Record Reviews

MACIEJ GOLYZNIAK ~ THE ORCHID (POLISH JAZZ VOL.85) WARNER MUSIC POLAND 190295184599 (Barcode: 190295184599) ~ POLAND ~ Smooth Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2020 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish drummer Maciej GolyzniakFind albums by this artist recorded in a trio setting with keyboardist Lukasz DamrychFind albums by this artist and bassist Robert SzydloFind albums by this artist. Trumpeter Lukasz KorybalskiFind albums by this artist guests on four tracks. The album presents seven original compositions, co-credited to all three trio members. Golyzniak is a highly acclaimed drummer on the Polish Pop / Rock scene, with many recordings with his participation to his credit, but he is definitely not a Jazz musician, which of course is immediately apparent from the very onset off this album. The music is all pretty simplistic and has a strong Pop feel and ambience and altogether can be perhaps considered as Smooth Jazz at best. Korybalski, who is a splendid Jazz trumpeter (see his “CMMFind albums with this title” album), plays on the first four tracks over the background provided by the trio, adding a Jazzy glazing on top, which sadly only emphasizes how much this music does not belong within the Jazz idiom. The remaining tracks, on which he does not play, are completely devoid of any musical sense. The album has a very unbalanced sound ambience, with the bass way too high in the mix, resulting in a boomy, unpleasant effect, which is pretty disturbing. Overall, one can only wonder how this album entered the prestigious Polish Jazz series to start with, but of course it is not really the real Polish Jazz series anymore, is it? 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: 12/01/2022Posted: 12/01/2022

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KORYBALSKI / TRACZYK / ZEMLER ~ DON`T TRY FOR TUNE 0156 (Barcode: 5906395808724) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz trio comprising of trumpeter Lukasz KorybalskiFind albums by this artist (who also plays synthesizers), bassist Wojciech TraczykFind albums by this artist and drummer Hubert ZemlerFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven original compositions, described as “emerging from collective improvisation”. Korybalski is a fascinating figure, with rare appearances on the recording scene. His brilliant debut album “CMMFind albums with this title” from 2015 was one of the best Polish Jazz recordings at the time, but he almost completely disappeared from the scene during the five years that separate this album and the debut, and emerged in a completely new musical environment. Combining forces with two experienced representatives of the Polish Improvised Music scene, Korybalski and his cohorts create a stylistic amalgam between melodic Jazz and Free Jazz, whatever that means. The resulting music is way more accessible than the usual Improvised Music havoc and mayhem, but certainly is also far detached from mainstream melody based Jazz, which might function as a double edged sword, with the Improvised Music fans rejecting it as “too easy” and mainstream fans as “too challenging”. It is therefore at the mercy of the listener to decide its fate. Personally, although respecting the will to search and explore, I feel Korybalski is way more effective when playing well-behaved compositions, which are truly heart-wrenching, rather than playing Miles Davis late period short phrases, which are all beautiful miniatures, but lose their effectiveness on top of the improvised rhythm section background, and which worked splendidly on top of the Funky Groove that the Davis’ groups were so brilliantly producing, so long ago. The trio truly gets things going by the last track on the album, which is the epitome of what the album might have sounded at its best. Overall, this is a fascinating album by one of the best Polish Jazz trumpeters, which portrays him searching for a new way of expressing himself, and as such is absolutely worth listening to. It might disappoint some of his fans, who loved his mainstream work, but it will bring new fans willing to take a risk. This music takes a while to get into, but grows on the listener with time, as all good things do. Welcome back!

Updated: 08/07/2022Posted: 08/07/2022

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LUKASZ KORYBALSKI ~ CMM ALLEGRO 034 (Barcode: 5901157049346) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2017 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Lukasz KorybalskiFind albums by this artist, known primarily for his work as composer of cinematic music. This album presents the music Korybalski wrote for the film "Cale Mnostwo Milosci" (hence CMM), performed by a quintet which features the leader on trumpet and also includes saxophonist Borys JanczarskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Michal TokajFind albums by this artist, bassist Andrzej SwiesFind albums by this artist and drummer Lukasz ZytaFind albums by this artist; a most formidable team. Saxophone icon Zbigniew NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist and percussionist Bogusz WekkaFind albums by this artist guest on one tune each. The album presents six original compositions, all by Korybalski. The music is absolutely stunning from start to finish, typical melancholic Polish Jazz very closely reminiscent of early cinematic music by Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist, with the same melodic hooks one just can´t stop humming after the music is over. The similarity is so close, that if I didn´t know what album is playing, I´d suspect that a newly discovered Komeda album is on. This is not only reflected by the music, the melodic approach and the harmonic progressions, but also by the way the quintet performs the music, which has a tinge of wonderful "out fashioned" nostalgia to it. Even the one relatively "free" composition on the album is spiritually almost identical to Komeda´s famous composition "Astigmatic". The instrumental performances are all top notch. Korybalski displays some Miles Davis modal influences, all being in the most elegant form, Janczarski has a warm and smooth tone and Tokaj, one of Poland´s best pianists, sadly relatively rarely heard on albums, is a dream. The superb rhythm section cements the lineup with amicable support for the soloists and wonderful drive. Albums like this one are a persuasive proof that contemporary melodic mainstream can be intelligent, creative, fascinating and aesthetically fulfilling. It simply has something that sets it apart from thousands of other mainstream albums, firmly standing in a class of its own. It also shows why European Jazz left the American Jazz in a fifty years slumber. Overall this is one of the best Polish Jazz albums that I have had the pleasure to listen to in many years. It is perfect in every way, it bridges the tradition with contemporary ideas, it pays tribute to its cultural background and sources; in short it is it! Absolutely not to be missed!

Updated: 09/04/2017Posted: 09/04/2017

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MAJA LAURA SEPTET ~ MONK, MY DEAR MAJA LAURA 2 ~ POLAND ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2024 Released: 2024 This is the second album by Polish Jazz keyboardist / composer Maja LauraFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Maja Laura JaryczewskaFind albums by this artist), recorded in an octet setting (why septet?) with drummer Teo OlterFind albums by this artist, bassist Kamila DrabekFind albums by this artist, guitarist Krzysztof HadrychFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Lukasz KorybalskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Jakub KlemensiewiczFind albums by this artist and Krzysztof KusmierekFind albums by this artist and flautist Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, seven of which compositions by Thelonious MonkFind albums by this artist and one is a standard, which Monk often performed, all arranged by the leader. The music is almost completely highly improvised, to such extent that for a listener unaware of the context, i.e. Monk’s compositions, that specific association is very difficult to be recognized, except for the brief moments where direct musical quotes are present. This is probably why the leader takes a credit for the music, side by side with Monk. Such approach raises the question as to the limits of Freedom, even Artistic Freedom, although “limits of Freedom” might sound like an oxymoron. In this specific case if this album was presented as: “inspired by Monk”, or anything in similar zone, it would have been much more acceptable, but presenting it as Monk’s music is, at least for me, a bit of a hyperbole, to say the least. Monk was the greatest Jazz revolutionary within Bebop, but he knew the limits of Freedom perfectly well, I suppose more subconsciously than with premeditation, but he never overstepped the boundaries. I believe Maja Laura, when she claims that she loves Monk “madly” (sic), but so do I, and therefore I think that love has its limits too. Having said all that, this is definitely a bold musical statement, and it has its magic moments, if not as a concept, surely as a result of some of the performances, as the album does involve some of the best Polish Jazz musicians after all. Even if it has some flows, it is better that such attempts are made, than avoided. After all, “love will forgive you everything”, as the famous Polish song claims, which is also sometimes true in life. Overall, this is a very interesting, bold and unusual album, which despite its flaws offers an attempt to deliver an homage to one of the most important Jazz geniuses ever, which is commendable, as is the leader’s courage and individuality. Improvised Music enthusiasts should enjoy this album, traditional Jazz lovers might be shocked to the core, all for the best.

Updated: 10/04/2025Posted: 10/04/2025

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OLA TRZASKA ~ ALL AROUND SJ 009 (Barcode: 5912596066085) ~ POLAND ~ Smooth Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2014 This is the debut album by Polish vocalist / flautist / songwriter Ola TrzaskaFind albums by this artist, recorded by a sextet which also includes trumpeter Lukasz KorybalskiFind albums by this artist, trombonist Michal TomaszczykFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Marcin PiekosFind albums by this artist, bassist Andrzej SwiesFind albums by this artist and drummer Sebastian KuchczynskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight songs, all original by Trzaska (music and lyrics), six of which feature English and two Polish lyrics. The music is a nice mixture of Pop / Soul / Funk & Groove, based on Trzaska´s melodic themes jazzed up by the arrangements and instrumental work, especially that of the brass section. Not a Jazz album per se, but close enough for comfort to turn the ear of a Jazz fan as well as those who have almost nothing to do with it. Usually I completely condemn Polish singers singing in English, but in this case the result is acceptable, thanks to Trzaska´s phrasing and a skillful mix which keeps the vocals usually in unisono with instrumental backing, which mute the language "imperfections". Trzaska has a limited vocal range and wisely utilizes her voice safely within her comfort zone, which of course becomes somewhat inadequate in the long range, making all the songs to sound a bit alike. But her singing is expressive and full of emotion, which overall saves the day. Combined with the truly inspired instrumental work by the players, the album is a fun to listen to. Swies deserves a special mention since his bass notes drive the entire album with an incredible funky groove. Tomaszczyk also plays a few beautiful trombone solos on the album, which are little gems. This is definitely an impressive debut, presenting Trzaska as a gifted songwriter, vocalist and arranger, who will surely take part in the development of the Polish music scene in the years to come.

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