Chistmas concert schedule (27.11 - 29.11)

I thought there was no point of checking the the concerts for the Christmas day, it's the time most of ust prefer to spend at home, with friends and family. Holiday period continues and the period is rather dominated by songs about santa claus and snowmen and reinders and so on. Still there's something else on the list.

27.12. Orioxy ad Piec'ART
I honestly will be sorry to miss the concert by the band which charmed Piec'ART's cellar with its music some time ago. Voice, harp, bass and drums - their music is sensual, charming, poetic and slighly exotic.

Jazz Band Ball Orchestra - Ziporyn/Zimpel/Zemler/Riley - 100nka at 14th Krakow Silent Movie Festival (Kino Pod Baranami 5-8.12)

"The Dream Factory" - a nickname for the Hollywoodland and the motto for this year's edition of Silent Movie Festival in Krakow captures well the festival's spirit. 

The term "silent movie" might be considered bit misguided - the cinema never liked silence, the music was always there, long before the world understood how to capture the audio on the magnetic tape. And music was there to enhance, to translate, to follow or push the story. 

The beauty of the silent movie phenomen is that they can have a new life through music. They can adapt to modern times and acquire new meanings or rather new means of expression. As the Hollywood's latest trend is to re-make and re-heat plenty of old movies, however there's no need and no way to re-do Charlie Chaplin's movie. But you can always change the musical context and create a new and unique experience.

I chose three festival screenings, and, in hindsight, I wished I had seen the entire program.

I recall listening to Jazz Band Ball Orchestra's LPs as a teenager, and their true-to-the-tradition renditions of jazz classics were fun and pleasure to listen to. The JBBO was assembled over half a century ago by Jan Kudyk who's still in charge.

The orchestra played to "Mania : A history of a cigarette factory worker" featuring Pola Negri, a story not unlike the one presented much more recently in the cinema by Buz Luhrmann in "Moulin Rouge" and are many more examples to enlist. A young and beatifull factory worker Mania, played by Negri, falls madly in love with a talented composer, but is also courted by the factory's owner, who happens to be the opera's main sponsor, and as such holds the key to the composer's future. It's a story of romance, devotion and betrayal.

Jazz Band Ball's music fit perfectly the ballroom scenes, filled with dances and the discreet charm of burgeiosie. Jazz Band Ball Orchestra might sound like a true Second Line, in fact they joyfully travelled from Dixieland to swing and (for the dramatic finale) sharp post-bop chords.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas A.D. 2013

Hello all, I admit I got caught up in all of the pre-Christmas frenzy, I wanted to propose some christmas cd gifts, some new songs, there's still a post about Silent Movie Festival waiting to be finished... 

It will all have to wait just a little bit more, in the meantime, Merry little Christmas to you all my jazz friends, let the good music stay with you in the holiday season and beyond.

Below some songs to keep you, your friends and family company.

Jazz Alchemist Radio archives. Merry Christmas!!! A.D. 2008 by Jazzowy Alchemik on Mixcloud

Jazz Alchemist Radio Have Yourself a Jazzy Little Chrismas a.d. 2012 by Jazzowy Alchemik on Mixcloud

Jazz Alchemist Merry Christmas Radio (archives - 21.12.2009) by Jazzowy Alchemik on Mixcloud

Krakow Concert Schedule 16-22.12

If you want to take a musical break in the midst of all the pre-Christmas frenzy, here are the propositions for the next week.

16.12 Free The Dance with SzaZa at Alchemia
SzaZa is Pawel Szamburski and Patryk Zakrocki on clarinet, violin and multitude of small instruments, electronics and so on. Their music is plenty of suprises , coulour and immagination. Malgorzata Haduch and Iwona Olszewska will dance with SzaZa's music.



17.12 Jazz Tuesday : Jam Session @ Piekny Pies
There's no information about the musicians participating but, if tuesday remains a jazz day in Piekny Pies, it is definitely good news for Krakow's audience.

17 & 19.12 Dominika Rusinowska Quartet at Piec'ART
Piec'ART remains a main stage for young jazz musicians based in Krakow to develop their talents working with each other in various configurations. Dominka Rusinowska leads the quartet featuring S. Zawadzki (piano), D. Czernik (bass) and J. Rusinowski (drums).

Kraków Concert Schedule 09-15.12

The beginning of the week is quite busy, especially with the festival re:source, near the end of the week you might start embracing the vision of a long (not entirely) concert-less winter.

9-11.12 re:source festival at Klub RE and Alchemia
Three days with alternative / electro / / minimal / experimental / .... music. The schedule is:

9.12, Klub Re – Richard Youngs (UK), Trigg & Gusset (NL),Visionary Hours (UK/PL)

10.12, Alchemia - Nick Mott (UK), Grzegorz Bojanek (PL), Michel Banabila (NL) + Konrad Gęca (dubcore DJ set)

11.12, Klub Re – Zsolt Sőrés (H), The Fields Of Hay + Chołoniewski (UK/PL) and Karl Culley (UK) + a film screening of Zenial’s Rosora

10.12. Improwizje - Tomek Gadecki / Michal Dymny / Rafal Mazur at Piekny Pies
Krakow based Rafal Mazur plays frequently with saxophonist Keir Neuringer, saxophonist Tomek Gadecki plays frequently with bass player Marcin Bożek. The two duos met (as you can see on the vid below) and a new partnership came to life. They invited to join them another long-time collaborator of Rafal - guitarist Michal Dymny.

Chicago Woj-tet / Liquid Soul at Made in Chicago day 3 (01.12)

Made in Chicago is a special festival for how it tries to convey the music's richness. One of the key words to it is: continouity. Chicago Woj-tet's music shows the continuity innate to jazz music, how it connects to the heritage of past decades, how its fruits come from the trees rooted in history. How the presence encompasses both past and future.

Robert Irving III tributes the band to the memory of Wojtek Juszczak that features both the veteran sax player Ari Brown as the youngster Leon Q Allen on trumpet (the sextet  is rounded up by Harrison Bankhead, Scott Hesse and Ernie Adams). The first piece is introduced by Irving with comparison of 80s in Poland to 60s in the States, the piece tries to express the rebellious times with ominous modal chords as the audience can hear fragments of talks, speeches, announcements (inbetween them, echoes of Lech Walesa and demonstration of "Solidarność"). Irving's story about his first visit to Poland (with Miles Davis band in the early 80s) was probably as valuable as the sounds themselves.

Silent Film Festival in Kino Pod Baranami - The Dream Factory (5-8.11)

Silent Movie Festival is an unique event, it shows classic, or not to much, titles of the era when movies were literally moving pictures. No audio doesn't mean no music though - such would bond with the cinema from the very beginning. 

During the four days of the festival 14th edition Krakow's audience will have a chance to see movies a variety of movies (some of the feature themes are - Paola Negri's career, "Sleeping Beaty" - a classic pre-Disney rendition of the tale from 1916 as well as last as the 2012 version, retro-erotica or a classic "Cameraman" by the one and only Buster Keaton). 

Such pictures will be completed by live music, plenty of which should interest the lovers of alternative, indie, jazz and improvisation (100nka, Trifonidis Roots Trio, dj Lenar, Waclaw Zimpel and Jazz Band Ball Orchestra are among the artists to appear).

Please check the festival's schedule at cinema's website for the complete schedule. 

I'll report back to you on some of the screenings. 

Kizuna - a gathering for Wojciech at Made in Chicago (30.11)

The second performance of the night brought the festival's audience to the Poznan's castle concert hall. A specially comissioned project is part of the festival's tradition and it would usually feature most of the artists performing at the given year. Kizuna - a gathering for Wojciech united on stage 16 musicians, under the lead of Mwata Bowden and Tatsu Aoki. 

First part is a composition of Mwata, under his conduction. A glimpse into the jazz history which begins with a laidback funky groove, big band choruses, charming melody delivered by Dee Alexander and Nicole Mitchell and plenty of gritty soloing all around - delightufll flute, explosive vocalese, Brown's deep and soulful sax tone or more rapid and sharp Francis Wong and some New Orlean funky trumpet. Leon Q Allen deserves in fact his a special mention - he has considerably chops, comes a bit unfledged at times, but his enthusiasm is contagious. He's true showman - when he's not dancing, he's making a badass face (mind you, he's a bit of a teddy-bear posture).

Roscoe Mitchell & Mike Reed at Made In Chicago Festival (30.09)

Made in Chicago in Poznań is quite an unique jazz festival. Dedicated to one city but not to any particular fraction of jazz-purists or avant-guardists or whateve. The idea of gathering, or musical community, of continuity - those elements are innate in the festival's formula. I missed friday concerts unfortunately, the first performance of saturday was an example of inter-generation dialogue and continuity in music. On one side of the stage, a true legend of avant-guarde jazz movement, founding member of AACM, co founder of Art Ensemble of Chicago. On the other side, over three decades younger musician, nonetheless an accomplished artist and well-established person on the musical map of the windy city.

Kraków Concert Schedule 02.12-08.12 / Lublin Jazz Festival

Krakow's Jazz Juniors continues and there plenty of other events of musical interest, including yet another Jazz Festival - Lublin invites you in with a very strong program. I guess one needs to inhale as much as possible to be ready for winter sleep.

02.12. Jazz Juniors Showcase at Rotunda

Winners of competion held during the weekend. As there's plenty of young talent around one might hope that the selected bands will play good.

02.12. Jam Session at Harris Piano Jazz Bar

Krakow's youth, and sort of club's residents when it comes to jam session - Bartek Prucnal, Cyprian Baszczynski, Mateusz Gaweda, Piotr Poludniak i Dawid Fortuna will welcome fellow musicians for a jam after Jazz Juniors performance.

03.12 Deux  Boules Vanille at Alchemia

For something completely different - and indie music drummer's duo. Seems weird and lot of fun.