Record Reviews

250 KG ~ PODWAZNA NASZE NAGRANIA 003 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 This is a debut recording by the Polish Avant-Garde / Free Jazz duo 250 KGFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist Tomasz GadeckiFind albums by this artist and guitarist Suavas LewyFind albums by this artist. Gadecki is known to the followers of the Polish scene as half of the excellent Olbrzym I KurdupelFind albums by this artist duo. The album includes seven improvised pieces, which as the duo members state in the liner notes, are based on "carefully prepared compositional assumptions", which is a typical example of irony associated with the Polish Avant Garde, mixed with a grain of truth. And again, quoting the a.m. liner notes, any attempt to describe the music any further is simply futile and contradicts the very essence of this music, which is supposed to be listened to without any preconceptions. Improvised Music is by its very nature extremely personal and does not often cross the bridge spanning between the improvisers and their audience, regardless of everybody´s best intentions. Strangely, this music, which is as improvised as improvised music gets, is also very communicative, which is truly extraordinary. I enjoyed the conversations between the duo members from the moment the music started and hardly even noticed the time moving on, with the album being over much too soon. Gadecki and Suavas definitely seem to be on the same wavelength, intertwined within the music and bonding constantly, which after all is the essence of collective improvisation. Sonically the tone and timbre of both players is mellow and pleasant, in complete comparison to the usual Avant-Garde harshness and aggression. I´d even go as far as suggesting that this music would be listenable even to audiences beyond the inner circle of the Improvised Music hard core. So here we have one more example of the creativity and constant development of the Avant-Garde / Free Jazz / Improvised Music scene in Poland, which seems to have no borders or limits and keeps astounding its followers the world over. Such quality and imagination are seeds of hope that the world and its Culture are not yet doomed, after all. I´d recommend to other musicians belonging to the same musical sphere to listen to this album and learn from it how to be creative and not alienate your public at the same time. At least for me this one is an instant classic of the genre.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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DZWIEK-BUD ~ OSTRE NOZE NASZE NAGRANIA 002 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2013 This is the second album by Polish improvising collective Dzwiek-BudFind albums by this artist, founded by guitarist Suavas LewyFind albums by this artist, which also includes viola player Malgorzata BoguszFind albums by this artist, violinist Michal RupniewskiFind albums by this artist and saxophonist Pawel SokolowskiFind albums by this artist, but they play many other instruments as well. The concept of the ensemble is to create music inside a specific environment, which reflects that specific environment and its ambience. This album presents nine (well there is also a hidden tenth) improvised pieces reflecting the atmosphere of marketplaces around the Polish town of Lodz, Suavas´ home town. The music is not specifically credited to anybody so one can assume it is by proxy credited to the ensemble members. The improvised pieces are accompanied by a collage of field recordings, made by Suavas at the markets, which are the authentic voices of people and other related ambient environmental sounds. This is Avant-Garde music at its most extreme manifestation, which for most people is most probably way above their heads and ears. The violin and viola create mostly a sound close to Avant-Garde Classical music, which has been around for almost a century, although continues to be consistently ignored by the Classical snobs stuck with Ludwig van BeethovenFind albums by this artist and Wolfgang Amadeus MozartFind albums by this artist. When the guitar and saxophone join in, we are transported into the Steve LacyFind albums by this artist / Lol CoxhillFind albums by this artist / Derek BaileyFind albums by this artist area of expertise, which of course also continues to be consistently ignored, this time by the Jazz snobs; life is a bitch… Of course the question often arises if this music (if it is music at all) has a raison d´être, since it is not very communicative, certainly isn´t entertaining and most people hate it? Well, one should not ask moronic questions like these, unless one intends to question the raison d´être of Art or even Culture itself. If someone creates this music as a means of his expression, this a priori validates its right to exist. Perhaps best appropriate as a soundtrack of a documentary movie, this music standing alone offers the advantage to be able to become a soundtrack to whatever imaginary movie the listener wishes to create inside his head. It takes a lot of courage to make music like that. The fact that such music is being created, recorded and released in Poland is truly amazing. Often considered backward and primitive by its western neighbors and across the pond big brothers, 21st Century Polish Jazz in its full splendor and diversity actually is able to teach everybody a lesson or two.

Updated: 08/09/2021Posted:

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