POWER BROS

It's hard for us to realize today how fresh was and how exuberantly Polish jazz flowered in the sixties, and precisely /in my opinion/ in the first half of that decade. In United States at that time Miles Davis was about to gather his magnificent and last quintet, and Coltrane - his last wonderful quartet, their music doomed by the encroaching changes, while our jazzmen barely discovered their possibilities: young Ptaszyn, young Karolak... everyone was young then. This remastered CD., reminder of the PJQ 3-years carefree existence brings waves of joy and nostalgia, as well as - for reflective people - raappraisal of what seems to be irrevocably buried in archive shelves: the music to be admired and enjoyed, again and again. One can't help reflecting upon the seemly unlimited creative potential of PJQ leader, Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski /b. 1936/. It shows here abundantly. Wroblewski - composer proved it long ago with tens of his own pieces, whose very titles testify to his subtle sense of humour. Of course, it might be argued that every true jazzman is a composer, since improvising is an art. Of creation. Improvisation, however, may be and mostly is a secondary creative act, inspired by the values of original tune. But Ptaszyn is more independent, though to materialize in sounds it obviously requires partners - those improvising and those creating proper background. Such partner was then and many times later, Wojciech Karolak, Wroblewski is equal. All numbers on this CD are their compositions. The first four are by Karolak, the other four - by Wroblewski. An ideal partnership even in that field. I have to admit, live always liked very much Karolak's piano,/which he almost abandoned later in favour of the organ/. I liked his voicing, his touch and ability of colouring the piano sounds, also his comping. Julius Sandecki is besides G. Dyląg and A. Skorupka one of the best bassists of that period; very helpful as a rhythm-man and equally competent in improvising soli /|Champs Elysees"/ Andrzej Dąbrowski /now heralding his come back as a vocalist/ also extends beyond his drumming duties, playing creditable soli especially in Promenade Through Empty Streets and She's Always Angry. The sequence of numbers is varied and sensible, and almost all introductions are worth your attention. So, here is the musical bag of joy - for hearts and minds.

POWER BROS

JAN PTASZYN WROBLEWSKI "Polish jazz quartet"