Record Reviews

BEATA PRZYBYTEK ~ TODAY GIRLS DON`T CRY FLID 003 (Barcode: 5908254159718) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Soul Fusion Recorded: 2015 - 2017 Released: 2017 This is the long anticipated fifth album by Polish singer / songwriter Beata PrzybytekFind albums by this artist. It presents twelve original songs composed by Przybytek, nine of which feature English lyrics by Alicja MaciejowskaFind albums by this artist, two feature Polish lyrics by Dariusz DuszaFind albums by this artist and one features Polish lyrics by Grzegorz WasowskiFind albums by this artist. There is also a bonus track (lucky thirteen) written by Polish poet Andrzej PoniedzielskiFind albums by this artist and guitarist / composer Jakub ChmielarskiFind albums by this artist. The recording of the album lasted for almost two and a half years, spans several recording studios and features some of the best Polish Instrumentalist, many of them associated with Polish Jazz. Keyboardist Tomasz KalwakFind albums by this artist is again in charge of the arrangements and production and other musicians involved include keyboardists Boguslaw KaczmarFind albums by this artist and Pawel TomaszewskiFind albums by this artist, guitarists Damian KuraszFind albums by this artist and the a/m Jakub Chmielarski, bassists Adam KowalewskiFind albums by this artist, Robert SzewczugaFind albums by this artist and Andrzej SwiesFind albums by this artist, drummers Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist, Filip MozulFind albums by this artist and Arek SkolikFind albums by this artist, percussionist Slawomir BernyFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Marek PodkowaFind albums by this artist and Mariusz MaczkaFind albums by this artist and trumpeter Sebastian SoldrzynskiFind albums by this artist. Vocalist Beata BednarzFind albums by this artist guests on one track. About five years ago the previous album by Przybytek ("I`m Gonna Rock YouFind albums with this title") landed accidently on my desk and my enthusiastic review expressed my delight and joy experienced while listening to it, heralding her as one of the great hopes of the Polish vocal scene, despite the fact that she was almost completely unknown at the time. After a long wait it is even more delightful to hear that my "discovery" proved to be spot on and Przybytek delivered another masterpiece, not only on the Polish scale, but surely on a world scale as well. There are only a handful of other singer / songwriters active today who are able to write such wonderfully heartfelt songs and deliver them with such passion, conviction and seductive magnetism. Each and every one of these songs is an absolute gem, with no weak moments on the entire album. Although rooted in Jazz, Przybytek made a very conscious and in retrospect astute decision to move towards Soul, Rhythm And Blues and sophisticated Pop, which suit both her warm, sexy voice and obviously also her musical inclinations better than the Jazz idiom she started with. It takes a lot of intuition and self-confidence to make decisions like that, which in Przybytek´s case paved the way for her spectacular success. She truly "found herself" perfectly on this album, which directly projects on its quality, making it as "perfect" musically as albums get. Of course Przybytek´s vocals are more polished than on her earlier recordings, luckily not destroying her natural vocal qualities, which are still convincing and heartbreaking. Although I prefer her singing Polish lyrics (as usual in my case) her delivery of the English lyrics are spotless and completely natural. The instrumental work by all the musicians involved is absolutely stunning, as expected. My personal favorites are the organ parts played by Tomaszewski, who is superb as always, but the overall level of performances is simply extraordinary. This is obviously one of the best Polish albums released in 2017, regardless of what other critics may say. Over the years I have completely lost confidence in the Polish music awards scene, including the "Fryderyki", which have become a complete farce, but if any Polish album deserves the title of album of the year 2017, this is it! Przybytek is the epitome of talent and professionalism, which sadly are not in high esteem any more. Personally I wish to thank you Beata for fulfilling my belief in you, for writing such beautiful songs, for singing them so exquisitely and for making this dark, sad world a better place, even if only for some fifty six minutes and twenty two seconds ;) Go Women!

Updated: 08/05/2023Posted: 24/12/2017

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PIOTR WOJTASIK ~ TRIBUTE TO AKWARIUM INDYGO 001 (Barcode: 5907222872000) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is a sensational album by veteran Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Piotr WojtasikFind albums by this artist recorded with a large ensemble which comprises of some of Poland´s top Jazz musicians and a few guests from outside of Poland. In addition to the leader who plays trumpet and flugelhorn the other musicians are: trumpeter Sebastian SoldrzynskiFind albums by this artist, shakuhachi and other wind instruments player Igor PietraszewskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Viktor TothFind albums by this artist (Hungary) and Marcin KaletkaFind albums by this artist, keyboardists Leszek MozdzerFind albums by this artist and Dominik WaniaFind albums by this artist, guitarist Marek KadzielaFind albums by this artist, bassist Darek OleszkiewiczFind albums by this artist, drummer Eric AllenFind albums by this artist (USA resident in Poland) and percussionist Jakub MiarczynskiFind albums by this artist. Two female vocalists are featured on one of the tunes. The album presents a five part suite composed and arranged by Wojtasik and dedicated to the memory of the legendary Warsaw Jazz club Akwarium (active between 1977 and 2000), which used to be the Mecca of Polish Jazz in the past. A sixth bonus track is also included, which offers an alternate version of one of the suite´s parts. The music was recorded at the RecPublica Studios and engineered by Lukasz OlejarczykFind albums by this artist, who as usual stood up to the challenge. I recently had the opportunity to hear this music performed live at its premiere concert at the Silesian Jazz Festival in Katowice, with a slightly different lineup, and the impact of the music was truly astounding. This studio version is of course much tamer and orderly, so in some respects it sounds quite differently, but of course it is no less remarkable. Wojtasik managed to combine several sub-genres of the Jazz idiom into one coherent piece of music, which presents a kaleidoscope of modern Jazz, pointing to its many sources from Bebop through Jazz-Rock Fusion to electronics. Based on strong melodic themes but allowing a lot of freedom to the individual musicians to explore and probe, this is a wonderful example of modern Mainstream Jazz, which manages to be fascinating, unexpected and searching. The individual performances are all great, as expected from this level of musicians. Kadziela´s guitar parts are the nicest surprise as he manages to transform the last part of the suite into a modern day "Bitches BrewFind albums with this title" ambiance, which should make Miles DavisFind albums by this artist happily turn in his grave. Mozdzer´s synthesizer parts are somewhat tedious, especially in comparison to what Pawel TomaszewskiFind albums by this artist managed to come up with during the concert. Of course Dominik Wania plays some stunning piano parts and it is interesting to hear him in a large ensemble setting. But overall everybody plays their heart out and the result is simply superb. It is great to see (and hear) that Wojtasik is still in great shape as a player / composer / bandleader and as a friend I wish him many years of good health and creativity. He can certainly be proud of his achievement here and I look forward to hear more of his work soon. His blessed work as an educator at the Katowice Music Academy is of course no less important, but seeing him play is a true Jazz experience. Te old lion is still capable of a mighty roar, which the younger lions are happy to return. Wholeheartedly recommended!

Updated: 30/12/2017Posted: 30/12/2017

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