Record Reviews

STODOLA BIG BAND ~ LET`S SWING AGAIN (POLISH JAZZ VOL.28) MUZA 1028 (Barcode: 5907783420283) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1971 Released: 2006 This is the only album by the Polish Stodola Big BandFind albums by this artist, one of the relatively few Big Bands active in that country over the years. The logistic and economic complexity of sustaining a working Big Band without continuous and frequent performing opportunities is simply to much in most cases anywhere in the world, and even more so in a country under a Socialist regime, where Jazz opportunities were limited. The fact that this Big Band managed to exist for several years and make this album is a rare treat indeed. The band was conceived and founded by the veteran Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer Henryk MajewskiFind albums by this artist, who managed to enlist some of the best Jazz players on the local scene, such as saxophonists / composers Janusz ZabieglinskiFind albums by this artist and Zbigniew JaremkoFind albums by this artist. The band was named after the Warsaw´s Jazz club Stodola, which was the bastion of traditional Jazz in Poland for many years. They played a very original brand of Swing, based on the American tradition, but much more adventurous as far as the compositions and improvisations are concerned. Of the eleven tracks on this album only two are standards and the rest are originals, mostly composed by Zabieglinski, Jaremko and Majewski. In retrospect the music lost nothing of its swing and freshness and is a great document of the era. Big Band fans will love this stuff!

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend