Record Reviews

KLARA CLOUD & THE VULTURES ~ BAROQUE CHALLENGE 71470 (Barcode: 608917147025) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2023 Released: 2026 This is the 2nd album by Polish Jazz ensemble Klara Cloud & The VulturesFind albums by this artist, led by vocalist / composer / violinist Sylwia Klara ZasempaFind albums by this artist (a.k.a. Klara CloudFind albums by this artist), and including violinist Mateusz SmoczynskiFind albums by this artist, pianist Mateusz GawedaFind albums by this artist, bassist Adam TadelFind albums by this artist and drummer Piotr BudniakFind albums by this artist. Violinist Bartosz DworakFind albums by this artist, who played on the debut album, plays on one track. The album presents eleven tracks (two described as bonus tracks), most of which were composed by Cloud and some were co-composed with Budniak. The music is a direct continuation of the concepts introduced on the debut album, presenting beautiful melodic themes mixed with Folkloristic influences. Cloud uses lyrics sparingly and prefers to “play with imaginary words” in a semi vocalese style, which is quite unique and very effective. The instrumental layers, which feature excellent soloing by violin and piano, and the rhythm section, which is an integral part of the musical aura, are superbly executed, which is hardly surprising considering the fact that these musicians are some of the best representatives of the already established younger generation of the Polish Jazz scene. The music offers a lot of depth, both musically and aesthetically, which requires attentive and intensive listening in order to fully embrace the artistic content, often based on literary sources, like a poem by Pablo NerudaFind albums by this artist (in Italian translation) or traditional Folk lyrics preserved by Polish ethnographer Oskar KolbergFind albums by this artist. Of course virtuosic soli by Smoczynski and the rest of the team elevate the entire project to an outstanding aural experience. Although not fully a Jazz & Poetry project, this album is very close to the atmosphere created by such projects. Overall, this is a brilliant album and it seems a pity that it had to wait quite a while before it was finally released by the Dutch ChallengeFind albums on this label / Double MoonFind albums on this label Records. I would be delighted to hear a new album by this ensemble on a regular basis, but in the meantime I wholeheartedly recommend listening to this exceptional piece of music!

Updated: 25/09/2026Posted: 25/09/2026

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