Jazz Alchemist radio 28.01.13 with Platform One, Maria Neckam, Ratchet Orchestra and TOM Trio

Hi everyone, the Jazz Alchemist Radio will, at least for the time being, change its formula. I won't be performing live on air presentations. I will though upload a playlist featuring a couple of albums reviewed already on the blog, giving the opportuninty to take a closer listen. (The playlist will be aired on www.radiofrycz.pl at Monday 8.00 PM CET as well as available immediately on soundcloud).

Hope you will appreciate this form and you will enjoy the music.

Tomasz Dabrowski

today I'd like to present to you:
Claudio Guida & Marcello Testa (Platform One) - One Plus One
Maria Neckam - Unison
Ratchet Orchestra - Hemlock
Tomasz Dabrowski - TOM Trio

the tracklist is:
Claudio Guida & Marcello Testa - Steps
Claudio Guida & Marcello Testa - Norwegian Wood
Claudio Guida & Marcello Testa -Michael's Present
Maria Neckam - Obsessed
Maria Neckam - Do You Think You Will Be
Maria Neckam - New Orleans
Maria Neckam - I Am Waiting for My Laundry in the Sun and I Have Lost You (Laundry Song)
Ratchet Orchestra - Winnow
Ratchet Orchestra - Yield
Ratchet Orchestra - Kick
Tomasz Dabrowski TOM Trio - I'll Repeat Only Once
Tomasz Dabrowski TOM Trio - Wave
Tomasz Dabrowski TOM Trio - After Jam

Jazz Alchemist Radio 28.1.13 with Maria Neckam, TOM Trio, Ratchet Orchestra, Platform One by Jazzowy Alchemik on Mixcloud

Monoswezi - The Village [Riverboat Records]

Monoswezi:
Hope Masike - vocals, mbira
Calu Tsemane - vocals, percussion
Hallvard Godal - saxophone, clarinet
Putte Johander - bass
Erik Nylander - drums, percussion

Riverboat Records / World Music Network 2013

Monoswezi is a collective that gathers together musicians from Zimbabwe and Scandinavia - quite a distance to cover on the north-south axis. Hallvard Godal stayed in 2008 in Maputo (capital of Mozambique) working as a musician and at his return Monoswezi was found and ever since is a mean to explore those inspirations. A collaboration that is based upon the value of crosscultural communication.

Maria Neckam - Unison [Sunnyside]

Maria Neckam - voice
Aaron Parks - piano, fender rhodes; Nir Felder - guitar; Thomas Morgan - bass; Colin Stanahan drums
Will Vinson - alto sax; Lars Dietrich - alto sax; Samir Zarif - tenor sax; Kenny Warren - trumpet; Mariel Roberts - cello; Glenn Zaleski - piano

Sunnyside Records 2012

This is a big change of pace considering most of the cds presented on the blog - a vocal album, a collection of songs (melody, lyrics and all that jazz) in the company of all the free around might seem a bit surprising, but this cd deserves a recommendation for the simply fact of it presenting good music.

Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet - Walk, Love, Sleep [Smalltown]

Peter Brotzmann - tarogato, Bb clarinet, tenor and alto saxophones
Ken Vandermark - Bb clarinet, tenor and baritone saxophone
Mats Gustafsson - tenor and baritone saxophone
Joe McPhee - alto saxophone, pocket trumpet
Jeb Bishop - trombone
Johannes Bauer - trombone
Per Ake Holmlander - tuba, cimbasso
Fred Lonberg-Holm - cello, electronics
Kent Kessler - double bass
Michael Zerang - drums
Paal Nilssen-Love - drums

Smalltown Superjazz 2012

Chicago Tentet's music is an experience unlike any other. It is indeed a gathering of who's who in avant-garde jazz scene, although one shouldn't think that music works like an all-star weekend team. Over the years the band developed its sound and ways of collective improvisation that relies on telepathic levels of communication and interaction.

Jazz Alchemist Radio 14.01.2013 with Aram Shelton Quartet, GitGo, Nutimbre, Trabant and Y. Kretmzer 2 Bass Quartet

Whoever's in Krakow is invited to Literki for a concert of Peacock Project. Everyone's invited to have a listen to first playlist in quite a long time with new material presented. I want to bring back your attention to such great albums as:
Paul Giallorenzo Gitgo - Emergent
Aram Shelton Quartet -Everything for Somebody
Yoni Kretmzer 2 Bass Quartet - Weight
Ferrian's Nutimbre - Risk
Trabant - Sanger Fra Fredenbsorg Bibliotek.

Hope you'll enjoy the music.

Stay tuned.


1. Paul Giallorenzo's GitGo - On Your Marks
2. Paul Giallorenzo's GitGo - The Swinger
4. Paul Giallorenzo's GitGo - Slowed Roll
5. Aram Shelton Quartet - Fleeting
6. Aram Shelton Quartet - Deadfall
7. Yoni Kretzmer 2 Bass Quartet - Number One
8. Yoni Kretzmer 2 Bass Quartet - Again and Again
9. Ferrian's Nutimbre - Undesir
10. Ferrian's Nutimbre - Neuphoria
11. Trabant - Simrock
12. Trabant - Fiskeboll
13. Trabant - Sleeping Lessons

Jazz Alchemist radio 14.01.2013 with GitGo, Trabant and more by Jazzowy Alchemik on Mixcloud

Aram Shelton Quartet - Everything for Somebody [Singlespeed]

Aram Shelton - alto saxophone
Keef Jackson - tenor saxophone
Anton Hatwitch - bass
Tim Daisy - drums

Singlespeed Music 2012

I remember Aram Shelton's two concerts in Krakow, first one with a Dragon 1976 trio, it was a release tour for the band's cd on polish Multikulti label and they have played with the polish "The Light" group which was the adience's introduction to Waclaw Zimpel. I remember that afterwards one of my very firsts texts was published by the Diapazon portal. The second performance I've seen was the Ton Trio, an evening of beatifull music. Aram Shelton made a lasting impression with his playing but even more so with the melodic compositions he presented. And he's still got a knack for the good melody.

MMM Quartet - Live at the Metz' Arsenal [Leo]

MMM Quartet
Joelle Leandre - double bass
Fred Frith - guitar
Alvin Curran - electronics, piano
Urs Leimgruber - soprano and tenor saxophone


Leo Records 2012

This quartet is born out of Joelle Leandre's experience in Mills College in Oakland (where she got introduced to Alvin Curran and Fred Firth) and it brings together four musicians who, together, cover possibly the entire ground of modern experimental music - improvised, composed, acoustic, electro-acoustic and electric.

DKV Trio - Past Present [Not Two]

DKV Trio

Ken Vandermark - reeds
Kent Kessler - double bass
Hamid Drake - drums


Not Two 2012

DKV trio's concert in the course of 2012 Autumn Jazz Festival was a night to remember for many reasons. The trio played up to the promise and delivered. The concert itself, a result of a decade - long logistical struggle to bring together the three at one place and time, was also the release date campaign to a 7cds boxset called "Past Present" that would gather a several of the famed DKV performances done near the end / beginning of each year in Chicago and Milwaukee.

Jazz Alchemist Radio vaults 03.01.2011 - best of 2010

The first live airing of 2013 is not happening tonight as my vocal cords are on a temporary break. Otherwise all is fine and summaries of 2012 are being cooked, brewed and prepared in all the necessary ways for the soon-ish presentations.

Obviously I wouldn't want to leave you on Monday evening without any music at all so I propose the tracklist that aired originally on 03.01.2011 as I presented some of the best recordings of the previous 2010 year. Note that tha blog was only a couple of months old at that point so only a couple of the cds got reviewed properly, most are described or mention in the relative post descrbing my votes for the El Intrusso 2010 Poll (you can find those easily if you search the "best of 2010" tagged posts on the blog). 

It seems almost comical when in the everyday conversations one refers to a movie as "old" 3-4 months after its premiere. Let the playlist be a reminder that Art (the good one) doesn't have the "best before" date. After all 2010 in jazz history is like a week ago.

(the original playlist post is available here)

1. Taylor Ho Bynum & Tomas Fujiwara - Keys No Adress (from "Stepwise" on Not Two)
2. Angles - Present Abstness/ Pygmi  (from "Eplieptic West - Live in Coimbra" on Clean Feed)
3. Sainkho Namtchylak & Nick Sudnick - Play 2 (review can be read here)
4. Adam Lane Full Throttle Orchestra - House of Elegant (from "Ashcan Rantings" on Clean Feed)
5. Harris Eisenstadt - Hasui (for brass trio) (from fantastic LP release "Woodblock Prints" on NoBusiness)
6. Tomasz Stanko - First Song (from "Balladyna"; birthday of Tomasz Szukalski on 8th Jan.)
7. Herbie Nichols Project - Swan Song (this is a tribute band playnig Nichols's music, led by Ben Allison and Frank Kimbrough; birthday of Herbie Nichols today - 3rd Jan.)
8. Rodrigo Amado - Newman's Informer (from "Searching for Adam" on Not Two)
9. Sainkho Namtchylak & Nick Sudnick - Play 6
10. Adam Lane Full Throttle Orchestra - Bright Star Calypso
11. Angles - Every Woman is a Tree
12. Harris Eisenstadt - Hiroshige (for woodwind trio)

Jazz Alchemist archive 03.01.2011 best of 2010 by Jazzowy Alchemik on Mixcloud

Claudio Guida & Marcello Testa - One Plus One. Platrom One [dEN]

Claudio Guida - saxophones
Marcello Testa - double bass


dEN Records 2012









I'm very happy that dEN records' owner Stefano Ferrian brought this recording to Krakow on the occasion of his internation improv tour last autumn. Claudio Guida and Marcello Testa created a duo album that takes you by surprise in many delightfull ways.

The music flows easily, natural and melodic. "Saxobit" takes off with a repetitive melody of the gently struck bass strings, adds mystery and space with a psychodelic echoes and slight use of electronics in the second half. "Norwegian Wood" features a delicate sound of soprano that glides just over the notes. The last on the album "Eclipse" is structured the opposite way, from the eerie and airy electronic echoes to a simply and touching melody. The strong and clear tenor sax on "Michel's Present" along with the steady bass walking brings blues feeling. The haunting and sensual like a tango "No Sad Title Found" glides like a dancing pair. Each of the 11 tracks, short and coincise, has its own charm.
The duo's music shares a particular clarity of vision, . I love the majestic and deep bass sound, the melodic lines that are laid thoughtfully and tastefully, the clarity of sound and emotion. There's some brilliant music here dive into.
Very recommended, possibly one of the best debuts of the year.

some tracks from the cd are presented in this radio playlist.

John Butcher & Mark Sanders - Daylighy [Emanem]

John Butcher - tenor & soprano saxophones
Mark Sanders - percussion


Emanem 2012

I have mentioned on many occasions that sax - drums duos are among my favourites, the most basic vehicle for the punch and kick - melody and rhythm, seemingly limited measures for unlimited purposes. You'll be hard put to look for any basic rhythm and melody on the recording did by two mainstays of british free improv scene - John Butcher and Mark Sanders.