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  | STRYJO ~ A VISTA SOCIAL CLUB
NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 5904730933025) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016
This is the debut album by Polish Jazz trio StryjoFind albums by this artist, which consists of pianist Nikola KolodziejczykFind albums by this artist, bassist Maciej SzczycinskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Michal BryndalFind albums by this artist. Apparently the trio exists already for ten years, but only now releases its music in recorded form. The double CD includes seventeen original compositions, implicitly co-credited to all three members of the trio, as all the music is declared as spontaneously composed while being played. The recording dates and locations are not specified but this is a studio recording and the sound quality is excellent.
The music is very melodic and well within the Jazz mainstream idiom, and therefore the fact that it is all spontaneously composed is very hard to believe, at least as far as pre-arranged themes and motifs are concerned, but of course I have no reason to disbelieve whatever the musicians claim to be true. The level of spontaneity and unexpectedness one would expect in case of such music is also almost completely absent herein, and the music sounds extremely well tamed and agreeable.
The performances are all top-notch: Kolodziejczyk gently strokes the keyboard and streams one sweet melody after another, Szczycinski plays along admirably, with clear and amicable bass lines, and adds a few admirable mini-solos to the proceedings, and Bryndal adds groove and zest to the whole enterprise. The overall result is pleasing and enjoyable, easy on the ear and generally satisfying, but…
The real question here is what is the purpose of this music? The melodies, as nice as they are, are not really very memorable and as far as piano trios, the Polish Jazz scene is blessed by a plentitude of those, most of them more stimulating, ambitious and artistically inclined. I am not denying the above mentioned virtues of this album, but a double CD? Oh well...that´s entertainment! I invite everybody to judge by themselves.
| | Updated: 03/10/2016Posted: 03/10/2016 | CD 2 Digipak Recommend To A Friend |
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