Record Reviews

WLODEK PAWLIK ~ STRUNY NA ZIEMI POLSKIE RADIO 1395 (Barcode: 5907812243951) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz & Poetry Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 This is a beautiful album by Polish pianist / composer Wlodek PawlikFind albums by this artist, which presents a Jazz & Poetry project dedicated to the poetry of Jaroslaw IwaszkiewiczFind albums by this artist, one of the most renowned 20th Century Polish literary figures, although quite controversial on the convoluted Polish political landscape. Pawlik created sixteen musical settings to poems by Iwaszkiewicz, which are executed by a fabulous cast which includes vocalists Lora SzafranFind albums by this artist and Marek BalataFind albums by this artist, actor Robert WieckiewiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Pawel PantaFind albums by this artist, drummer Cezary KonradFind albums by this artist and percussionist Mikolaj WieleckiFind albums by this artist. The Jazz & Poetry idiom has always been one of great fortes of Polish Jazz and the beautiful Polish poetry seems always to magically inspire musicians and makes them to come up with their best work. This album is another example of this phenomenon and it is absolutely wonderful from start to finish. Pawlik seems to be completely comfortable with the short "song" oriented environment and weaves a series of beautifully melodic, expressive and impressive pieces, which are certainly among his strongest manifestations as a composer. The vocals and recitation are also superbly executed, with Szafran demonstrating again that she has but a few equals. A pity she does not record more, as her singing is always a source of heavenly pleasure. The instrumental quartet performs spotlessly, with Pawlik sensitive and lyrical phrases amicably and masterfully accompanied by the excellent rhythm section. Overall this is a classic example of the Jazz & Poetry idiom, which glorifies the Polish Culture in the best possible way. The combination of words and music is probably the most powerful tool to bring the best out of the Artists and the listeners. Of course the lyrics in Polish seemingly limit the audience to the Polish speakers, but honestly this album can move the hearts of listeners who do not understand a word of Polish by the sheer magic of its intelligence and intellectual content. Strangely this album made very little impact on the Polish scene at the time of its release. Some people probably can´t bury political hatchets even when it comes to Culture…

Updated: 10/10/2016Posted: 10/10/2016

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RGG / ROBERT WIECKIEWICZ ~ PLANET LEM MUSIC CORNER 074 (Barcode: 5906489287817) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2025 This is an album by Polish Jazz piano trio RGGFind albums by this artist, comprising of pianist Lukasz OjdanaFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej GarbowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Krzysztof GradziukFind albums by this artist. It presents a special project, which combines improvised Jazz music and fragments of the iconic novel “Solaris” by Polish writer / philosopher Stanislaw LemFind albums by this artist, one of the most important Science Fiction / Futurism world figures. Text fragments from the novel are narrated (in Polish) by actor Robert WieckiewiczFind albums by this artist. The album presents four lengthy tracks, recorded by Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist at his wonderful Studio Tokarnia, offering the usual extraordinary sound quality. The album offers a multi-disciplinary experience, combining music and literary experience, which sadly is limited by the language barrier, but not only. Lem’s extraordinary messages, which penetrate deeply into the inmost Human experiences on the psychological, philosophical and social levels, are not easily transparent, and demand knowledge and openness to many aspects of the meaning of life and Human existence, which in today’s shallow world are mostly beyond the average representative of our species. I have been a fan of Lem’s writing since my childhood, reading them for the first time at an age, which did not allow me to fully comprehend their true depth and meaning, which of course was later reappraised by repeated re-reading of his older works and closely following his current publications. Therefore, this album on many levels combines the two great spiritual passions of my life – science and music, and of course I am surely not the only person experiencing a similar reaction. RGG is of course the most important Polish Jazz trio, as far as stretching the borders of the genre is concerned. They have left the straightforward mainstream Jazz path early in their career, which now is in the third decade, and even changing the pianist mid-way did not stop the clear development path towards Freedom and complete disregard of aesthetic / artistic limitations. I have been fortunate to closely following their path and enjoy the fruits of their labor, which never disappointed. This album, both in its concept and of course the execution, is just another splendid stop of their way towards the stars (rather than stardom). It is pretty obvious that the improvised (albeit obviously preconceived in many ways) music is absolutely stunning, and it does make sense on its own, but in addition to the text it is truly inspiring. Since I speak Polish, it is hard for me to say how a non-Polish speaker might react to the entire experience, but I am pretty convinced that the language barrier is surmountable. In any case, RGG never disappoint, and this is surely not going to start any time soon. Overall, this is a triumphant manifestation of the creative / imaginative powers of one of the greatest European Jazz ensembles, which by now is beyond the need to prove anything and can indulge in creating whatever they desire and feel right. In many respects, this this is just beyond recommendation!

Updated: 19/11/2025Posted: 19/11/2025

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