Record Reviews

STANIECKI / JACHNA ~ COMPLEMENTARY COLORS REQUIEM 2023/238 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Ambient Fusion Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the 2nd album by the duo comprising of Polish guitarist / composer Maciej StanieckiFind albums by this artist and Jazz trumpeter / composer Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, assumably co-composed by the duo members. The music is similar to the concept presented on the debut album “Two SoulsFind albums with this title”, released three years earlier, which offers trumpet Jazz improvisations performed on top of guitar / electronics Ambient background. This puts Jachna obviously in the focus, and he does not disappoint. His wonderful tonality and highly melodic tunes are immediately recognizable and he repeatedly proves to be one of the top Polish Jazz trumpeters, with a most individual sound. The only drawback of this album is its close similarity to its predecessor, which emphasizes the limitation of the format. Considering the fact that the music is minimalistic to the extreme, it probably challenges the listener to stay focused after several minutes, as there is little development or variety. Overall, this is a great display of Jachna’s talent as a trumpet virtuoso, but the setting within the Ambient background limits the accessibility and potential audience. I had a great time listening to this music, but I can imagine that less experienced listeners might find it tiresome.

Updated: 19/06/2025Posted: 19/06/2025

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STANIECKI / JACHNA ~ TWO SOULS REQUIEM 194 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Ambient Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is the debut album by the duo comprising of Polish guitarist / composer Maciej StanieckiFind albums by this artist and Jazz trumpeter / composer Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine pieces, not credited on the album’s artwork and assumed to be co-created by the two musicians. The music is an amalgam of Electronic / Ambient layers of background sounds and trumpet improvisations floating on top of this background, creating a relaxed, almost lethargic atmosphere of contemplation and bordering on cinematic aural excursions. As I have already stated repeatedly, there seems to be a distinct movement in Polish music lately, which offers a “protest” / counterbalance attitude, characterized by minimalistic / subdued musical forms, as a reaction to the incisive noise (musical or otherwise), that we are all drenched in and which completely blocks our contact with the world and other humans around us. This album is a “classic” representative of this new wave. Although the layers of sound created by Staniecki are very creative and often inspiring, the focus of this album is naturally on the wonderful performances by Jachna, who perfected his sound and intrinsic lyricism over the years, bringing it to such unprecedented level, that today there are but just a few other trumpeters on the European scene with equal capabilities. Combined with his improvisational strength, Jachna is a poet of his instrument and every moment of his playing on this album is a pure aesthetic delight. With well over twenty excellent albums recorded in the last decade, spanning a wide and diverse stylistic range between modern Jazz and Avant-Garde, Jachna steadily climbs to the position of top Polish Jazz trumpeter, and this album is a clear example of his genius. This album, although fully immersed in Jazz, is likely to find its way to a large audience of listeners, who do not listen to Jazz on a regular basis. The music works like a balsam for every human soul, inspiring healing and inward escape away from our troubles. This is truly an outstanding offering of music, which deserves to be embraced by us all.

Updated: 27/02/2021Posted: 27/02/2021

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MACIEJ STANIECKI ~ SPIRALS ALPAKA 020 (Barcode: 3663734142902) ~ POLAND ~ Electronic & Ambient Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is a solo guitar / electronics album by Polish guitarist / composer Maciej StanieckiFind albums by this artist. It presents eleven tracks, presumably composed by Staniecki, all named “Spiral” with a number added. The album’s artwork gives no information about dates of recording and seems to be as minimalist as the music. Staniecki has been active on the local scene since the 1990s and released several albums as well as composed music for several Polish movies and theater shows and is a prolific music producer. His musical orientation seems to be multi-disciplinary / multi-genre. I am only familiar with the album “Two SoulsFind albums with this title” recorded with Polish Jazz trumpeter Wojciech JachnaFind albums by this artist. I liked that album, as my review shows, but this solo outing is a different case. The music on this album is completely abstract, almost completely devoid of melody, continuity and rhythm, which personally leaves me completely cold, but I can appreciate the aesthetics behind it. The minimalism is quite typical of contemporary Polish music scene, which seems to find escapism from the horrific non-Culture that surround us all by concentrating on saying as little as possible. Although guitar is audible, one can hardly call this a guitar album in the conventional meaning of the term. Overall, this is an Ambient / Electronic album, which fans of the genre might find interesting, but anybody outside that sphere will find weird / uninviting and probably boring. To each his own…

Updated: 12/05/2022Posted: 12/05/2022

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