Record Reviews

PIOTR FILIPOWICZ ~ JAZZ TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL JACKSON POLSKIE RADIO 1505 (Barcode: 5907812245054) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2012 Why, in the name of all the Saints (who go marching in), would a group of talented, experienced and serious Polish Jazz musicians get engaged in recording this monstrosity is beyond me. Bassist Piotr FilipowiczFind albums by this artist is relatively well known on the local scene, with an established record in Jazz, theatre and Classical music. This album is his idea and he wrote all the ten arrangements of songs associated with Michael JacksonFind albums by this artist (either written by Jackson or by other songwriters who worked with him and were performed / recorded by him). His other partners are trumpeter Przemek KostrzewaFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Marcin GankoFind albums by this artist, pianist Dominik RoslonFind albums by this artist and drummer Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist. Vocalist Lena ZuchniakFind albums by this artist sings only on the last track of the album. The album does not fulfill the promise stated in its title, as the only connection between the music it contains and Michael Jackson is limited to stating the songs´ themes in the opening notes of each track. There is no conceptual, spiritual, stylistic or aesthetic connection between this music and the essence of Jackson´s music. The songs quickly turn into mainstream Jazz, which is boring, repetitive and simply uninspired. The arrangements are shallow and detached from the origin and completely meaningless. The track with vocals is even worse that the instrumental ones. Obviously these musicians can play and even play very well, which is immediately evident, but which makes the entire affair even sadder. If opportunism was the motivation behind this project, it was missed by a mile. Jackson´s fans are usually quite disassociated form Jazz and Jazz fans will see through this sham instantly. Such waste of talent always makes me feel sad, mad and Bad (pun intended)!

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ZIELINSKA / FRASZYNSKA / STECIUK / DREZEK ~ SOFIA DE MAGICO FOR TUNE 0060 (Barcode: 5902768701623) ~ POLAND ~ Soundtracks Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This album presents a wonderful Polish adaptation of twenty one songs originally recorded by the cult British Avant-Garde / Punk group The Tiger LilliesFind albums by this artist, all written by the group´s leader Martyn JacquesFind albums by this artist. The songs, beautifully translated into Polish by Michal ChludzinskiFind albums by this artist, were arranged by Marcin PartykaFind albums by this artist into a musical show, performed by four vocalists (Katarzyna ZielinskaFind albums by this artist, Jolanta FraszynskaFind albums by this artist, Tomasz SteciukFind albums by this artist and Mariusz DrezekFind albums by this artist) and later on recorded for this album with the vocalists accompanied by a quintet, which includes Partyka on keyboards, Sebastian FeliciakFind albums by this artist on saxophone, Piotr AleksandrowiczFind albums by this artist on guitar, Piotr FilipowiczFind albums by this artist on bass and Kuba SzydloFind albums by this artist on drums. These superbly clever and sophisticated songs are a wonderful continuation of the great tradition of Berlin cabaret perfected by Berthold BrechtFind albums by this artist and Kurt WeillFind albums by this artist. Funny, but serious, often deadly serious, these songs make us laugh and cry almost simultaneously. Of course in this specific case the verbal messages are sadly restricted to the Polish-speaking audience, but of course most true music lovers know them already in their original versions. The instrumental arrangements are all perfectly suitable to the cabaret / vaudeville and even circus atmosphere, being a mixture of popular music and early Jazz. Of course the vocal delivery is the centerpiece of this album and all four vocalists perform wonderfully, convincingly and heartbreakingly. There is actually nothing else left but to listen to this little masterpiece of European music, which is enjoyable, interesting, and clever and sophisticated, all at once. Absolutely delightful!

Updated: 08/08/2022Posted:

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