Record Reviews

BESTER QUARTET ~ BAJGELMAN. GET TO TANGO ANAKLASIS 013 (Barcode: 5907795209739) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2020 This is an album by Polish Jazz ensemble Bester QuartetFind albums by this artist, led by accordionist / composer / bandleader Jaroslaw BesterFind albums by this artist, with violinist Dawid LubowiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej AdamczakFind albums by this artist and drummer Ryszard PalkaFind albums by this artist. The ensemble was expanded for this album to include three top Polish Jazz vocalists: Grazyna AuguscikFind albums by this artist, Dorota MiskiewiczFind albums by this artist and Jorgos SkoliasFind albums by this artist. Trumpeter Michal BylicaFind albums by this artist and cellist Krzysztof LenczowskiFind albums by this artist guest on most of the tracks. The album presents ten tracks, one instrumental and nine songs, all composed by the Jewish / Polish violinist / composer / songwriter / bandleader Dawid BajgelmanFind albums by this artist, with words (originally in Yiddish, except for one in Polish) by himself and other lyricists. This studio recording is a documentation of a special concert originally performed in 2018 as part of the anniversary commemorating the liquidation of the Lodz Ghetto in 1944, with was devised and produced by Miron ZajfertFind albums by this artist. The album was released by the prestigious Polish AnaklasisFind albums on this label label as part of its “Revisions” series. Jaroslaw Bester was one of the first Polish musicians to accept the challenge of treating seriously the Jewish Music created in Poland during the centuries of Jewish presence on the Polish soil. Sadly, most of the attempts to deal with Jewish Music border between kitsch and chaltura, but Bester managed consistently to avoid falling into this trap over the years. He founded the Cracow Klezmer BandFind albums by this artist in 1997, which later morphed into the Bester Quartet, with a long series of successful recordings to his credit. Following the initial period of focus on the Klezmer tradition, he expanded his vision to include other musical traditions, especially the tango, which became his passion in more recent years. Jewish Music and tango come together hand in hand on this album, since the secular Jewish Music in Poland, during the period between the two great wars, was fascinated with the tango as well. The life’s story of Dawid Bajgelman is easily divided between his meteoric career before WWII, which found him as a highly successful composer and songwriter, with his songs performed by the most popular Polish singers at the time, but in parallel his massive composing legacy for local Jewish cultural life in Lodz, at the time the second biggest urban Jewish community after Warsaw, and of course his activity in the Lodz Ghetto during the Holocaust period, which came to the end with his tragic death in Auschwitz, cynical and absurd, just a few days after the camp’s liberation. His songs, written in the ghetto, are some of the most expressive manifestations of the horror and misery of that time. Although Bester’s role on this album seems somewhat less illustrious than on his other recordings, limited to arrangements and leadership of the project, he does an absolutely splendid job herein. The music is brilliantly executed by all the participants, the recording offers a high quality sound and the entire project offers a deeply moving aesthetic experience. The vocalists are amongst the finest Polish Jazz Artists, quite different from each other in every possible sense, and yet they manage to cooperate perfectly when singing duets or trios, in addition to their solo parts. They also manage to handle the Yiddish lyrics reasonably well, but the four texts translated into Polish and the original Polish lyrics are of course as perfect as one might expect from such pros. The vocalese, although used sparingly, is also just right. The instrumental parts are all superbly done, with the new lineup of the Bester Quartet reaching a level of coherence higher than ever before. The trumpet is a nice touch, building an imaginary bridge to the original sound of these songs. Overall, this is a beautiful album, full of heartbreaking nostalgia and a proper, wonderfully conceived and executed tribute to the great contribution of the Polish / Jewish composer Dawid Bajgelman to the Polish Culture, one of so many so often forgotten Polish Jews, who shaped contemporary Polish identity, whether one likes it or not. My personal thanks to Miron Zajfert, who shares my passion of exposing our proud legacy, and of course to all the participants, who are amongst my favorite Polish musicians. May the Force be with you!

Updated: 17/02/2023Posted: 17/02/2023

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MYSLOWSKA / PEPOL / ZAKROCKI ~ LEGGEREZZA AUDIO CAVE 2023/001 (Barcode: 5908298549520) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2020 - 2022 Released: 2023 This is an album by a trio of Polish Avant Garde musicians, vocalist Olga MyslowskaFind albums by this artist, cellist Michal PepolFind albums by this artist and (usually) violinist, but here guitarist and electronics manipulator Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, who is feverishly prolific on the local scene. The album presents ten tracks, based on excerpts from a series of lectures by Italian writer / journalist / philosopher Italo CalvinoFind albums by this artist called “Six Memos for the Next Millennium” (Lezioni americane in Italian), the first of which is dedicated to the virtue of lightness (or Leggerezza in Italian). These lectured were in fact never delivered, due to Calvino’s death, but were posthumously published as his last work. This album is a result of a project, which was one commissioned by my lamented friend Miron ZajfertFind albums by this artist, who sadly died a few weeks ago. Although the texts are not poetry per se, the project can be marginally considered as part of the Jazz & Poetry idiom. The music is certainly unusual, solemn and on the border or despair, but captivates the listener with its magical mixture of semi-melodic themes, improvised instrumental background and the dominating, almost operatic vocal parts. It is somewhat similar to contemporary chamber Classical music and certainly requires the same level of attention and patience in order to be absorbed. This is certainly music for connoisseurs of Avant-Garde explorations, and as such it is highly ambitious and in many aspects also beautiful and touching. Sadly, the size of the audience for such challenging escapade will be probably quite limited. My deepest respect goes both to the musicians, who created this music and the Audio CaveFind albums on this label label for releasing it, against all odds. Overall, this is a challenging Avant-Garde musical and literary project, which is highly stimulating and artistically sound, which requires open-mindedness and patience in order to be enjoyed. Hopefully it will also turn the attention to the wonderful writing by Calvino, which is a treasure chest of contemporary literary work. Highly recommended to ye brave hearted!

Updated: 03/05/2023Posted: 03/05/2023

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MARCIN OLAK ~ BESSARABIAN JOURNEY FSR 2016/02 (Barcode: 5905279364073) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2016 Released: 2016 This is a live recording by a quartet led by guitarist Marcin OlakFind albums by this artist, which also includes violist Patryk ZakrockiFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej SzczycinskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof SzmandaFind albums by this artist. They perform nine pieces, seven of which are traditional Jewish tunes originating from the region of Bessarabia (Moldova today) and arranged by Olak, one is co-composed by Zakrocki and Olak and the final one is composed by Olak. The project was initiated by Miron ZajfertFind albums by this artist, the creator / director of the wonderful New Jewish Music Festival in Warsaw. Bessarabia, which existed as a Governorate for over a hundred years, was home to many Jews, who amalgamated their ancient traditions with Ottoman / Turkish, Romanian / Balkan and Russian / Slavic cultural influences, creating a unique East European Jewish sub-culture, which had its musical facets also combining a wide range of musical influences. This attempt to mix the music originating in Bessarabia with Jazz sadly does not grab me at all. The resulting music loses most of its original spontaneity and the guitar, which simply does not belong organically to that music at all, treats it completely wrong. Bessarabia is definitely not Spain! With the element of improvisation and a lack of steady meters applied here the original music is simply completely lost. But most importantly Bessarabian music is characterized by very specific rhythmic approach, which is mostly based on odd meters, something most musicians not born into those specific realms have a great difficulty to handle. As a result applying simplistic Rock or Jazz rhythms to that music simply does not work well. As much as I appreciate any attempt to create ambitious projects, cross-cultural meetings and new discoveries, this project, as far as I am concerned, simply does not cut it. At some moments listening to the CD was simply unbearable and I even considered stopping it, which happens to me very rarely. Even the hidden track did not manage to save the day. Of course it´s only me and if anybody enjoys this music, my opinion is completely immaterial.

Updated: 27/10/2016Posted: 13/06/2016

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OLES BROTHERS & JORGOS SKOLIAS ~ SEFARDIX FOR TUNE 0013 (Barcode: 5902768701135) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2011 Released: 2013 The Sephardic Jewish Culture, with its heavenly beautiful music, poetry and above all personal warmth must be one of world´s best kept and deepest secrets, especially so in Eastern Europe, which was dominated for centuries by the Ashkenazi Jewish way of life and of course Ashkenazi Jewish Culture. In Poland, which was the center of Eastern European Jewish life in pre-Holocaust period, Sephardic Jews (like my Family) were an oddity and in most cases lost their roots along the way, adopting the Yiddish language and the Ashkenazi customs and forgetting the Ladino language and the Sephardic traditions. But of course Sephardic Jews and their Culture continued to thrive in Greece, Turkey, North Africa and in the Holy Land. For centuries Jews lived in two parallel universes with almost no contact between these two cultural spheres. But absurdly the monsters, who brought the Holocaust on the Jewish People, managed to pay no attention to any such cultural differences; the Greek Jewish community, mostly from the ancient town of Salonika, found themselves in cattle wagons on their way to Auschwitz before the horror was over. Apparently Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews burned much in the same way. This album, created by Poland´s most revered Jazz rhythm section: bassist Marcin OlesFind albums by this artist and drummer Bartlomiej OlesFind albums by this artist, collectively known as Oles BrothersFind albums by this artist, with vocalist Jorgos SkoliasFind albums by this artist, obviously of Greek origin, pays homage to the Sephardic Culture, based on traditional Ladino and Greek songs, except for one piece which is an original composition by Bartlomiej Oles, adopted and re-invented by the trio. All the texts were translated / transformed into the Greek language and Skolias performs them mixing many vocal techniques, from declamation, vocalese, chanting, whistling, murmuring and up to almost straightforward singing, always marvelously. The album creates a wonderful atmosphere of intimacy and minimalism, which engulfs the listener slowly but insistently, breaking cultural barriers by its immediacy and intrinsic charm. I have no idea if this charm works as well on people who have never been exposed to this kind of music, and I hope it does, since the overall effect is simply magical. Skolias takes this music into further areas, like Greek Rebetiko, mainly due to his idiosyncratic expressionism, which emphasizes the affinity of all Middle Eastern cultures. Oles Brothers prove again their outstanding ability to keep their open-minded approach, regardless of the stylistic circumstances. Marcin plays some heartbreaking bow passages and amazing plucking solos and Bartlomiej plays percussion as if he was born on the desert planes of North Africa. By all means this is one of the most original albums recorded in Poland since many years, a bold statement which is not afraid to take risks and break new ground. The idea for this project was initiated by Miron ZajfertFind albums by this artist, the artistic director of the New Jewish Music Festival in Warsaw, who deserves much credit, as does the For Tune label for recording and releasing this music, saving it for posterity. Jewish Culture connoisseurs are definitely grateful!

Updated: 02/01/2017Posted:

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OLES BROTHERS & DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI ~ KOPTYCUS AUDIO CAVE 2022/001 (Barcode: 5908298549384) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by the Polish Jazz trio comprising of twin brothers: bassist Marcin OlesFind albums by this artist and drummer Bartlomiej OlesFind albums by this artist (collectively known as Oles BrothersFind albums by this artist) and recorder player Dominik StrycharskiFind albums by this artist, who also uses electronics. The album presents seven original compositions inspired by Coptic music. As usual with the projects by Oles Brothers, the music goes way beyond what is considered as Jazz mainstream, and always combines elements of improvised music with a thematic inspiration, which in this case is the music of the early Coptic Christian tradition. Originating in Alexandria, Egypt, the Coptic Christianity spread into the entire North Africa and later also to the Holly Land, with beautiful Coptic churches built in Jerusalem and Nazareth, which of course I know very well. It is only natural that Coptic music is based mostly on early Middle Eastern musical tradition and is very different from the European Christian musical tradition. The recorder is obviously an ideal instrument to be used to re-visit the two millennia old musical tradition, for many reasons. First it is one of the oldest instruments known to man, second it is closely associated with the Middle Eastern musical tradition, thirdly it is one of the most spiritual instruments out there and lastly it is naturally and historically way more suitable for improvisation than for playing a precisely defined melody. The music on this album exemplifies the above points all too well. Strycharski sounds like a time-traveler sitting on the banks of ancient Alexandria port, sending his lament over the waters and desert sands. The Oles Brothers support him with a mixture of Middle Eastern rhythmic patterns and free time improvisation, together creating a magic chant, which is simply fascinating. It is truly astounding to see / hear the Oles Brothers reinventing themselves time after time with each new project. As someone who had the opportunity to hear them perform live many times, they still manage to take me by surprise every time, this being no different. Originally this project was commissioned by the Music Of Faith – Music Of Peace Festival and its artistic director Miron ZajfertFind albums by this artist, and thankfully it was now released on record, to be enjoyed for posterity. Overall, this is a highly unusual and deeply spiritual piece of human ingenuity, which offers a superb listening experience, unlike most other things one can hear on record. Far beyond classification, this is simply Music in the most universal meaning of that Artform, which deserves to be heard, and which perhaps can heal some of the misery we are all exposed to lately. Respect, my Friends, as always!

Updated: 28/02/2022Posted: 28/02/2022

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