Record Reviews

RAFAL SARNECKI ~ THE MADMAN RAMBLES AGAIN FRESH SOUND 381 (Barcode: 8427328423816) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2010 Released: 2011 This is the 2nd album by the excellent Polish guitarist / composer / arranger Rafal SarneckiFind albums by this artist, following his outstanding debut released a couple of years earlier. Sarnecki manages to repeat the same level of freshness and quality, but the new album is different in many ways, mostly due to the fact that Sarnecki lived in NY for some time, absorbing some of the Big Apple´s influences, which are evident in the brass arrangements, Latin rhythms and overall sound of the recording. But fortunately this amalgamation of American influences did not replace his European roots, which remain intact, especially in his superb compositions. He composed seven of the eight tracks on the album and included one standard, same as last time. His musical cohorts consist partly of the same excellent musicians who recorded the debut album: pianist Pawel KaczmarczykFind albums by this artist, bassist Wojciech PulcynFind albums by this artist and drummers Lukasz ZytaFind albums by this artist (on six tracks) and Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist (on two tracks) (all five are members of the pianist´s Audiofeeling BandFind albums by this artist), strengthened by a brass section: US saxophonist / flautist Lucas PinoFind albums by this artist and trumpeter Jerzy MalekFind albums by this artist. Percussionist Jose Manuel Alban JuarezFind albums by this artist (despite the name he´s Polish) guests on two tracks. The sextet format allows Sarnecki to develop a much richer orchestration and complex arrangements for his superb compositions, which he does beautifully, carefully avoiding overdoing it, which is a rare and commendable approach. The performances are of course stellar and these young musicians bring a wide smile on veterans´ (like me) faces, seeing that Jazz has a future after all. What I particularly admire about Sarnecki is his ability to eschew the Fusion trap – he manages to keep this album 100% Jazz, which is extremely rare for guitar albums these days. The album was released on the Spanish Fresh SoundFind albums on this label label, which releases albums by young and promising Jazz musicians from all over the world, giving them a chance of international exposure, an admirable policy deserving support. Polish Jazz legend Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist gives Sarnecki some warm compliments on the album´s cover, and I´m only happy to concur with his opinion – this is definitely a great piece of music, which deserves repeated listening and an honorable place on the shelves of Polish Jazz discography. Wholeheartedly recommended!

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PAWEL WSZOLEK ~ CHOICE FRESH SOUND 478 (Barcode: 8427328424783) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by young Polish Jazz bassist Pawel WszolekFind albums by this artist recorded with his quartet with also includes guitarist Lukasz KokoszkoFind albums by this artist, pianist Sebastian ZawadzkiFind albums by this artist and drummer Szymon MadejFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine original compositions, all by Wszolek and was released on the Spanish Fresh SoundFind albums on this label label as part of the prestigious New Talent series. The music is all within the melodic modern mainstream boundaries, solid and well crafted, but not particularly ambitious. It is, however, excellently executed, especially due to the superb piano parts by Zawadzki and sensitive drumming my Madej, who have both already appeared with great success on other Polish Jazz recordings in the last few years. Wszolek also plays well, handling the bass solos with self confidence and playing alongside his cohorts amicably. Of course, although he is the quartet´s leader, playing a bass solo on every track of the album is a bit excessive. The guitar, however, I find a bit overbearing, as it is loud in the mix and its sound is slightly harsh (too much echo?), not fitting ideally to the acoustic piano trio setting of the rest of the band. Stylistically the round guitar sounds are definitely way too related to Pat MethenyFind albums by this artist for my taste. Nevertheless this is still a very strong debut effort, which should satisfy most mainstream Jazz fans and serve as a sold proof of the talents of these young musicians, who are after all at the very early stages of their career. I look forward to hear more of Wszolek´s music in the future, after he matures a bit and gains the experience so much needed when playing Jazz.

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend