Record Reviews

MARCEL BALINSKI ~ OPALENIZNA I WIATR NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is the debut album as a leader by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Marcel BalinskiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a classic piano trio setting with bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof SzmandaFind albums by this artist. The album presents six original compositions, all by the leader. The classic piano trio format stands in complete contrast to the music it produces here, which is diametrically different from what one expects to hear from a piano trio. There is nothing in this music that resembles a classic melody / improvisations layout and piano / rhythm section role division. So what is it? Well, it is a beautifully innovative approach to create music, which is somewhat Jazz oriented, but could be easily presented as contemporary Classical chamber music. The music is a creation of three musicians, playing symbiotically and without any division into soloist / accompanist, based on short melodic sketchy themes, expended into complex structures, which might as well be improvised, but are obviously too well organized to be spontaneous. Somehow this strange brew makes not only perfect / coherent sense, but is also inspired and superbly innovative. The individual performances are all brilliant, but secondary in comparison to the ensemble effect of the trio. I had a hard time deciding if this music can be called Avant-Garde? Although it is different from almost everything happening on the Jazz scene these days, it is mostly an assemblage of familiar ingredients, put together in an unfamiliar way with out of the box approach and obvious highly aesthetic vision. Although Balinski took part in the recording of several Polish Jazz albums since 2018, this music is a quantum leap in comparison to his work on those albums. Another interesting question that comes up, is if this is the future of Polish Jazz or even Jazz in general? Balinski will have first to establish a wider recorded evidence to prove his role in the future of the genre, but this music certainly marks him as one of the young prophets. Overall, this is a stunning album, which is one of those rare eye (ear) openers that happen way to rarely and when they do, it makes you smile. Can’t wait for the next one as this one is already somewhat from the “past”. Congratulations are definitely in order!

Updated: 03/02/2022Posted: 03/02/2022

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ENTROPIA ENSEMBLE ~ ENTROPIA ENSEMBLE ALPAKA 007 (Barcode: 192914874195) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by the young Polish Jazz quartet Entropia EnsembleFind albums by this artist, which consists of saxophonist Dariusz StanislawskiFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Marcel BalinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Rafal RozalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Kacper KazmierskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven original compositions, six composed by Balinski and one each by Kazmierski and Stanislawski. The remaining three compositions remain mysteriously unauthored. The music was recorded at the Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist with the usual spectacular sonic quality. The music is a highly interesting collection of modern Jazz compositions, melody based but clearly open to include unexpected twists and turns, polyrhythmic tempi and Free group improvisations, all this without loosing the focus for a single moment. These clever young chaps seem to have a complete disregard of stylistic conventions and frivolously move between tango, Free Jazz and Swing within one tune without even blinking, in the true spirit of the Avant Garde. There is plenty of space on the album for personal expressions and all four members of the quartet get proper exposure. The piano leads the twisted melodic plot, the saxophone improvises on top, the bass takes care of the linkage between the parts as well as carrying the lot together and the drummer adds a steady clockwork beat and frenzy explosions to confuse the listener whenever possible. Overall this is an incredibly intelligent, devilishly clever (perhaps a bit too clever), totally surprising, completely unusual piece of music, definitely one of the most striking (if not the most) debut albums of 2018 on the vibrant Polish Jazz scene. With hundreds of albums released in Poland alone, recording a highly original and completely innovative album is an almost impossible task – but these young musicians stand up to the challenge with eloquence and a fantastic sense of humor (or sarcasm). Absolutely stunning!

Updated: 17/12/2018Posted: 17/12/2018

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BARTEK HALICKI ~ ETNOGRAF SOLITON 853 (Barcode: 5901571098531) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz trombonist / composer Bartek HalickiFind albums by this artist recorded with his septet which also includes trombonist Jacek NamyslowskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Maciej KadzielaFind albums by this artist and Dariusz StanislawskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Marcel BalinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Rafal RozalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Karol SzczygielFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven compositions, the first four of which are grouped together into a Jazz Suite. Although not specifically mentioned on the album´s artwork, the compositions and arrangements are assumed to be all by Halicki. The music is an ambitious project amalgamating many stylistic Jazz elements, starting with traditional Jazz from the early 20th Century, Bebop and modern European Jazz, as well as Folkloristic themes and Big Band / Orchestral arrangements. The result, although kept well within the mainstream Jazz idiom, is fresh and full of youthful energy and offers a most pleasant musical experience. The septet performances and the excellent arrangements are able to achieve a big orchestral sound, which creates an illusion of a much bigger group of musicians being involved in the process. With solos played in parallel by several musicians and multilayered melodic division skillfully intertwined, the music makes a potent impression and forces the listener to pay attention to the many details happening at once. In spite of the young age of most of the musicians involved in this project, it is immediately obvious that they are all well educated and schooled, and most importantly enjoy the opportunity to play music together, which evidently influences the end result. Their fluency and knowledge of the Jazz tradition and its many sub-genres is impressive indeed. But as usual it is the cooperation between the septet members which is the most important factor leading to the success of this music. Since larger Jazz ensembles become less and less popular over time, for a variety of reasons: economic, logistic and artistic, it is a real joy to see a successful septet doing such a splendid job. Hopefully Halicki will be able to continue his large ensemble passion in the future as well. Overall this is an impressive debut album, which offers both excellent compositions and exciting performances, as appropriate for the young Lions of Polish Jazz, and which should keep Jazz connoisseurs happy anywhere on this planet. Warmly recommended!

Updated: 28/10/2018Posted: 28/10/2018

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JERZY MACZYNSKI ~ JERRY & THE PELICAN SYSTEM (POLISH JAZZ VOL.83) WARNER MUSIC POLAND 190295475895 (Barcode: 190295475895) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album as a leader by young Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Jerzy MaczynskiFind albums by this artist, recorded with his quintet which also includes trumpeter Marcin ElszkowskiFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Marcel BalinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Franciszek PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer / flautist Wiktoria JakubowskaFind albums by this artist. Hindu violinist Apoorva KrishnaFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album presents eight original compositions, two of which are in three parts and one in two parts – together thirteen tracks. The music was beautifully recorded at the Monochrom Studio, engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist. Maczynski is an archetypical representative of contemporary young European Jazz musician: musical education from early age, academic studies in Poland, then Odense in Denmark, then Berklee in Valencia, Spain, recordings, concerts and festivals, a biography that reflects the borderless Europe which allows its young musicians to get exposed to diverse education systems, meet musicians from many different places and cultures and develop their personal styles in a span of just a few years, something that usually took decades to achieve in the not so distant past. It is not surprising therefore to see these young musicians to show characteristics such as diversity, openness and multi-genre / multi-cultural approach to the music they create. The music on this album is exactly like that – an amalgam of influences which encompasses such radically different genres as Rock, Yass (a Polish variety of Jazz rebellion with a strong Punkish attitude), Jazz-Rock Fusion, Free Jazz and even Avant-Garde, spiced with beautifully melodic, almost Popish balladry - a multi culti heaven on earth. One can not avoid an immediate feeling of likeness to the music created by Kuba WiecekFind albums by this artist, who after all is of almost identical age and biographical background, and who is another proud representative of the young Polish Jazz generation. The musical approach that this album reflects has one imminent danger, however. The diversity, as blessed as it is, can, and in this case does, create a slight sensation of lack of musical focus. Perhaps it is the highly emotional debut album responsibility, perhaps the untamed youthfulness, but this music creates an impression that Maczynski tries to say a bit too much in the scope of one album. Strangely (or perhaps not really) the two albums by Wiecek suffer from the same slight predicament. But all things considered, this is by all means a splendid debut effort, full of potential, great promises, exciting musical ideas and superb playing by all the participants. As already stated earlier, many Jazz musicians of older generations had to wait for years to produce an album as rich in contents and talent as this one, which means that congratulation are in order. Since I am writing these words exactly on Jerzy´s birthday (completely accidentally BTW) I can only wish him many future achievements, which will surely outshine this one, surely after such an outstanding liftoff! 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: 17/03/2020Posted: 17/03/2020

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WOJTEK MAZOLEWSKI QUINTET ~ BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE WMQ 09 (Barcode: 5908252861705) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2024 This is the 6th album by Polish bassist / composer / bandleader Wojtek MazolewskiFind albums by this artist and his quintet, which current lineup includes Slovak trumpeter Oskar TorokFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Piotr CheckiFind albums by this artist, pianist Marcel BalinskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Tymoteusz PapiorFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Tymek PapiorFind albums by this artist). The album presents ten tracks, nine of which are original compositions by Mazolewski and one is co-credited to all the members of the quintet. Two of the compositions are repeated twice in different versions and the last track is annotated as a “bonus track” (bonus to what?). The music follows the established pattern of the quintet’s previous albums, with solid melodic compositions and excellent performances by the quintet members, but in the long run the album, as nice as it sounds, adds nothing new to the cumulative output, which means that a strong déjà vu feeling is in the air, for listeners who faithfully follow the quintet’s output. That said, this is still a very pleasant listening experience and for Polish Jazz lovers, who enjoy the melancholic lyricism and the acoustic Jazz sound, this is as good as it gets. Overall, this is another well played and pleasing Jazz experience, which can be universally enjoyed, without being groundbreaking or innovative.

Updated: 05/01/2025Posted: 05/01/2025

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RASP LOVERS ~ ROMANTIC ALTERNATIVE SCHIZOPHRENIC PUNK HOWARD 4 (Barcode: 5903420816273) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz ensemble RASP LoversFind albums by this artist, led by guitarist Szymon WojcikFind albums by this artist and also including saxophonist Jerzy MaczynskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Marcel BalinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Rafal RozalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Bartosz SzablowskiFind albums by this artist. However, four of the above listed musicians (all except Balinski) appeared last year as members of the P.E. QuartetFind albums by this artist which released their debut album "CokolwiekFind albums with this title" then, so one might wonder why the change of moniker? The album presents eleven original compositions, all by Wojcik. The music was recorded at the Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, who is probably the only person on earth up to the task. To my surprise the music on this album does not continue the direction of the above mentioned P.E. Quartet´s debut album, which perhaps answers the question about the name change. It is a harsh, often conflicting amalgam of many musical elements, from Avant-Garde, Jazz, Rock and Punk (more in attitude than musically). As a result the music shakes the listener at first contact, which perhaps is the desired effect. It is very difficult to find a coherent direction or concept in this music at first, again perhaps intentionally so, with the music jumping between rocky riffs and improvised music parts without warning and which, as a result, can be quite masochistic for a casual listener. But on the other hand one has to admire the non-conformism and the courage to follow the Artistic vision, which obviously stands behind this music. The five musicians all perform wonderfully and imaginatively throughout this album, creating absorbing flow and fascinating moments, given the opportunity to be heard and noticed. It takes time and patience to create a mental bridge to this music, which probably very few listeners are able to build eventually, and which is probably not a primary concern of the music´s creators. For hardened Improvised Music / Avant-Garde fanatics this is an obvious chaotic heaven, the rest of the world – you have been warned ;)

Updated: 14/12/2019Posted: 14/12/2019

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