Record Reviews

JERZY MALEK ~ STALGIA KAYAX 077 (Barcode: 5907678818348) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 This is the sixth album by Polish Jazz trumpeter Jerzy MalekFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with American saxophonist Stephen RileyFind albums by this artist, pianist Piotr WylezolFind albums by this artist, bassist Michal BaranskiFind albums by this artist and American (resident in Poland) drummer Eric AllenFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine compositions, seven of which are original composition by Malek, one is by Allen and the remaining one is a standard. The music is typical American mainstream Jazz, which stays at all times within the clearly defined Jazz conventions and therefore fails to break any new ground or sound contemporary. It might have as well been recorded a few decades ago and no one would have noticed the difference. Having said that, the original music is very well crafted and definitely deserving being heard. Nice melodies, perfectly executed by highly professional musicians, in short a perfect mainstream Jazz production, which many Jazz connoisseurs will undoubtedly enjoy to the max. The most important massage that comes across is that Polish Jazz musicians can play as good if not better than their American counterparts. The sound quality of the recording is nothing short of sensational. Malek is a superb trumpeter with a beautiful tone. I wish he would make at least some effort to shake off the restrictions he is so deeply entrenched in, and show his listeners something else for once. Paraphrasing on the "Holier than the Pope", this is a better mainstream American Jazz album than most Americans can record these days, but "The Times They Are A-Changin´"…

Updated: 18/09/2017Posted: 18/09/2017

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