Record Reviews

KLARA CLOUD & THE VULTURES ~ BAROQUE CHALLENGE 71470 (Barcode: 608917147025) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2023 Released: 2026 This is the 2nd album by Polish Jazz ensemble Klara Cloud & The VulturesFind albums by this artist, led by vocalist / composer / violinist Sylwia Klara ZasempaFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Klara CloudFind albums by this artist), and including violinist Mateusz SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Mateusz GawedaFind albums by this artist, bassist Adam TadelFind albums by this artist and drummer Piotr BudniakFind albums by this artist. Violinist Bartosz DworakFind albums by this artist, who played on the debut album, plays on one track. The album presents eleven tracks (two described as bonus tracks), most of which were composed by Cloud and some were co-composed with Budniak. The music is a direct continuation of the concepts introduced on the debut album, presenting beautiful melodic themes mixed with Folkloristic influences. Cloud uses lyrics sparingly and prefers to “play with imaginary words” in a semi vocalese style, which is quite unique and very effective. The instrumental layers, which feature excellent soloing by violin and piano, and the rhythm section, which is an integral part of the musical aura, are superbly executed, which is hardly surprising considering the fact that these musicians are some of the best representatives of the already established younger generation of the Polish Jazz scene. The music offers a lot of depth, both musically and aesthetically, which requires attentive and intensive listening in order to fully embrace the artistic content, often based on literary sources, like a poem by Pablo NerudaFind albums by this artist (in Italian translation) or traditional Folk lyrics preserved by Polish ethnographer Oskar KolbergFind albums by this artist. Of course virtuosic soli by Smoczynski and the rest of the team elevate the entire project to an outstanding aural experience. Although not fully a Jazz & Poetry project, this album is very close to the atmosphere created by such projects. Overall, this is a brilliant album and it seems a pity that it had to wait quite a while before it was finally released by the Dutch ChallengeFind albums on this label / Double MoonFind albums on this label Records. I would be delighted to hear a new album by this ensemble on a regular basis, but in the meantime I wholeheartedly recommend listening to this exceptional piece of music!

Updated: 25/09/2026Posted: 25/09/2026

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IREK WOJTCZAK ~ ROM TOM DADA FSR 2021/17 (Barcode: 5904441617016) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is an album by veteran Polish Jazz saxophonist / composer Irek WojtczakFind albums by this artist recorded with a quartet, which also includes trumpeter Tomasz DabrowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Max MuchaFind albums by this artist and drummer Jan MlynarskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, all of which are Polish Folk tunes from the Leczyca region, collected by the Polish ethnographer Oskar KolbergFind albums by this artist, arranged by Wojtczak. Wojtczak continues here his fascination with Polish Folk music, transforming it into contemporary Jazz / Avant-Garde setting, creating a truly fascinating amalgam, as already documented on his earlier recordings: “Folk FiveFind albums with this title” and “Play It AgainFind albums with this title”. This new quartet setting is much more focused and moves brilliantly between the original tunes and the improvisations. The saxophone and trumpet create beautiful duet dynamics and the rhythm section, with its dense / quirky intensity, drives the music strongly atop the odd rhythms and tempi changes. All the personal performances are absolutely top notch and Mlynarski surprises with his highly unusual drumming, feeling obviously at ease alongside these top Jazz instrumentalists, despite the fact that he usually operates in completely different musical environments. It is great to discover his alter ego here. Overall, this is an excellent album, which continues a highly interesting path of cross-genre creativity, as well as obvious love of Polish musical tradition, which obviously deserves to be cherished and remembered. Although clicking at only slightly over half hour in duration, this music is so intense and fulfilling that the timing has little significance. Brilliantly done, as always!

Updated: 31/01/2022Posted: 31/01/2022

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