POWER BROS

The existence and development line of Polish jazz was, like every living thing, its plateaux, declines and peeks. It towers sometimes and shines like a lighthouse, High-lights... We got quite a few of them and of course their creators too, first of all Zbigniew Namyslowski, an artist of distinction - truly creative and invective, blessed with peculiar instinct of the right direction that guides him in his explorations. ?Winobranie" (The Vintage), recorded in 1973 was preceded by highly successful presentation of its pieces during The Jazz Jamboree'72 Festival in Warsaw, with basically the same line-up except the bass-player. The Vintage theme opens and closes this attractive box of music which contains an astounding wealth of instrumental variety. Namyslowski himself plays altosax, cello, flute and piano, displaying beautiful ideas and sound . Szukalski plays mainly tenor, but also shapes up colouristic moods, conceived by the leader, with bass-clairnet phrases. Equally busy is Cieslak who moves freely through the area of modern trombone possibilities. Excellent solos by Jastrzebski and Jonkisz are integrated with the flow of music in the most natural way. The secret of the beauty of Namyslowski's music is hard to penetrate, but part of it lies in his arrangements and their perfect execution. He is obviously a very exacting leader, but this doesn't mean his sideman are hampered and can't stretch musically. There's ample evidence to the contrary in this album. There's plenty of surprising and attention engaging moments, from the saxophone concordant two-part phrases supported by the growling trombone, through bop sequences, cello-and-bass duet and up to ?Taj Mahal" when commonly known instruments successfully manage to imitate sitar and tampura, creating a veritable air of Hindu music. There are complicated (11/8) meters and madality, poetry of a ballad and disciplined free, even Balkan flavoured rock. All in all ?Winobranie" is more than a distinguished document of Polish modern jazz; it is an obvious attraction for every sensitive music lover.

POWER BROS

ZBIGNIEW NAMYSLOWSKI "Winobranie"