Record Reviews

HORNTET ~ HORNTET FOR TUNE 0163 (Barcode: 5906395808793) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the debut studio album by Polish Jazz quintet HorntetFind albums by this artist, led by pianist / composer Bartlomiej LesniakFind albums by this artist, with saxophonists Robert WypasekFind albums by this artist and Szymon ZiolkowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Mikolaj SikoraFind albums by this artist and drummer Piotr PrzewozniakFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven tracks, six of which are original compositions by the quintet members: four by Lesniak and one each by Ziolkowski and Przewozniak, and finally one standard by Thelonious MonkFind albums by this artist. The music is all modern Mainstream Jazz, with extensive improvisations and complex arrangements, which result in the tracks being all around ten minutes and beyond in duration. This allows for all the band members to express their individual abilities and experiment with tempi and often extend the basic melody lines far beyond the origins. As a result, there is a lot happening here, which often seems a bit over the board. These young musicians are bursting with talent and probably feel the need to prove themselves on the extremely crowded Polish Jazz scene, which might by the reason why the result seems so dense and ready to explode. The quintet is at their best playing slow, lyrical material, which is only a small part of the music herein. The album was recorded at the excellent Studio Tokarnia and engineered by Jan SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist, which usually is a guarantee of sound quality, but this time the sound is a bit muffled / unusual, emphasizing the piano over the other instruments. But of course this is just a very personal inkling. Overall, this is an impressive album, considering the age and lack of experience of the musicians, which is just a first step in their career. They simply need time to get their stuff together in time. It obviously indicates the potential and talent of the young Polish Jazz scene, which has so much to offer.

Updated: 11/12/2023Posted: 11/12/2023

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HORNTET ~ LIVE AT RADIO KATOWICE PRK 0144 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz quintet called HorntetFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist Robert WypasekFind albums by this artist and Szymon ZiolkowskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Bartlomiej LesniakFind albums by this artist, bassist Mikolaj SikoraFind albums by this artist and drummer Piotr PrzewozniakFind albums by this artist. The album presents three original compositions, two by Lesniak and one by Przewozniak, and one standard by Thelonious MonkFind albums by this artist. The music is all within modern Mainstream Jazz, well played by these talented young musicians, emphasizing the two saxophones frontline, who often play unisono or with slight variations between the two horns, which creates a nice effect but is not enough to keep the listen interested for long. The piano is a tad too busy, when soloing, but the rhythm section does a good job to keep the music together. The original compositions are a bit simplistic and not entirely coherent, but considering the fact that these young musicians are just starting their career, the result is impressive and promising. Overall, this is a first glimpse of a quintet of young Polish Jazz musicians, who show a lot of potential and, as usual, exemplify the incredible amount of talent on the Polish Jazz scene. A bit more experience and maturity and these musicians will be “burning” the stage. Hope to hear more in the not so distant future.

Updated: 06/10/2022Posted: 06/10/2022

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ANDRZEJ KOWALSKI ~ ABSTRAKT NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 5907653893612) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz guitarist / composer Andrzej KowalskiFind albums by this artist recorded in a quartet setting with saxophonist Robert WypasekFind albums by this artist, bassist Jan WierzbickiFind albums by this artist and drummer Adam WajdzikFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Kowalski. It was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and offers a high sound quality. The music is excellent modern mainstream Fusion, based on solid compositions which incorporate melodic themes and quite unusual rhythmic structures, creating a dynamically diverse atmosphere of tension. The compositions are way more complex than the average Fusion material and certainly more sophisticated and intelligently weaved. These four young musicians share the responsibility for the music the quartet produces quite equally, which is rather unusual. Although the guitar and the saxophone deliver most of the soloing, as expected, the rhythm section is also constantly busy with laying out the complex pulsations and quirky tempi changes, all clearly audible for the entire duration of the music, as well as soloing impressively. Overall this is a surprising and unusual debut album, which manages to step outside of the conventional Fusion frameset by adding more freedom, both harmonically and rhythmically, rejuvenating the somewhat stale genre and proving that it is still able to astonish the listener. The level of performances by these young musicians proves again that the Polish Jazz scene enjoys an incredible surge of juvenile blood transfusion into its veins, which keeps it alive and sparkling.

Updated: 29/10/2019Posted: 29/10/2019

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PAWEL MANKA SEMIOTIC QUINTET ~ KUBIZM SJ 055 (Barcode: 5902596066680) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2021 Released: 2021 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz quintet, named Semiotic QuintetFind albums by this artist and led by guitarist / composer Pawel MankaFind albums by this artist, which also includes other young representatives of the local scene: saxophonist Robert WypasekFind albums by this artist, pianist Franciszek RaczkowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Piotr NarajowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Stefan RaczkowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine tracks, which are all original compositions by the leader. The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, with the usual superb sound quality. The music is quite adventurous and offers a mixture of Fusion and Avant-Garde Jazz, based on sketchy compositions, which are a basis for extended, often Free improvisations by the soloists, with solid, more well-behaved rhythm section support. The result achieves a somewhat chaotic, but certainly enthralling listening experience, with an end-result delivering more of seeking than achieving, but certainly being very absorbing along the way. The leader’s guitar playing is at times somewhat detached from the rest of the ensemble, emphasizing the electric Fusion guitar sound, which clashes with the acoustic Jazzy sound of the remaining quartet, but when kept in check it is able to coexist with the quartet more amicably. This is more a “sound” / ambience problem that a musical drawback, but for the best of the quintet has to be resolved in the future. Wypasek keeps the music down to earth, offering an almost traditional jazz approach, which leaves most of the glory around Raczkowski (the pianist), who is the true spark of this recording. His work on several albums he took part in during the last few years certainly marks him as a player worth watching, yet to emerge in full glory, but his playing here if pretty amazing. The rhythm section, as already mentioned, does a wonderful job to keep the music together, which without their heroic efforts, might have disintegrated at some moments. Overall, this is a very ambitious album, which is only partly successful, but is way more interesting than most “well behaved” recordings, which dominated to Polish Jazz scene this year, perhaps partly paralyzed by the Pandemic. The daring and ambition are highly appreciated and with some “fine tuning” and discipline this quintet can certainly get places. Kudos for the effort and all the best in the future!

Updated: 30/11/2021Posted: 30/11/2021

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SUPERMINIMALISM ~ PRELUDE LJF 002 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2023 Released: 2023 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz quintet SuperminimalismFind albums by this artist, comprising of trumpeter Marcin ElszkowskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Robert WypasekFind albums by this artist and Jakub LepaFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal AftykaFind albums by this artist and drummer / percussionist Stefan RaczkowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven short original compositions by Raczkowski, totaling in under half an hour, which makes it an EP rather than a full album. The music offers very interesting approach, with minimalistic motives and unusual sound, with brass and rhythm section only. The music is full of internal tension and simply “asks for” to be developed further, but of course it is the artistic choice of the ensemble to leave it sort of hanging in the air. Despite the fact that the music seems like a teaser / sample, of what the quintet is capable of, it is truly fascinating from start to finish, and definitely does the job of arising the listener’s attention perfectly. Overall, this is a wonderful sample of modern Polish Jazz and the talents of the young generation ready to invade the scene. The compositions are fascinating, the performances highly professional and the result simply enchanting – well done!

Updated: 20/12/2023Posted: 20/12/2023

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