Record Reviews

ANDRZEJ JAGODZINSKI ~ CHOPIN LES BRILLANTES NOT ON LABEL (Barcode: 9788393067404) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2009 Released: 2010 This is the fifth album dedicated to Jazz interpretations of the music composed by the great Polish composer Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist recorded by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Andrzej JagodzinskiFind albums by this artist and his trio with bassist Adam CegielskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Czeslaw BartkowskiFind albums by this artist. This double album is a fact a new recording of the same material that is featured on the trio´s first two albums recorded fifteen years earlier, re-captured from a retrospective view and enriched by years of common experiences and joy of playing this music together. When Jagodzinski first recorded Chopin´s music twenty years ago he was pioneering a trend, which in time swept the Polish Jazz scene like a tsunami, with literally hundreds of albums with Chopin´s music reinterpreted in the Jazz milieu. These attempts to follow a trend and jump on a bandwagon, which varied in quality form important and innovative to completely redundant and often preposterous, eventually had an adverse effect on the Polish Jazz fans, who had just about enough of Jazzy Chopin being showed down their throats. Even if the original recording of Chopin´s music by Jagodzinski and his trio were not perfect and lacked the practice, they were bold, innovative and fresh. Sadly the repeated attempt, although richer and with better arrangements, lacks the original qualities and therefore is in some respect not such a great idea. Of course Jagodzinski and his cohorts are superb musicians and do a wonderful job playing on this album, but sticking to the original recordings is by and large preferable and sounds like a good idea. On the other hand since the original PoloniaFind albums on this label releases are not easily available, perhaps this album can fill the gap. Overall there is plenty of great music herein, as well as excellent playing by these legendary veterans and in case you don´t own the original recordings this one is definitely worth checking out.

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LESZEK KULAKOWSKI ~ CHOPIN IMPRESSIONS SOLITON 768 (Barcode: 5901571097688) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is an album by veteran Polish Jazz pianist / composer / bandleader / educator Leszek KulakowskiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quintet setting with Polish rhythm section: bassist Piotr KulakowskiFind albums by this artist (Leszek´s son) and drummer Tomasz SowinskiFind albums by this artist and with Swedish saxophonist Mikael GodeeFind albums by this artist and percussionist Ebba WesterbergFind albums by this artist. Together they perform eight compositions by the Polish Classical composer Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist, arranged for a Jazz quintet by Kulakowski and Godee, each contributing four arrangements. Over the years Chopin inspired Polish Jazz musicians very often and the number of Jazz albums based on Chopin´s music is truly abundant. Kulakowski visited Chopin´s music several times throughout his recording career, but obviously his fascination with the essence of Polish music, which Chopin represents more than any other Polish composer, refuses to let go. This album presents a more gentle and reflective approach to Chopin´s music than Kulakowski´s earlier recordings. The intrinsic melancholy dominates the proceedings and the minimalistic and delicate touches of the keyboard are the most essential and enjoyable moments this music offers. The saxophone parts are mostly straightforward leaving the centre stage as far as improvisation is concerned to the piano. The soprano saxophone sounds a bit like flute at times. The rhythm section does a beautiful job filling the blanks and keeping the pulse of the music clear and steady. The percussion parts are mostly decorative and are typically heard on the up-tempo pieces. Overall this is a fine album, which should make the many connoisseurs of Jazzed up version of Chopin´s music very happy, especially since it includes some of the most well known pieces composed by Chopin. It is made with obvious love of the subject matter and profound dedication and is a true joy to listen to.

Updated: 16/01/2018Posted: 16/01/2018

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INGA LEWANDOWSKA ~ CHOPIN SONGS OP. 74 SOLITON 1313 (Barcode: 5903684233137) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2022 Released: 2022 This is an album by Polish Jazz vocalist Inga LewandowskaFind albums by this artist, recorded with local Jazz musicians: trumpeter Jan ChojnackiFind albums by this artist, pianist Przemyslaw RaminiakFind albums by this artist, bassist Grzegorz PiaseckiFind albums by this artist and drummer Adam WajdzikFind albums by this artist. The album presents nine of the seventeen songs composed by the Polish National composer Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist, collected together as Op. 74, with lyrics by various Polish poets. The music was recorded at the excellent Monochrom Studio and engineered by Ignacy GruszeckiFind albums by this artist, as offers a splendid sound quality. This album is in fact a “remake” of an album Lewandowska recorded some twenty years earlier with pianist Kuba Stankiewicz, entitled “Chopin Songbook Op. 74”, which offers a 2CD bi-lingual version of this material, but this recording offers a completely new arrangements and instrumentation, in addition to twenty years of experience, and as such is a valid attempt. Of course my opinion about serious molestation of Chopin’s music by Polish Jazz musicians are still sound and valid, but again, since this is something that was done already, at least it can’t add any harm. As perilous as this material might become, all in all I quite like this album. Lewandowska has an idiosynchratic voice, which takes a while to get used to, but her vocalese and the vocal gymnastics she performs here are quite impressive, which keeps the listen in suspense. Her articulation and theatrical pronunciations are great fun and she obviously knows what she wants. For example, on the last track of this album she sings accompanied only by the bass, and still manages to hold the melody and improvise, like a pro. The instrumental work is as perfect as one might wish for, with Chojnacki ornamenting the proceedings with his trumpet solos and Raminiak’s accompaniment being right on at all times, with several great solos added as well. The rhythm section adds a supportive pulse and as already mentioned the bass also plays splendidly along with the vocals. Overall, this is a very pleasant and splendidly executed album, which should keep all Vocal Jazz fans happy, not to mention the many Chopin a la Jazz fans out there, who never seem to get enough. Although the lyrics are in Polish, this is of secondary importance here. Have fun and enjoy!

Updated: 03/02/2023Posted: 03/02/2023

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WLODZIMIERZ NAHORNY ~ CHOPIN GENIUS LOCI CONFITEOR 005 (Barcode: 9788393161003) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2010 Released: 2010 The veteran Polish Jazz pianist / saxophonist / composer Wlodzimierz NahornyFind albums by this artist, one of the Godfathers of the post-WWII Polish Jazz scene, manages continuously to display a phenomenal vitality and unprecedented imagination, often much superior to those of his colleagues, often decades younger than himself. This album is a wonderful proof of exactly these qualities. Recorded in a sextet setting, with vocalist / violinist Dorota MiskiewiczFind albums by this artist, violinist Henryk GembalskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Wojciech StaroniewiczFind albums by this artist, bassist Mariusz BogdanowiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Piotr BiskupskiFind albums by this artist, Nahorny presents a set of Jazz transcriptions of eight pieces by the Polish composer Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist, three pieces by a lesser known 20th Century Polish composer Roman MaciejewskiFind albums by this artist and one piece by Karol SzymanowskiFind albums by this artist. In addition one original composition by Nahorny is also included. Polish Jazz suffers terribly from overexploitation of Chopin´s music, which varies in quality from brilliant (rarely) to completely banal (most of the time). Therefore another attempt to interpret Chopin in the Jazz context is always a perilous undertaking. Nahorny´s bold and far fetching approach results in transcriptions, which although quote the original music, move very far away from the source during their execution, being in fact completely new and whole pieces of music, which Nahorny even names anew, giving the source as a reference only. Although such liberties might appear sometimes as to audacious, in Nahorny´s case they are fully justified and simply brilliant. The eleven transcriptions, spread over two CDs, are all fascinating musically and serve as wonderful vehicles for the musicians to display their respective talents. Miskiewicz sings some great vocalese, at times even almost free form, using lyrics on just one piece. Gembalski plays some scorching violin passages and Staroniewicz, as always, charms with his beautiful saxophone tone. The rhythm section keeps the music together with flair and elegance, pushing it ahead with just the right amount of energy. And last but not least Nahorny´s piano serves as glue between the Classical and the Swinging elements, bridging and bonding everything together. Although seemingly positioned well within the mainstream Jazz boundaries (except for the Classical references of course), this music displays quite a lot of freedom and unexpected ventures into less programmatic areas, sometimes almost touching upon Free / Avant Garde idioms, which of course is nothing new as far as Nahorny´s music is concerned. This album is a living proof that the Jazz-Classical Fusion can avoid pastiche, cliché and kitsch, and simply bite!

Updated: 17/12/2018Posted:

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NOVI ~ CHOPIN MUZA 1295 (Barcode: 5907783422959) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 1971 Released: 2010 This is a reissue of the third album by Polish Jazz vocal quartet NOVIFind albums by this artist, led by vocalist / composer Bernard KawkaFind albums by this artist and including vocalist Ewa WanatFind albums by this artist, Janusz MychFind albums by this artist and Waldemar ParzynskiFind albums by this artist. The album, originally entitled "NOVI Sing ChopinFind albums with this title", presents eleven compositions by the Polish National composer Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist, arranged for the vocal quartet singing a cappella. Obviously following in the footsteps of The Swingle SingersFind albums by this artist, who recorded arrangements of music by Johann Sebastian BachFind albums by this artist and other Classical composers, NOVI undertook this difficult and very ambitious project to sing Chopin´s music in a similar Swing fashion and against all odds succeeded beyond all expectations. This recording immediately achieved a status of a cult album, and although not really a Jazz album per se, was warmly embraced by the Jazz community as part of its milieu. In many aspects the album symbolizes the Polish Culture, as it embodies the idea of Polish Music, which became a part of Polish Cultural Heritage, transforming in time and staying contemporary regardless the changing frame of reference, in this case the Jazz idiom. The vocal performances on this album are absolutely brilliant and remain unmatched by any other vocal group since attempting to tackle Chopin´s compositions, not only on the Polish scene, but globally. This reissue is well remastered from the original studio tapes and presents a wonderful sonic quality, especially in view of the challenging task of recording human voices. It does not correct, unfortunately, the lack of information that has been associated with this album since day one as to the arrangement credits and the name of the bass player who accompanies the vocal quartet (i.e. the album is not strictly an a cappella recording as the vocals are accompanied by a bass player on eight tracks). This is a timeless classic of course and an absolute must have for any Polish music fan, Jazz or otherwise! Side Note: After some intensive investigations I do have now all the missing discographical information, which is mentioned above. The bass player that accompanies NOVI is Pawel JarzebskiFind albums by this artist. As to the vocal arrangements, eight are by Parzynski, two by Mych and one by Kawka. Of course I am not disclosing my sources ;)

Updated: 12/01/2017Posted: 07/01/2017

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PROFESJONALIZM ~ CHOPIN CHOPIN CHOPIN LADO ABC C/11 (Barcode: 5907709922334) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 Profesjonalizm is the name of the new sextet created and led by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Marcin MaseckiFind albums by this artist, one of the greatest talents on the local scene in the recent years and the enfant terrible / eccentric artiste spearheading the Jazz anti-establishment, a role that fits him like a glove. During my recent visit in Poland I was lucky to be invited to the concert the band performed in a dinky Warsaw restaurant called Mozaika, which remarkably managed to sustain the atmosphere (and look, not to mention the service) of the 1970s Socrealizm, completely oblivious to the changes around. The concert celebrated the release of this album, so the music was simply a live version of what is included here, in its entirety. I must say that I was completely unaware of what was about to happen musically and therefore the experience was a total culture shock, even though I am a difficult man to surprise in view of the heavy burden of my age upon me. Masecki and his cohorts: trumpeter Kamil SzuszkiewiczFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Michal GorczynskiFind albums by this artist and Tomasz DudaFind albums by this artist, bassist Piotr DomagalskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Jerzy RogiewiczFind albums by this artist played a stunning set of outlandish music (all composed by Masecki), which is so original, unique and devilishly clever that one´s mind is completely boggled. How the hell did they manage to do it at all (live!) is beyond comprehension, but nevertheless they did it with a spectacular result. Listen to the studio version herein and imagine this being played live to get the scope of the task ahead. As to the music itself, I´m not even trying to start describing it, as it is well beyond the scope of words (as most great music is). Suffice to say that it is a suite of sorts, in seven parts, which tells the story of Jazz from its earliest days (Ragtime) to now, flowing like a soundtrack to an imaginary movie, constantly (and unexpectedly) changing rhythms and scales, themes and patterns, but remarkably and completely coherently keeping a brilliant sense of unity. The rhythm section is absolutely dazzling, managing the impossible task of gluing this passionate and untamed music together. Masecki´s piano work is a chapter in itself, which is worth studying separately, but it serves the role of the thematic / melodic beacon pointing the way ahead for of this music. During a short chat before the concert I asked Masecki about his musical influences; he mentioned some usual suspects but emphasized Thelonious MonkFind albums by this artist and Conlon NancarrowFind albums by this artist, two superb examples of total non-conformism, suiting Masecki´s image perfectly. The problem with non-conformism is often that eccentric artists become often self-centered and completely uncommunicative, which luckily enough does not apply to Masecki. In spite of all the lunacy herein, this is (amazingly) quite an easy album to listen to, against all odds. When I asked Masecki as to the nature of his music, he replied: "We are playing entertaining music" – well, he was after all right, in his own crazy way. Now if anybody is wandering about the album´s title, I must assure you that the album has absolutely nothing to do with the great Polish National composer Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist. This is one more of Masecki´s clever stunts, expressing his disgust and ridicule of the Polish Jazz scene´s exploitation of Chopin´s music in the recent years. Using this tongue in cheek / sarcastic reference Masecki protests against the "One can´t go wrong by playing Chopin" attitude, where in fact one can go wrong and as the plentitude of available recorded evidence proves one does in most cases. So what do we have here: a work of a mad genius, a wizard, a prophet? Who am I to judge? Suffice to say I love this music, every note of it and most of all the chutzpah and complete disregard of convention – exactly the qualities I admire in Artists. Bless you, Marcin Masecki!

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RAFAL ROKICKI ~ CHOPIN REVISITED ELLYAH 808114 (Barcode: 888174875125) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2014 This is the second album by Polish Jazz pianist / composer Rafal RokickiFind albums by this artist, recorded in a classic piano trio format with bassist Michal KapczukFind albums by this artist and drummer Pawel DobrowolskiFind albums by this artist. As the title suggests, the album presents seven compositions by Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist, transformed into the Jazz setting. Since Polish Jazz musicians "discovered" the music of Chopin as a source of inspiration, more or less a couple of decades ago, hundreds of Jazz albums with Chopin´s music were recorded and released in Poland over time. Such multitude usually has some adverse effects, reaching a stage when some people seeing a new album in that specific niche react with a: "Please, not another Chopin Jazz album…" Not that God forbid we have anything against Chopin or even Chopin Jazz, but what else can be said and done after everybody who is anybody already tried to present their point of view on the subject. Therefore this album lands on a most perilous ground, where it will be, willingly or unwillingly, compared to all its predecessors placing it face to face with the best out there. Rokicki and his cohorts should have thought about that and perhaps they did and said: "what the heck, we´ll try anyway…" Be as it may, unfortunately vis-a-vis the best Chopin Jazz out there, this album simply does not compare well. Not that there is anything badly wrong with it, it is simply not up to par with the others. The biggest problem with this album is the liberty with which Rokicki approaches Chopin´s music as an arranger. His particular approach is to move away from the original, mostly simplifying, or even worse trivializing the phenomenal original music. The result sounds somewhat like a New Age doodling, which is meant not to bother anybody – more or less the complete opposite of what Chopin´s music is all about. Now this music is pretty and very well played. The rhythm section, with veteran and highly professional players, does its job perfectly, but again mostly unobtrusively. Yes the album has its moments, and is rather well recorded, so not everything is lost. I suppose enthusiasts of the easy Jazz will love this stuff to bits, but I´m not sure is Chopin himself is so excited about this revisit?

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ANNA SERAFINSKA ~ CHOPIN TRIO ART HORSE 001 (Barcode: 5908254159701) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the sixth album by Polish vocalist Anna SerafinskaFind albums by this artist, this time recorded in a trio setting with pianist Rafal StepienFind albums by this artist and drummer Cezary KonradFind albums by this artist. As the title suggests, the album presents eight interpretations of pieces composed by the Polish composer Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist, two of which have been complimented with lyrics. Serafinska´s previous albums have all been only marginally Jazz oriented, dominated by Pop, Soul and Groove, which makes this her most ambitious endeavor to date. Additionally, considering the fact that Chopin´s music has been the subject matter of a multitude Polish Jazz (and non-Jazz) albums over the years, including such lofty vocal interpretations like those done by the NOVI ensemble, attempting to tackle this subject seems a priori highly risky. I am happy to say that the album turned out to be a nice surprise in contrast to the initial reservations. Serafinska uses the full range of her voice here for the first time on record, reaching operatic ranges and performing spiraling vocalese parts which are able to break glass. Her vocal improvisations are Jazzier than at any time before and the intimate, minimalistic trio format works out splendidly. The music is non-trivial and sometimes even quite complex and the entire project has a much more aesthetic ambiance than ever before. Spiced with a subtle dose of good humor, it is simply great. The vocals / piano / drums trio is highly unusual and takes time to get fully used to, but it is very effective musically, with Stepien laying down the melodic / harmonic background and Konrad performing a myriad of percussive pyrotechnics, both of them supporting the vocalese / vocals amicably. The resulting sound is innovative and intriguing, which in general is pretty rare these days. Of course as a result of this ambitious and sophisticated approach the music becomes less acceptable and requires more attentive listening than Serafinska´s earlier efforts. Overall this is a very surprising and unexpected outing, better that anything Serafinska recorded earlier on and disclosing her abilities in new areas. By selecting the right partners and choosing the new format she redefined her artistic environment very successfully. Both Chopin and Jazz lovers should find this album intriguing and challenging, but at the same time highly entertaining. Well done indeed!

Updated: 24/10/2017Posted: 24/10/2017

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TOMASZ STANKO ~ CHOPIN`S LETTERS. IMPROVISATIONS NIFC 074 (Barcode: 5906395034710) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2022 This is a live album by iconic Polish Jazz trumpeter / composer / bandleader Tomasz StankoFind albums by this artist, recorded in a quartet setting with pianist Marcin WasilewskiFind albums by this artist, Norwegian bassist Arild AndersenFind albums by this artist and Finnish drummer Olavi LouhivuoriFind albums by this artist. Fragments of Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist’s letters are recited by Andrzej ChyraFind albums by this artist. The album presents fifteen tracks, nine of which are performed by the quartet, of those eight are original compositions by Stanko and one is by Krzysztof KomedaFind albums by this artist. Three of the quartet tracks include recitation and six tracks are recitations only. The album is packed in a lavish digibook format with bi-lingual texts, which include the texts of the letters and background information about the musicians. The album presents a special concert, organized by The Fryderyk Chopin Institute, recorded in 2014, which was part of the music festival called “Chopin and his Europe”. The album was released only in 2022, four years after Stanko’s death in 2018. In many respects the recording follows the Jazz & Poetry concept, but in this case the spoken word is Prose, which is obviously less effective, especially since the music was not specifically written to accompany these texts, but rather offers a random (?) selection of Stanko’s compositions recorded during his long career. The performances are, as expected, nothing short of spectacular, with Wasilewski’s beautiful romanticism, Anderson’s brilliant bass parts, Louhivuori’s energetic and tasteful rhythmic accents and of course Stanko’s Godly trumpet artistry. The sound quality of the live recording is a bit iffy at times, but acceptable. Chopin’s fate as the Polish “National” composer has been brutally abused over time by the Polish Jazz community, with hundreds, if not thousands of interpretations of his music, often completely tasteless and unnecessary. Although this album is completely innocent of these vices, it still rises a question as to the relevance of the project as a whole, at least in my mind. Overall, this is a beautiful Jazz album, which Stanko’s many fans worldwide can fully enjoy, if they program their player to skip over the spoken word tracks. Polish speakers can of course enjoy also Chopin’s witty and emotional letters, in addition to the excellent Jazz music, and I leave them to contemplate the connection between the two at their own leisure.

Updated: 02/08/2024Posted: 02/08/2024

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STRZELCZYK / ERENC / RODOWICZ ~ CHOPIN ON STRINGS NOT ON LABEL ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Classical Fusion Recorded: 2017 Released: 2017 This is the debut album by the Polish trio comprising of violinist Maciej StrzelczykFind albums by this artist, guitarist Romuald ErencFind albums by this artist and bassist Piotr RodowiczFind albums by this artist, who as the title suggests present twelve Jazzy arrangements of musical pieces originally composed by the Polish composer Frederic ChopinFind albums by this artist. The music of Chopin has been a source of inspiration for endless Polish Jazz recordings, up to the point where it seemed the subject is simply exhausted. In the last decade however, there have been considerably fewer attempts to tackle Chopin´s music, and this project is a nice breath of fresh air. Since most Chopin projects are obviously piano based, the idea to transcribe the music for string instruments is original and changes the entire point of view of contemporary interpretation of his music. The arrangements take a lot of liberties with the original music, especially in the rhythmic sense, which might be frowned upon by some purist, but the concept of freedom in interpreting music is a principle that should not be questioned. As a result, the listeners are exposed to familiar Chopin pieces, played in Bossa Nova rhythmic disguise, and other such unusual scenery, but the music is treated with respect and obvious love, as appropriate for the Polish National composer. The music is very carefully executed by the three gifted instrumentalists, and the album is altogether a pleasant listening experience, which bridges Classical and Jazz Music in a new and original way. Although definitely on the lighter side of the Jazz spectrum, it certainly has its audience and is a lot of fun to listen to. The music is excellently recorded and the resulting sound quality is another asset of this album. Lovers of Chopin´s music and accessible Jazz should have a field day with this.

Updated: 24/09/2017Posted: 24/09/2017

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