Record Reviews

STANISLAW ALEKSANDROWICZ ~ RELATIVITY THEORY AKADEMIA MUZYCZNA POZNAN 1-04 ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 This is the debut album as a leader by young Polish Jazz drummer / composer Stanislaw AleksandrowiczFind albums by this artist, recorded with his quintet which also includes saxophonists Maciej KocinskiFind albums by this artist and Wojciech BraszakFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Patryk RynkiewiczFind albums by this artist and Italian bassist Flavio GullottaFind albums by this artist. Before releasing this album Aleksandrowicz took part in several recordings featuring musicians from the Poznan Jazz scene, by ensembles like Kwasny DeszczFind albums by this artist, AnomaliaFind albums by this artist and Unleashed CooperationFind albums by this artist, all of which are excellent achievements on their own. The album presents a six-part suite composed by the leader. The music is somewhat resembling the modern Jazz movement that characterized the revolutionary Polish Jazz development in the 1960s, spearheaded by the Godfathers of the movement like Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist and Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist. The long tracks, based on sketchy melodic themes and dedicated mostly to both individual and group improvisation, almost but not quite Free, driven by strong pulsations by the rhythm section, all these create a déjà vu sensation of some early Polish Jazz albums of the period. Of course this does not mean that Aleksandrowicz is trying to copy that music, but rather refer to it respectfully, with his own personal flavors. The pianoless quintet, with three horns at the helm and a highly dynamic rhythm section behind them creates a unique sound on the contemporary Polish Jazz scene, managing splendidly to overcome the lack of a harmonic instrument. Much credit goes to Gullotta, who succeeds to create a perfect background on which the horns can weave their improvisations and allows Aleksandrowicz to ornament the music with his percussive inventions, rather than keep time. The music keeps the listener at a constant state of hypnotic attention, moving from one part of the suite to another smoothly and coherently. The concept of the quintet as an ensemble, rather than a collection of individuals, is achieved in full and the result sounds as organic as one might expect from any ensemble performing music together. As it often happens, drummers can be surprisingly interesting composers, way beyond the “bloke with sticks” image, which this album proves beyond any doubt. Overall, this is a splendid debut effort, consolidating the position of Aleksandrowicz as one of the young Polish Jazz musicians, who deserve to be watched and followed. So far everything associated with his name proved to be highly deserving, and one can only wish him many further successes.

Updated: 25/09/2022Posted: 25/09/2022

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

UNLEASHED COOPERATION ~ 8 YEARS MULTIKULTI MPPA 003 (Barcode: 5903068680144) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2021 Released: 2022 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz quintet, called Unleashed CooperationFind albums by this artist, co-led by saxophonist Krzysztof KusmierekFind albums by this artist and pianist Patryk MatwiejczukFind albums by this artist and also including trumpeter Patryk RynkiewiczFind albums by this artist, Italian (well Sicilian, which is a bit like extreme Mediterranean Italian – mi piace) bassist Flavio GullottaFind albums by this artist and drummer Stanislaw AleksandrowiczFind albums by this artist. Trombonist Adam KurekFind albums by this artist guests on one track. The album present seven original compositions, four by Kusmierek, one by Matwiejczuk, one co-composed by the two and finally one by Rynkiewicz. The album’s title hints to the long cooperation of the two leaders, which finally materializes in recorded form. The music offers vibrant modern Jazz, based on melodic themes but encompassing a lot of freedom and space, excellently put together and fluidly performed. Stylistically the music is somewhat retro oriented, offering shades and shapes of early modern Polish Jazz with strong Komedaesque references, which of course bring fond memories. But these are only hinted of course and updated with contemporary expressionism, rather than an attempt to mimic the past. In contrast to many other Polish Jazz ensembles, Unleashed Cooperation manage to eschew the traps of Polish melancholy and lyricism, which although beautiful, tend to be dominating and to some extent overbearing. As a result, this album sounds like something that might have been recorded anywhere in Europe, which I find quite unrestrained and promising. Although this music does not attempt to be revolutionary or groundbreaking, it proves that there is enough freedom of expression within the conventional modern Jazz sphere to create wonderful, interesting and highly satisfying music. There is something in here for a wide range of Jazz enthusiasts. Overall, this is an excellent debut effort, which presents some great tunes, full of imagination and heartfelt emotion, and which are a pleasure to listen to without overheating the cerebral cells. It rises high hopes as to what these musicians might come up with the next time, which hopefully will not be as prolonged as the process that led to the creation of this album. Warmly recommended!

Updated: 08/08/2022Posted: 08/08/2022

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