artist, accordionist Pawel IwanFind albums by this artist, violinist Tomasz PawlakFind albums by this artist, clarinetist / flautist Mateusz ChmielFind albums by this artist, percussionist Tomasz CzaderskiFind albums by this artist and guitarist Jacek DlugoszFind albums by this artist. A few other musicians participate as guests. The album presents eight tunes, three of which are originals composed by Frankiewicz and Chmiel, two are traditional Jewish melodies, and another two are traditional Bulgarian melodies and finally the last one is by Jerry BockFind albums by this artist (the composer of the "Fiddler On The Roof" score). To be perfectly clear the ensemble´s music has very little, if anything at all, to do with Klezmer music. The fact that they use the name of the old Jewish quarter of Krakow (Kazimierz) as part of their name is definitely misleading. However, they show some influence of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish music, but also a lot of Balkan and Middle Eastern influences. So the whole Jewish / Klezmer "shpiel" is somewhat stretched, but entirely forgiven in view of the fact that they do play some excellent music. In fact they are one of the best Jazz-World Music Fusion bands active in Poland judging by the strength of this album. All the tunes are splendidly arranged and the ensemble very skillfully utilizes the entire palette of instruments played by its members. The overall atmosphere of the music is "oriental", with mystical Middle Eastern reverberations of the flute and violin swinging like enchanted cobras, archetypal darbuka rolls and layers of accordion, which wrap the entire bazaar of sounds like round pita bread holding falafel balls. This music not only sounds oriental, but almost "smells" oriental, and would be perfect as a soundtrack of a movie which takes place in a Mediterranean port. Of course these lads can play and the level of the performance is nothing short of amazing. But as ensembles go, it´s not the individual stars that make the firmament and this ensemble sure knows how to put their collective skills together, to create a whole which is much stronger than the sum of its parts. In short this is one ass-kicking Jazz-World Music Fusion album, which deserves to be heard by as many listeners around the globe as possible. I can hardly imagine anybody not liking this music, as it is as enchanting as a Gypsy queen, or a Flamenco dancer, or a belly dancer, or a snake charmer… pick one or all… Fans of World Music should not miss this one under no circumstances – you have been warned I say!

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