North Meridian

opis:
Opis wydawcy:
Zwyczajne trio. Zwyczajna muzyka. Trochę akustyczna. Trochę elektryczna. Czasem cicha. Czasem głośna.

Duet Trzaska/Mazurkiewicz po wydaniu albumu “NIGHTLY FORESTER” rozrasta się do tria. Skład dopełnia niezwykle ciekawy perkusista zespołu LOTTO Paweł Szpura.
“NORTH MERIDIAN” jest zapisem dwudniowej sesji nagraniowej w trójmiejskim Highwave Studio w marcu 2018 roku.
Album ukazał się nakładem PLANK-TONE RECORDS i jest to pierwszy album tego wydawnictwa, założonego w 2019 roku przez Jacka Mazurkiewicza.

All music by Mikołaj Trzaska, Jacek Mazurkiewicz & Paweł Szpura
Recorded March 5, 2018 at Highwave Studio by Jan Galbas & Matteo Bassoli
Mix & production - Jacek Mazurkiewicz
Mastering - Marcin Bociński
Cover Design - Marek Wajda


polish-jazz.blogspot.com
This the first disc released by Jacek Mazurkiewicz's label with a name provoking many associations: to biology and whales (plankton), to quantum mechanics (Max Planck), and quantum inspired "sonorism" (Plank-tone). Whatever the associations, this disc is the most important recording of Jacek, so far, and a true gem of contemporary avantgarde. It is also breakthrough record for Pawel, surpassing even his amazing series of albums with Waclaw Zimpel and later with Lotto. Even for Mikolaj it is an album opening a new path.

The reasons why I think all that are threefold:
i) This is essentially the first album of Mikolaj Trzaska, on which he plays "kind free jazz" in the sense pioneered by Ivo Perelman or François Francois Carrier,
ii) This is the first album I know that combines kind free jazz with subtle and beautiful electronics, led by Jacek Mazurkiewicz,
iii) If Ken Vandermark's Made To Break is considered by many to be one the most important phenomena of the XXIst century creative music, the music of the preset trio may be regarded as a "kind free jazz" analog/counterpart of that of Made To Break.

"Holy Darkness" has a wonderful theme played on alto and a great work of the section. "Eternity on my Knees" is a quiet and delicate minimal tune, with stupendous electronics and bass clarinet lines. "Swallows and Eagles" is a seven minutes exploration of a bluesy moods with "freely" walking bass. "Bio Bypass" is a great show of Pawel's sensitive lyrical drumming and Jacek's melancholic
bass bowing. Mikolaj's phrasing reminds me here of that of Evan Parker.

The highlight of the album is the 13 minutes long "Touching Engine Body" with incredible drumming, heart breaking saxophone tones, and the electronic sound space-time form another galaxy. After such an masterpiece, it is hard to reach similar levels, but "Tap Fire"
does it Mikolaj uses here the baritone, Jacek bows, and Pawel uses extensively the cymbals, so that the end effect is again magisterial.
By Maciej Lewenstein