Record Reviews

ANNA GADT ~ BREATHING UNIVERSAL 602537564392 (Barcode: 602537564392) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 - 2013 Released: 2013 This is the third album by Polish Jazz vocalist Anna GadtFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Ania StepniewskaFind albums by this artist) and her first collaboration with the fabulous RGGFind albums by this artist trio: pianist Lukasz OjdanaFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof GradziukFind albums by this artist. The album consists of eleven original songs, ten of which were composed by Gadt and nine of which feature her lyrics, all in English. The tenth song uses a quote by American poet Ralph Waldo EmersonFind albums by this artist, combined with another quote by American opera singer Beverly SillsFind albums by this artist, with the entire quote credited only to Emerson? The remaining song was composed by Garbowski and features lyrics by Polish poet Miron BialoszewskiFind albums by this artist. The album was recorded at Poland´s finest recording facility, Studio Tokarnia, engineered as usual by the man with a pair of best ears in Poland, the studio owner Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist. At the first glance this album had the potential to achieve the status of one of the best Polish Jazz recording in 2013: the finest Polish Jazz piano trio active on the scene, fascinating music, highly sensitive vocal delivery, superb sound quality, in short a dream come true. Sadly this potential proved to be unfulfilled as a result of committing one single mistake, the same unforgivable mistake which hunts the Polish Jazz vocal scene consistently since decades, namely the unexplainable desire to sing in English. Why on earth would anybody, who is not a natural English speaker, want to sing in that langue is a total mystery to me? It is plainly obvious that the articulation, the pronunciation and the accent will be always against you, so why even try? Time after time all Polish Jazz vocalist fall into the same trap and nobody´s learning; what a pity. This album is no different; the vocals sung in English sound odd, unnatural and even bizarre at times. As if to prove the case, the only song with the Polish lyrics is simply heavenly and untouchable, as are the moments when Gadt is utilizing wordless vocalese. On the bright side, the music composed by Gadt is simply excellent from start to finish. Intelligent, atmospheric, versatile, moving, in short she made no mistakes whatsoever in that department and deserves all the praise. Of course there are plenty of wonderful moments left to be enjoyed. The trio plays delightfully from start to finish and stands up to the challenge of accompanying a singer, which is quite different and in many respects more difficult that playing by themselves. Together with their astounding album "SzymanowskiFind albums with this title" released earlier this year, these two recordings firmly reassure their prime and unchallenged standing, which withstood the ground shaking personnel change they went through. They are simply beyond words. The way the trio improvises "around" the songs Gadt composed is simply a genius at work. In spite of the problem created by singing in English, Gadt is obviously a great vocalist, with exquisite sensibility, musicality and musical intelligence. All these qualities come through against all odds in these circumstances. One can only imagine what a brilliant, superb album this would be if she had decided to use Polish lyrics. All things considered this is an amazing album after all, even magnificent at times. A magnificent failure? Well not quite, simply just another step on the long way which has no beaten tracks and leads to a place worth going. You win some, you lose some, c´est la vie…

CD 1 Slipcase Recommend To A Friend

GREEN REVOLUTION ~ REWOLUCJA ZIELONA GAD 203 (Barcode: 5903068123030) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1987 - 1988 Released: 2022 This is an archival album by the Polish Fusion / Funk / Brass Rock ensemble Green RevolutionFind albums by this artist, led by keyboardist / composer Wojciech KonikiewiczFind albums by this artist and including vocalist Jorgos SkoliasFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Andrzej PrzybielskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Marek KazanaFind albums by this artist and Michal KulentyFind albums by this artist, guitarist Krzysztof SzmigieroFind albums by this artist, bassist Marcin PospieszalskiFind albums by this artist and Zbigniew HeflichFind albums by this artist. The album presents five compositions, all by Konikiewicz, who also wrote the lyrics to four of the tracks and programmed the drum machines. One track uses lyrics written by Polish poet Miron BialoszewskiFind albums by this artist. The album was previously unreleased and was the second album recorded by the ensemble, which was active between mid-1980s and mid-1990s. The album symbolizes the musical philosophy of Konikiewicz, which completely disregards fads and fashions, ready to incorporate every possible genre and style, as long as it is honest and bullshit free, which of course ostracized him from the Polish Jazz mainstream / establishment, a fact which never seemed to worry him too much or influence his modus operandi. The list of musicians participating in the album’s creation is a wonderful collection of “strange birds”, mostly from the Polish Avant-Garde underground, which flourished at the time, all of which were brilliant musicians destined to remain in the shadows. It took many years to earn them the proper recognition, which in some case is still much belated. The music, despite its complexity and multilayered density, is remarkably accessible and enjoyable to a wide audience, incorporating Funk, Fusion, Reggae and even some early Rap with Jazz, sometimes as advanced as Free Jazz. Fused together it all makes perfect sense and offers a great listening experience, and must have been a blast when performed live on stage. All the players offer some great soli, and the Brass players are of course legendary, which makes every note they recorded a valuable addition to their rather limited recorded legacy. Konikiewicz, who at any given time was involved in several musical projects in parallel, continued his activity over the years to come, often against the stream, but always true to himself, creating a lot of remarkable music over time, which in the last years is finally being given the attention it deserves. This unknown gem of Polish Jazz history is long overdue to see the light of day, but completely relevant and fresh today – highly recommended!

Updated: 27/04/2022Posted: 27/04/2022

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend