Record Reviews

TRZASKA / MAZUR / PANDI ~ TAR & FEATHERS GUSSTAFF 1402 (Barcode: 5050580617261) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2012 Released: 2014 This is a live recording of an exciting meeting between two Polish Improvised Music players: saxophonist Mikolaj TrzaskaFind albums by this artist and bassist Rafal MazurFind albums by this artist with Hungarian drummer Balazs PandiFind albums by this artist associated with European Avant-Garde / alternative / improvised Rock. The concert was captured at the A38 Club in Budapest, which is in fact a ship anchored to a pier on the Danube River. The album includes six original improvised pieces, all credited to the three performers. In many respects the music captured here is more "conventional" that most of other projects, which Trzaska is usually associated with. Probably the solid rhythmic drumming by Pandi and fairly melodic bass lines by Mazur influenced Trzaska´s performance, moderating his untamed instincts. As a result the overall flow of the mostly up-tempo material is quite accessible to open-minded Jazz listeners, who usually don´t plunge into Improvised Music. As usual in such situations, the level of cooperation between the musicians is what makes the resulting music cohesive and focused. Trzaska is usually directed by a fine taste when choosing his partners and this encounter is no different. The dynamic and powerful rhythm section certainly pushes his playing into areas, which go back to his days with the legendary ensemble MiloscFind albums by this artist. Another aspect of this recording is the contact between the burgeoning Improvised Music scene in Poland and the relatively smaller but very interesting scene developing lately in Hungary, which deserves to be discovered. Hopefully this album could serve as a trigger to more such collaborations.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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OLO WALICKI / JACEK PROSCINSKI ~ LLOVAGE GUSSTAFF 1908 (Barcode: 5050580722286) ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by Polish Jazz duo LLovageFind albums by this artist comprising of bassist / composer Olo WalickiFind albums by this artist and drummer / composer Jacek ProscinskiFind albums by this artist, who both use also electronics in addition to their "native" instruments. The album presents seven original compositions, five of which are co-composed by the duo and two are composed by Walicki. Despite the seemingly limited scope of possibilities a basic rhythm section is able to utilize, this album proves that with a help of electronics and sampling, but more importantly talent and imagination, the duo is able to create a full fledged musical event. Although somewhat minimalistic and sketchy, the fact that the listener is left with the task of connecting the dots makes this music even more interesting. There is a limited melodic content in this music, and yet it somehow makes perfect sense, combining the acoustic bass / drums sounds with the ambient synthesized sounds, which compliment each other splendidly. The music moves slowly, somewhat hesitantly, which creates an element of internal tension and expectation, keeping the listen on edge but without any nervousness involved. This album is a great example of a steadily growing trend in European Jazz, which calls for combining contemporary electronics and other sound / recording techniques, many of which are based on utilizing the computer as a fully integrated instrument. This is happening not on the innovative Polish Jazz scene, but almost universally across Europe these days, and has a major impact on the "shape of Jazz to come", which can be hardly ignored today. Overall this is a bold, fascinating and aesthetically beautiful offering, which is a treasure chest which opens up with each consecutive listening session; definitely a part of the "less is more" approach, which works here perfectly. I presume that conventional Jazz lovers might have a hard time embracing this music, but I highly recommend giving it a try. For the open-minded listeners, who are already familiar with the numerous adventures of Ambient / Electronic Jazz explorations, this album is a must.

Updated: 21/02/2020Posted: 21/02/2020

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SLINA ~ 42’00” GUSSTAFF 2107 ~ POLAND ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2021 This is the second album by Polish Improvised Music quartet SlinaFind albums by this artist, which comprises of saxophonist Matylda GerberFind albums by this artist, guitarist Filip ZakrzewskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Mikolaj NowickiFind albums by this artist and drummer Stanislaw OlekFind albums by this artist. Synthesizer player Michal SkrzypczynskiFind albums by this artist appears as guest. This time the album presents three tracks, which remain uncredited and therefore assumed to be co-composed by the participating musicians. The music continues the concept introduced on the quartet’s debut from 2019, which offers a slowly developing musical continuity, building up towards a climax, which sounds like meditation music and requires complete submission and concentration in order to listen to all the detailed performances or alternatively simply ignoring the details and flowing passively on the sonic waves. Since the musical concept and overall aesthetics of the music are no longer surprising, it does not stir the same sensation the debut managed to create, but on the other hand the conceptual consistency and the attempt to expand it should be appreciated. The Rock undercurrents, created by the electric guitar, are now even more potent with the addition of the synthesizers, and the music brings fond memories of the British Prog ensembles of the late 60s / early 70s like Third Ear BandFind albums by this artist, early Soft MachineFind albums by this artist, ComusFind albums by this artist, Incredible String BandFind albums by this artist and others, which of course emphasizes the “nihil novi sub sole” principle, for those who know their music in depth. Nevertheless, this is still very exciting (despite its intrinsic sluggishness) music, different from most other stuff within the Polish Avant-Garde scene. Although the slogan of GusstaffFind albums on this label Records, the label that released this album, is “unnecessary music” (no pun intended), this music certainly is quite necessary in every sense and definitely worth being heard,

Updated: 22/05/2021Posted: 22/05/2021

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