Record Reviews

JAROMIR HONZAK ~ FACE OF THE BASS ANIMAL MUSIC 025 (Barcode: 8594155995134) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 - 2011 Released: 2011 This is the sixth album by Czech Jazz bassist / composer / bandleader Jaromir HonzakFind albums by this artist recorded with keyboardists Beata HlavenkovaFind albums by this artist and Michal NejtekFind albums by this artist, saxophonist / clarinetist Marcel BartaFind albums by this artist and drummer Roman VichaFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine pieces, four of which are original compositions by Honzak, two are original compositions by Nejtek, one is an original composition by Hlavenkova and the final two are Honzak’s arrangements of Pop songs. Two of the tracks feature string orchestra arrangements. The music is beautifully recorded at SONO Records studio by Milan CimfeFind albums by this artist. The album has a unique atmosphere, quite different from most of Honzak’s recorded legacy, being perhaps his most Fusion oriented work to date. It is still very much rooted in Jazz of course, but the synthesizer soaked sound and the choice of material gives the music a more contemporary feel, definitely way more accessible to a wider and perhaps younger audience. But the music is, as always, wonderful from start to finish and so are the performances. The double keyboards sound, electric and synthesized, inspires a somewhat reminiscent aura of the early Weather Report at its best. Honzak bass is always at the very core of the music, leading it steadily and keeping things in perfect balance. Honzak proves again his versatility as a composer and arranger, capable of playing around with moods and emotions, like only very few other musicians can, always preserving his aesthetic integrity, regardless of the stylistic proximity of the music at hand. The arrangements of the AbbaFind albums by this artist song “Dancing Queen” or the electronics / house hit “Poor Leno” by RöyksoppFind albums by this artist are a schoolbook example of his ability to play with the original melody like it was made of plasteline. Overall this is another superb album in Honzak’s impressive discography, which never ceases to amaze, surprise and delight. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 24/02/2021Posted: 23/02/2021

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NEJTEK / HRUBY / HONZAK / SOLTIS ~ PHOENIX AMPLION 152001 (Barcode: 8594179220021) ~ CZECH REPUBLIC ~ Free Jazz / Improvised Music Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the debut album by a quartet comprising of four experienced Czech Jazz musicians: keyboardist Michal NejtekFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Pavel HrubyFind albums by this artist, bassist Jaromir HonzakFind albums by this artist and drummer Daniel SoltisFind albums by this artist. The concept, conceived by the label’s owner and producer Alexej CharvatFind albums by this artist, was to gather the musicians without any preparation and let them improvise together, creating spontaneous compositions. The album presents nine tracks with eight compositions (one repeated twice), and offers a spectacular sound quality, as usual with recordings made at the SONO Records studio under the supervision of Charvat and help from Milan CimfeFind albums by this artist. Despite the fact that the music is completely improvised and spontaneous, the result offers a remarkable melodic content, which makes listening to the music not only “easier”, but above all instantly acceptable and embraceable. Of course some of the improvisations are pretty “wild”, but the music stays at all times completely coherent and “organized” and even well behaved, which is pretty astonishing, and could be labelled as oxymoronic “Organized Freedom”. In the liner notes of the album all four musicians state their opinions concerning free improvisation, which are very enlightening and to some extent also explain the success of the music making found on this album. Obviously such music requires a lot of mutual respect and complete abandonment of the respective egos, as well as a lot of experience and open-mindedness, all of which can be found here aplenty. Personally I think that everything works so well thanks to Honzak’s incredible performances not only as a virtuoso bassist, but mostly as creator of the adhesiveness that keeps everything together, an invisible “dark matter” without each the universe would collapse. Of course all the musicians contribute absolutely wonderfully, but Honzak is for me the pivotal ingredient. Overall this is a stunning piece of music, which opens a window into the incredible Czech Jazz scene, which has truly a lot to offer and is worth following, same as the Jazz made in its southern neighbor Poland, which gains more worldwide popularity lately. The delicate and deeply European aesthetics that prevails over most of the Czech Jazz is a unique phenomenon deserving a much wider worldwide recognition that it enjoys at the moment, hopefully to be improved in the future. Fans of Improvised Music at its best incarnation should be delighted with this album, which is naturally wholeheartedly recommended.

Updated: 12/02/2021Posted: 12/02/2021

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