Riverloam Trio at Krakow Jewish Festival (02.07)

My appreciation to Mikolaj Trzaska's music is confirmed in many posts in the blog's archive so I'll try keep this one simple. Especially since you can see the concert via festival's web tv yourself.

I remember this trio playing in Alchemia two years ago, they were named Ha Tichona trio back the, which means "inner ear" in hebrew. It is a recurrent term that appears as the name of another band (Inner Ear Quartet with Steve Swell, Tim Daisy and Per-Ake Holmlander) and in many conversations with Mikolaj:

I'm a saxophone player, I'm not a composer, but I'd call myself rather a „music maker”, I make music, I dabble in sewing pieces of music together. I don't compose, meaning I rarely sit down and write. I build the music up, it results from my work, my practice, from my inner hearing. I make music that I can hear is inside me. I try to capture it, I try to translate it and voice it out. I'm trying to do it so that this inner portrait of music I have, It would be presented in the most accurate way there is. I mean so there would be no cunningness, no artificial nicety in it, but the music I play would mirror perfectly my thoughts and my emotions.

The Riverloam Trio prepared a special project for the festival called "Babcia's Memory" (Grandma's). The three masters of radical improvisation dived into the gentle, simple melodies of the childhood, passed on through generations. But let's put the aside the historical dimension. The emotional carriage of this repertoire was in full evidence, the music presented itself at the most intimate, subtle, pure and inner. 

The festival also gave me a chance to see Mikolaj Trzaska in a very different role - conducting the music workshop. Surrounded by the whole orchestra of young passionates (entire full-scale string section, flutes, baritone guitar, clarinets and more) Mikolaj opened up even more and the group played few nigun melodies. I'd never would have thought about it before but the Mikolaj lyrical, visceral tone is a pefect fit with the string section and the young musicians' enthusiasm was incredibly inspiring. The band sound was bit rough at the edges but very beautiful nonetheless and I can't wait to see the concert that (friday evening) will end the workshop cycle. 

(the video presents the trio in the more typical free contest)

Riverloam Trio:

Mikolaj Trzaska - alto sax, clarinet

Olie Brice - double bass

Mark Sanders - drums

Tempel Synagogue. Krakow Jewish Festival 2013. 02.07