Record Reviews

BIG BAND UMFC WARSAW ~ CLASSIC ON JAZZ MTJ 11458 (Barcode: 5906409114582) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 During my recent visit to Warsaw my dear friend Pawel BrodowskiFind albums by this artist took me to hear a concert by the Big Band UMFC WarsawFind albums by this artist, which simply stands for Big Band of the Frederic Chopin Music University in Warsaw, Poland´s most prestigious music education institution. Although the program of that concert was different from the material recorded on this album (it was a tribute to Frank SinatraFind albums by this artist´s Christmas repertoire - more or less), hearing the Big Band live (and the two vocalists) was great fun and certainly an aesthetic pleasure. It was during the intermission that I met the Big Band leader / conductor Piotr KostrzewaFind albums by this artist, who explained that the members of the Big Band are UMFC students, which of course was not a surprise, and that they are all Classical Music students, which of course was completely surprising. Classical musicians that can swing the way this Big Band swings, is a major surprise indeed. Even more surprising was the discovery that the UMFC does not have a Jazz department, in spite of the immense popularity of Jazz in Poland since many decades and the fact that most other regional Polish towns (Katowice, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Lodz, Bydgoszcz and others) have Jazz departments at their Music Academies, some of which are truly excellent. It´s a high time for Warsaw to catch up! It seems that Kostrzewa singlehandedly managed to turn the classicist into swingers and at least the UMFC acknowledges the need of such activity within its walls. This album presents eleven popular Classical Music compositions arranged for a Jazz Big Band by some of the most famous Big Band arrangers and in three cases by drummer / arranger Wojtek KostrzewaFind albums by this artist, Piotr Kostrzewa´s son. In many cases attempts to treat Classical Music in a Jazzy way end up being a trivialization of the original compositions and sadly also kitschy pastiches of Jazz. However, in the case of this album, the Classical pieces serve only as a harmonic background and melodic hints and they are wholly transformed into the Jazz Big Band idiom, with many solo spots enabling the young musicians and invited special guests to show off their chops and overall swing happily and vigorously from start to finish. Considering that Big Bands are a rare commodity these days, Kostrzewa´s dedication and initiative are truly praiseworthy by itself and as a tool to expand they young generation´s musical horizons. Overall this is a very entertaining and well done Big Band album which can certainly satisfy many Jazz fans, especially those with a special relation to Big Bands. Hopefully the band will continue to produce more albums in the not too distant future.

CD 1 Recommend To A Friend

SBB ~ FOLLOW MY DREAM GAD 105 (Barcode: 5903068120442) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1977 - 1978 Released: 2019 This is a reissue of the album recorded by the iconic Polish Prog / Fusion band SBBFind albums by this artist (bassist / keyboardist / composer / leader Jozef SkrzekFind albums by this artist, guitarist Apostolis AnthimosFind albums by this artist and drummer Jerzy PiotrowskiFind albums by this artist) in West Germany and released on the West German SpiegeleiFind albums on this label label, being their first album released beyond the Iron Curtain. This is also the first album that features lyrics in English language, written or in one case translated from Polish by Pawel BrodowskiFind albums by this artist. One song features English lyrics by Marek MilikFind albums by this artist. The music, as usually composed by Skrzek, presents two extended suites (each on one side of the original LP) this time each separated into four distinct sub-parts. This reissue adds three bonus tracks recorded for Polish Radio, one of which is again an extended suite, another one is a solo (accompanied in the background by synthesizer) bouzouki performance by Anthimos, and yet another one is a solo electric piano performance by Skrzek. Stylistically SBB continue their modus operandi, but slowly depart from their early recordings in several manners: the music is distinctly well behaved, mellow and melodic and it is also heavily dominated by a plethora of synthesizers, which significantly diminish the role of the guitar. Considering the close proximity of the themes Skrzek is continuously creating, the music is definitely losing some of its initial strength and attraction and generally is running out of steam, getting closer to more commercial outings. As a result it was sadly their weakest album to date (at the time). The bonus tracks, however, are much more interesting, with the wonderful bouzouki solo by Anthimos alone being worth the price of this album. Overall this is still an important part of the great SBB legacy, definitely worth revisiting, and of course owning in your collection, simply for the reason that nobody makes music like this today. This album still holds water today and with the bonus tracks is certainly a powerful statement.

Updated: 10/03/2020Posted: 10/03/2020

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

SBB ~ WELCOME GAD 109 (Barcode: 5903068120510) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1978 Released: 2019 This is a reissue of the album recorded by the iconic Polish Prog / Fusion band SBBFind albums by this artist (bassist / keyboardist / composer / leader Jozef SkrzekFind albums by this artist, guitarist Apostolis AnthimosFind albums by this artist and drummer Jerzy PiotrowskiFind albums by this artist) released on the West German SpiegeleiFind albums on this label label, being their second album released beyond the Iron Curtain. This is also the second album that features lyrics in English language, two written by Pawel BrodowskiFind albums by this artist and four by Paul DraschFind albums by this artist. The music, as usually all composed by Skrzek, presents seven shorter songs, leaving behind (al lest for a while) the extended suites format preferred by the group and their fans. Some additional drum parts were played by Zbigniew WiatrFind albums by this artist. This reissue adds four bonus tracks, one of which is a radio recording, two are alternate tracks from the album and the last one is from a writing session by Skrzek. Although stylistically SBB continue their modus operandi, on this album they move further away from the early days and slowly approach commercially oriented material. The music is completely drenched in endless synthesizer doodling with the guitar parts sadly being pushed away almost completely. As a result this album is even weaker than its predecessor and almost completely lacks focus and most of the initial charm SBB was able to infuse into their music. With the 1970s nearing the end of the decade Prog and Fusion were losing their sense of existence and SBB were definitely not alone in the creative predicament. Sadly the genres refused to adopt new directions and the creative magic that characterized the idioms a decade earlier were slowly dying. SBB were still an awesome live band, but their recordings lost the impetuous. Even their next, this time Polish album "Memento Z Banalnym TryptykiemFind albums with this title", the last before the group disbanded in 1980 (to be reunited several times later), although returning partly to the suites formula, failed in retrospect to save the day. Overall this is still an important part of the great SBB legacy, definitely worth revisiting, and of course owning in your collection, simply for the reason that nobody makes music like this today. This album still holds water today and with the bonus tracks is certainly a statement worth revisiting.

Updated: 13/03/2020Posted: 13/03/2020

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend