Bouge at Alchemia (Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012; 28.11)

Just a brief note about next to the last concert of this year's Autumn festival.  Bouge, consisting of french vocalist Isabelle Duthoit, german trombone player Johannes Bauer and dutch guitarist Luc Ex is a project as much international as particular in its instrumental combination. Voice, trombone and acoustic bass - that line-up is bound to raise some eyebrows. Also those three musicians come from and with completely different musical backgrounds. Namely free-jazz, experimental and punk. 

The central figure is Isabelle Duthoit, an unique vocalist or maybe a term voice artist would be a better fit. She provides screams and whispers and bends her voice in the most feline way. She can growl and tick, and she's an absolute spectacle to see and listen to.

Luc Ex provides a distinctive rock energy, low and slighty dirty riffs fille the stage, a surprising combination of acoustic sound and distorted dynamics. Johannes Bauer's bone connects and cements the whole with focused notes and sharp glissandos. The music is quite theatrical, sometimes terrifying till the point of absurd, sometimes seductive, consistently inspiring and refreshingly unique.

Bouge sounds original their music is uniquely, mind and body, engaging. The concerts was intriguingly unique, utterly enjoyable and refreshingly inspiring. Bouge is a very surprising unit, just see for yourself:

Bouge:
Isabelle Duthoit - voice, clarinet
Johannes Bauer - trombone
Luc Ex - acoustic bass guitar

Alchemia. Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012. 28.11.2012

Dave Rempis solo at Alchemia (Krakow Autumn Jazz; 28.11)

Dave Rempis played in Alchemia a lot. That's a fact. But Krakow's audience had never yet had a chance, as I daresay few did before, to see him play a solo concert.

There are few things in music as demanding as a solo performer. To be able to fill the entire space, to create the entire musical narrativa with just a single voice and, from the audience's perspective, to be have to focus on one person on stage, it can be exhausting, it can be weary, it usually is in fact, it happens to be also extremely satisfying.

And so was this concert. Dave filled the space with fluid alto lines and shattered sounds. The range of ideas was impressive as their depth. The performance was not only intimate and extremely personal, which is usual for a solo setting, it had also an intricate logic and sense of direction that are much rarer.

The music flowed and streamed, inspired and inspiring. Thank You Dave.

Dave Rempis - alto sax
Alchemia. Krakow Autumn Jazz. 28.11.2012

for the encore, Dave played soulfully digging his teeth into this classic:

 

Barry Guy New Orchestra - finale at Manggha (Krakow Autumn Jazz; 23.11)

For three evenings at Alchemia, Barry Guy New Orchestra mixed the elements, ingredients of the band. Feel free to check the previous posts for the detailed line-up of each evening. Both sax trios that make the axis of the band (Evan-Barry-Paul and Mats-Barry-Raymond) could make another statement and develop their history but mostly the line-ups were surprising and unconventional. And so was the music -  exploratory and uncomprimsing.

The three evenings gave an insight into the infinite world of possibilites that exist in a big band, in coulour and texture of music. The music created in an instance, raw yet pure, born from the moment. Majestic or joyfull, energetic or soothing, hidden as well as right in front of your eyes/ears. To be perceived in all it's glory on the final set of those three days, when eleven musicians squeezed onto the stage and ripped and sew again the space with the music.

A series of spontaneously created parallel universes met all together at once yesterday evening at Manggha, given the support of the composed structure.

The Orchestra presented three pieces, each featuring a different main soloists (Maya Homburger, Trevor Watts, Augusti Fernandez). And the music rose in thousands of sounds and colours and shapes, rich and purely majestic. The compositions going light-years beyond any jazz idiom, probably where Gil Evans and Stan Kenton sometimes dreamt of going , concertos for orchestra and soloists. Music that has the immediate element of improvisation built-in, that strikes your heart, while it builds an entire reality of symphonic depth and richness, harmonies sharp or lush, that touch your mind.

And my mind is still striving to grasp it, without any real success. What I know is: those four days of music, in all its variety of aspects and manifestations - that's why we (I hope to speak those words not only for myself) love this music. This is music that unifies passion and vision and expression.

Barry Guy New Orchestra:
Barry Guy - double bass, conductor
Maya Homburger - baroque violin
Augusti Fernandez - piano
Evan Parker - tenor sax, soprano
Trevor Watts - alto sax
Mats Gustafsson - baritone sax, fluteophone
Hans Koch - bass clarinet
Herb Robertson - trumpet, pocket trumpet
Johannes Bauer - trombone
Per-Ake Holmlander - tuba
Paul Lytton - drums
Raymond Strid - drums

Krakow Autumn Jazz. Alchemia (20-22.11.2012) and Manggha (23.11.2012)

Barry Guy New Orchestra - day 3 at Alchemia (Krakow Autumn Jazz; 22.11)

Third day blew the audience off with the final set play by the whole orchestra, did it prepare me for what's coming tonight? I'm not sure but it sure made me want more.

first set
Hans Koch, Raymond Strid
+ Herb Robertson, Johannes Bauer, Trevor Watts

second set
Augusti Fernandez, Paul Lytton
Mats Gustafsson, Barry Guy, Raymond Strid

third set
entire orchestra

(this is from the last day in Alchemia in 2010)

 Alchemia. Krakow Autumn Jazz. 22.11.2012

Barry Guy New Orchestra at Alchemia - day 2 (Krakow Autumn Jazz; 22.11)

As I've anticipated in the previous post, the creative sparks are flying high in Alchemia these days. They've knocked you out the day before, if you've managed to get up for the next evening, they did it again. I'll try maybe to sum up the evenings in Alchemia after it's all over and one has a chance to collect his thoughts. For now, it's just a chronicle and here's what happened:

First set

-Johannes Bauer

-Maya Homburger, Herb Robertson, Per-Ake Holmlander, Raymond Strid 

-Barry Guy, Johannes Bauer, Paul Lytton

Second set

-Trevor Watts, Mats Gustafsson, Augusti Fernandez

-Mats Gustafsson, Hans Koch, Per-Ake Holmlander

Third set

-Augusti Fernandez, Raymond Strid

-Evan Parker / Barry Guy / Paul Lytton

Barry Guy New Orchestra at

Alchemia. Krakow Autumn Jazz. 21.11.2012

Barry Guy New Orchestra at Alchemia - day 1 (Krakow Autumn Jazz; 20.11.)

When you gather together 12 musicians of such caliber as those taking part in Barry Guy New Orchestra creative sparks are bound to fly around all over the place. And this was just the case.

As words fail to depict truly the music and the energy, treat this and the next few posts more as a chronicle of the event than anything else. It's just me trying to pick up some thoughts together, recover from the musical battle.

The orchestra produced forward a group-selection, without repeating once, any of the possibilites presented two years ago. It seems in fact a puzzle-game of the mastermind which consists in confronting different pieces each time, curious of the possible reactions and effects. You might call it a slighly mad chemistry lab.

And the chemistry (alchemy) is transparent, as each setting yields surprise, variety and inspires satisfaction. The highlights of the night, in my ear, were: 

Maya's ferocious and ear-piercing violin against the low riffs on baritone sax and tuba (I did not have a chance before to see Maya in a completely improvised setting and was blew away).

The incessant and unbelievable percussion drive courtesy of the double drum sets (Paul and Raymond). Pair in the front the muscular Mats' tone, with the humourous Bauer's trombone, add Barry's precision and adventouresness and you've got a band on fire. It was loud, it was heavy, it was raw and meaty and it was a blast.

Come tonight for more.

set I
Auguti, Herb, Evan (solos, trio)

set II
Hans, Barry
Maya, Mats, Per-Ake
Mats, Augusti

set III
Trevor, Per-Ake, Paul
Mats, Johannes, Barry, Paul, Raymond

Alchemia. Krakow Autumn Jazz Festival. 20.11.2012

Keir Neruinger & Rafał Mazur - invitation to Literki, tonight at 8PM

I'd like to pass Rafal Mazur's invitation to the concerts with Keir Neuringer. I've written about the duo on the occasion of a concert at Bomba some time ago. The duo's cd "Unison Lines" comes equally highly recommended.

The concert at Literki is and additional event to the Krakow Autumn Jazz program as well as part of the new and very much-welcomed series dedicated to improvised music Improwizje that will take place at the club.

As such it starts also an international tour by the duo.  Here are the next dates, be sure to see the concert if you're nearby:

Unison Lines European Tour 2012

15.11. - Kraków, klub Literki http://www.barliterki.pl/
19.11 – Warszawa, „Pardon, to tu” http://www.pardontotu.pl/
20.11 – Poznań, Dragon http://www.dragon.krzyk.pl/
21.11 – Gdańsk, Teatr w Oknie www.teatrszekspirowski.pl/
22.11 – Berlin, Sowieso http://www.sowieso-neukoelln.de/#home
23.11 – Leipzig, Galerie KUB http://galeriekub.de/
25.11 – Paris, La galerie G http://lartaugarage.over-blog.com/
27.11 – Brussels, Cafe Central www.lecafecentral.com/
28.11 – Amsterdam, OT 301 www.ot301.nl
29.11 – Geneve, Insubordinations series, le Cabinet http://www.insubordinations.net/agenda.html
01.12 – Wien, Porgy&Bess www.porgy.at

The tour is possible thanks to a funding received by the

Stefano Ferrian / Simone Quatrana ImproConnection Tour at Barka (05.11)

The post should be treated more as a Autumn Jazz festival's chronicle than a review. I have written recently about Stefano Ferrian's Nutimbre band and their most recent release "Risk". The two members of the quintet just launched the international ImproConnection Tour which consits of some 24 gigs in various locations, on each occasion the two players will be playing with local improvising musicians. The evening in Krakow was the 4th gig of the series and I invite you to check Stefano's website to see if you can check any of the next concerts (tonight = Vilnius).

There were some really strong music moments during the night and the four musicians really dug deep trying to create on the spot, although it seemed evident that the italian duo knows each other pretty already well. But the connection was established clear and strong and music flowed with the inspired stream, I was particularly impressed by the fast-lightning and yet very precise, fractured and repetitive patterns played on piano by Simone Quatrana but big hands to Paulina Owczarek and Ernest Ogore who stood up for the occasion and played some fervent music to match the Ferrian / Quatrana duo intensity.

The challenge of ImproConnection Tour is to meet everyday with different circumstances and different musicians and to be able to adapt constantly and learn from each opportunity. This is going to be a hard yet exciting time for Stefano and Simone and wish them both the best of luck. May the music continue to flow as strong as it did in Krakow.

A fragment of the previous concert in Brno



Stefano Ferrian - tenor sax, alto sax
Simone Quatrana - piano
Paulina Owczarek - baritone sax
Ernest Ogórek - double bass, electric bass


Barka. Krakow. 05.11.2012

DKV Trio at Manggha (Krakow Autumn Jazz; 1.11)

The bar was set up incredibly high at the first set of the evening by the Hera. Still DKV is like an dream team trio, I've heard legends about their concert 10 years ago in Katowice and Marek Winiarski from Not Two tried ever so hard to bring them in to Krakow in the last years but it proved to be impossible because of the musicians schedule - they've among the busiest people in the world. And it finally happened.

And boy it was worth waiting for. The trio grooved with grittines, swinging soulfully and passionately. Just unresistable ride, joyfull and fun. When they get lyrical it's smooth and lushfull, when they hit it hard it's an instant knock-out, when they want to be rough or abstract, they just do, without ever loosing the grip of the story, all even the most abstract dots connect with each other in a perfect way. There's elegance and energy that rarely meet together, the swag and substance, the heavy groove dances lightly on its toes and the trio is just on fire and your foot is toetapping without a stop.

As good as it gets. Smokin' hot jazz. 

2nd set:
DKV
Ken Vandermark - tenor sax, clarinet
Kent Kessler - double bass
Hamid Drake - drums

Manggha. Krakow Autumn Jazz. 01.11.2012

Hera XL with Hamid Drake (Krakow Autumn Jazz; 1.11)

This was for me, and possibly many others, the most awaited evening of this year's festival. Hera is possible one of the strongest units on the scene and it still evolving band, constantly in search of new and exciting. I invite you to check on the blog the review of their 2nd cd "Where My Complete Beloved Is" as well as the interview with the band's leader Waclaw Zimpel. The quartet met with Hamid Drake in Lublin a year and a half ago, the double bill evening ended in a the wonderfully groovy jam session and they immediately hit it off and the idea to work together in the future was born on the spot.

The Krakow concert is the day that this idea came to reality and the band presented a new series of compositions that show the continuous development of the musical vision. Trance, hypnotic, the music would shine with the rhythmi propulsation provided by the double drums sets behind, with the polyphonic melodies presented by the double front line, with the stead bass groove, with sharp guitar sound and the drones of hurdy gurdy.

Hera

There was something absolutely magical about the performance, complete and total experience of sound, rhythm, melody. Omnipresent, the music would take you in wholly, showing you the paradise world of universal love. I honestly lack word to describe the passionate feeling that the music gave me. Hats off especially to Maciej Cierlinski who just added an entire new universe to the band's music (also the craziest solo of the night, if Jimi Hendrix have played hurdy gurdy, that's how it would sound). It was also the first time I've heard them with Raphael Roginski and his unique sound would enhance so fabulously the constant melodious flow.

To have listened to this band was like to jump into a river, and just keep floating, keep admiring the constance of change around you, and it felt so safe and natural to meet all this with an openess of mind and heart. In the words of Joe McPhee: "fucking amazing".

1st set:
Hera XL:
Waclaw Zimpel - clarinet, contralto clarinet
Pawel Postaremczak - tenor, soprano sax
Raphael Roginski - guitar
Maciej Terlinski - hurdy gurdy
Ksawery Wojcinski - double bass
Pawel Szpura - drums

Hamid Drake - drums

Manggha. Krakow Autumn Jazz. 01.11.2012

Peter Brotzmann with KonstruKt / The Damage is Done at Manggha (Krakow Autumn Jazz; 31.10)

Peter Brotzmann came back to Krakow for the second evening of the festival and he brought two bands with himself - a turkish collective KonstruKt (something new) and The Damage is Done (something old).

KonstruKt is probably a fairly obscure group but they caught mine attention with three recent collaborations - Marshall Allen, Evan Parker (a live cd from Akbank Festival which I wrote about here) and, last but not least, Peter Brotzmann. The line-up for the evening was alto saxophone, bass guitar, drums and old-school korg synth and some other retro keyboards.  

The sax gave a signal with a fiery, frenetic phrase and the band started brewing - dense and intense, with powerhouse drumming, sci-fi keys and some fastwalking basslines. An updated, free and wild view on the fusion easthetics where (finally) the general sound of the group is more important the solo pyrotechnics. Once the Peter joined and added his own tsunami stamp on the music the band really got it going on. There was the right kick (and the left punch) - boiling and turmoiling.

For the 2nd set showed up the quartet of Peter, Joe McPhee, Kent Kessler and Michael Zerang, which took the name of the Damage is Done. Which is the title of the double cd released on Not Two and recorded couple of years back in Alchemia. The concert which, I remember it vividly, got me so pumped up that I stayed up till 4 pm, writing one of my first reviews  ever (curious polish reades can find it Diapazon).

They had me then, and the still do. Four incredible musicians and minds playing music on the spot, putting to the test all the sensibility and emotional power they can muster. Brotzmann tornadoes on the saxophone, no prisoners allowed or utters cry of despair, McPhee balances the sound with the depth of blues and Kessler and Zerang create a myriad of textures and grooves to push the music forward, unstoppable. Energetic till the point you want to jump up high in the air or lyrical and tear-breaking. To watch this quartet is to follow a heroic battle scene, where there are no prisoners allowed.

1st set:

KonstruKt:

Korhan Futacı - alto sax, flute

Umut Çağlar - electric organ, synth
Özün Usta - electric bass, gongs, djembe
Korhan Argüden - drums

Peter Brotzmann - tenor saxophone, tarogato

2nd set:
The Damage Is Done:
Peter Brotzmann - tenor sax, tarogato, clarinet
Joe McPhee - tenor sax, pocket trumpet
Kent Kessler - double bass
Michael Zerang

Manggha. Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012. 31.10.2012

Tim Daisy / DOT Trio at Alchemia (Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012; 30.10)

Tim Daisy played in Alchemia on countless occasions with a rich variety of projects and I'll daresay (haven't really cross-checked it) that he played a part in each Krakow Autumn Jazz Festival so far, yet it was the first occasion to see him in a solo setting.

He opened with a piece dedicated to two polish musicians he performs with quite often - Mikolaj Trzaska and Waclaw Zimpel, both well known to Krakow audience (in fact, both present in this year festival's program). The piece employs a steady beat that serves as an axis for slight dynamic shifts and sudden meter changes. During the rest of the set Tim would honor Merce Cunningham, Kyle Bruckmann, the late John Tchicai as well as Marek Winiarski and Wawrzyn "Laurence" Makinia (respectively Not Two and Multikulti labels).

While on many occasions solo performances seem to be an excuse to exploit and exhibit technical prowess or indulge in experimental formalism, Daisy's improvisations tend to be quite melodic and very structured. There's a "theme" to each piece which might be based on a particular phrase, frame, meter or the timbral effect of the given pair of drumsticks (part of his "bag of tricks") - in fact each piece is a singular narration with its own pulse to give the structure while the emotional, personal dedication provides the substance.

For the second set Tim joins forces with Mark Tokar - a long time collaborator with the Resonance Band and Four (quartet with Dave Rempis and Waclaw Zimpel) and Paulina Owczarek who represents the Krakow improvising scene. The duo drums - bass duo hit it right away instantly with a deep and dense and heavy groove that filled the space and it was evident they know each other already pretty well. Unfortunately Paulina, whom I've seen playinggreat music on plenty of occasions, seemed a bit lost and too shy to fight for her own space in the music, she remained hidden, her "inside" approach to the instrument, carving patiently the space with barely audible sounds didn't match well the energetic, kinematic play of Tim and Mark and the baritone with which she should have kicked their asses remained "under". The trio was sort of an unfullfilled promise, but that's the risk you have to take in this kind of music you can't win it all. Just a simple fact of life.

1st set
Tim Daisy - drums

2nd set
Tim Daisy - drums
Paulina Owczarek - baritone saxophone
Mark Tokar - double bass

Alchemia. Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012. 30.10.2012

Mikrokolektyw with Malgorzata Haduch at Alchemia (Krakow Autumn Jazz; 29.10)

2nd set of the evening introduced a new element to Krakow Jazz Autumn Festival - dance. Małgorzata Haduch - responsible for the Free The Dance series is a dancer / improviser that for that particular occasion invited to Krakow the Mikrokolektyw a duo. The band, born from the Robotobibok, made a surprising entrance to the international jazz scene couple of years back that ended in their first cd "Revisit"being released by the Delmark label. 

I had a chance to listen to the interview that Peter Margasak from Chicago made with Artur and Kuba before the concert and part of the conversation was dedicated to the subject of introducing more open forms and purely improvised elements to the duo's music. Both on their own as a well as the effect of various collaborations and improvisational meetings. The evening in Alchemia was a  particular example of that as the improvisation would be a core of the concert yet the music would still be played exclusively by just the two musicians.

And so there were passages reminding of the melodic song-like forms introduced on the cd, with a sweet tone of the trumpet and hypnotic, slightly tribal drumming. Yet so much of the soundspace would be filled with mysterious, suspended noises and sounds, both electronic and acoustic, that would fill the air like the abstract series of dots and lines, surprising, slightly irrational, dark yet strangely inviting.

Malgorzata Haduch's dance is a theatre of gestures and postures and moves that both mirror as well as enhance the perception of the sound. Without trying to overdo it, her dance would reflect equally the flexible, agile nature of the sound as well as scattered and surprising, incidental nature of improvisation. The arte of dance would co-exist with the art of sound being both its interprations as well as an extension.

But I wouldn't want to try to think about all the possible relations and ways of perceptions that mixed arts could enter in. I'm not sure if the dance adds something to the music, or changes it, or completes it. For me it's simple - the evening was as much pleasure for the eyes as for the ears. 

Artur Majewski - trumpet, electronics
Kuba Suchar - drums
Malgorzata Haduch - dance

Alchemia. Krakow Autumn Jazz. 29.10.2012

Zlatko Kaucic at Alchemia (Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012; 29.10)

The idea of solo performance on drums and percussion must seem revolting to any mainstream kind of music audience. I mean in the end one can get to accept the lack of vocals (no lyrics?) but the idea of drums on stage seem to present all kinds of doubts (no melody?) till the point it might seems that it isn't enough to create music. A big mistake. Not only rhythm is the most basic manifestation of music but it's the innate base life. There's no life without it, and no story to tell.

Zlatko Kaucic who played with the entire who's who of european improvised scene is the kind of drummer whose playing I perceive as based upon that idea - that life is rhythm, and there would be no story to tell if it wasn't for that simple truth. He's a shaman who narrates the fables of ancient ghosts and poerform rituals to cast off the demons.

And sounds are means to tell the story, with the immagination being the only limit. He'd play the set of small frame drums, gongs, plates, cymbals, pots as well as toothbrushes. And it seemed like this and other objects were always intended for that kind of use. The sound and the idea - that's what you need to create music.

No gimmicking, no cheap trickery, just good storytelling - that's what makes the difference between true a wizard and the magician.

Zlatko Kaucic - drums, percussion, objects, voice

Alchemia. Krakow Autumn Jazz. 29.10.2012

The Thing at Alchemia (Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012. 28.10)

There are few bands in the business that can match the energy level presented on stage by The Thing. The band made a splash this year with the "The Cherry Thing" collaboration with Neneh Cherry but if you think they've been tamed and made ready to sail off to the mainstream market you couldn't have been more mistaken.

The Thing rocks the house with the first violent hit on the drums and the simultanous sharp note of the tenor while the bass strings are being pulled away. And so they storm forward and keep rock'n'rolling through dynamite gritty riffs. Paal ongoingly destroing the drumset with the precise hits, Ingebright plucking the bass strings mightily as if it were a flamenco guitar and Mats balancing his notes on his feet like the heavy weight box champion (on tenor exclusively this time, slightly less power but there's soulfull quickness to make it up).

In the midst of this punk'n'jazz rock'n'roll madness they can surprise you with anything from the hypnotic feedback-mike distortions to a heartwarming soulfull ballad (a wothy dedication to Joe McPhee). All that could very well happen in the very same piece as it occured during the first encore of the evening when I half-expected Ingebright to take the bass and tomahawk-smash the amp with it. 'Nough written.

So here's a mad-dog* round to The Thing. For their continous tour in the search of "meat, barbecue sauce, adventures, vinyls, boots and booze".

Here's to The Thing. Knocking socks off your feet with their music since 2ooo.

mad dog - a shot with a vodka, raspberry juice and tabasco. 

The Thing:
Mats Gustafsson - tenor sax
Ingebright Haker-Flaten - double bass
Paal Nilssen-Love - drums

Alchemia. Krakow. 28.10.2012

Viktor Toth, Clayton Thomas, Macio Moretti at Barka (Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012; 25.10)

Clayton Thomas

Viktor Toth, Clayton Thomas and Macio Moretti have never nor player nor met before. Non entirely unusual situation on the improvised music scene - you play a tons of gis with guys you've never met before, possibly will never meet again, for better or worse. Representants of three different scenes and backgrounds (Budapest and free jazz, Berlin and radical free improv, Warsaw and indie rock) came together in Krakow for a special event that was born as an idea to be checked and presented on Krakow Autumn Jazz.

And as soon as they hit the first notes their different backgrouns are evident, Clayton Thomas plucks and slaps the strings with various objects, Viktor flows freely yet with a classic jazz feel through flying notes while Macio Moretti hits the punkish rhythm with a rock energy and punk attitude.

What's even more evident though is that those three meet together in the place and time to co-create an unique mixture of styles and influences that, while coloured with  all possible shades of the rainbow, mantains a surprsing cohesity, due to their egoless presence of mind and will to co-create and co-exist.

Viktor Toth

Each set has a short encore that's is a free jazz pleasure with fast bass walking, circus-mad fast hi-hat and breaknecking saxophone runs. The trio interchanges beetween heavy grooves and meditative, reflective melodies as well as searching, hipnotic ancient-like chants (Viktor, aside the saxophone plays a variety of wooden flutes).

There are moments of irresistible headbanging and laughter as well as those of enchanting, hypnotic beauty hidden but uncovered in the textural and timbral patterns, repetitive melodies (etheral sound of the string's aliquotes plucked gently with the fingetips of the mallets is something to behold).

Macio Moretti

The trio attracts the audience's attention both throuth the long and varied improvisation of the 1st set (plus the fast and furious free jazz ride short encore) as well as during the shorter, more coincise pieces in the 2nd one - a series of improvisation with a simple idea at the nucleon, a short phrase, a repetitive groove, a timbre or a a rhythm. And the syncronicity is picture perfect as they stop and go and play with the sudden breaks and broken rhythms and call and response like ebbs and flow till the point the only possible reaction is pure laughter (how often does music make you laugh with pure enjoyment?).

Improvising musicians meet with other improvising musicians to well .... improvise quite often (cause that's what they do) but I'd daresay that they rarely tick so quickly and so well both in rhythm and melody as did Viktor, Clayton and Macio yesterday. Which hopefully will make this event much more than just a "project" or a "collaboration" but will make this three a regular trio. For possible future enjoyment. 

Viktor Toth - alto sax, flutes
Clayton Thomas - double bass, objects
Macio Moretti - drums

Barka. Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012. 25.10.2012

ps. as there are no audio-visual materials available from the concert (for now), I invite you to have a listen to this playlist featuring fragment's of most recent cd by Viktor "Popping Bopping".

All Included at Alchemia; Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012 (18.10)

Only one day before Martin Kuchen would hypnotise the audience in Alchemia with his minimalistic vision of a solo performance. All Included instead is a fully energetic free jazz ensemble where the veteran gathers together young talents of Scandinavian scene.

Martin Kuchen - Hellstorm [Mathka] / Martin Kuchen at Alchemia (17.10)

I remember seeing Martin Kuchen in Alchemia couple of years back with another solo performance. A  most memorable performance which  stuck with me for all this time. It wasn't exclusively about the music - Kuchen would utter sounds playing on the saxophone's body with an electric toothbrush, a shortwave radio, I think there was also a ping-pong ball involved. 

Kuchen's music is woven with sinusoidal lines of sounds that are hardly recognizable. While the occasional melodic line appears (scattered and distorted), most of the times there is none, but rather all the  usually circumstancial aspects become the real substance - you will hear, as clear as if it were inside your head - a tap of the fingers, a slap of the tongue, a whisper, a hiss, a purr, a cry, a squeal, a stream of air flowing through the rusty metallic textures of the instrument, muted and resonated by the conic tubes (which on the occasion of the yesterda's concert in Alchemia were the only additional accessory).

Martin Kuchen - Hellstorm [Mathka 2012]

Strapped and bare, the sounds circle in a oscillating cycles, creating abstract black and white landscapes. This is a solitary music of an eremite, a sorrow cry in a wilderness, a song of a deserted landscape where everything stays pretty much the same while all kinds of internal variations occur at the micro or even nano-level.

Kuchen builds an acoustic enviroment around the silence, and it seems that there's nothing in the middle except white noise or looped whispers, while all kind of phenomenons are happening around, under, over and beside. It's a wanderer's music that let's your mind wander and drift along.

The concert in Alchemia was also an occasion to introduce his new LP released by Krakow - based Mathka label and I invite you wholeheartedly to have a listen to a piece presented below as well as the the one included in the previous radio playlist. 

Kuchen's vision is incredibly coherent, his approach to the solo performance so unique that it's difficult to give any kind of an evaluation.
I don't know if his process will convince you the way it did convince me, but I can gurantee you it's as singular and intriguing as possible. A one of a kind. You have to hear for yourself if it's the kind you like.

the LP is present in this radio playlist.

Martin Kuchen - alto sax, baritone sax
Alchemia. Krakow Autumn Jazz 2012. 17.10.2012

Jazz Alchemist Radio 15.10 with Jelly Roll Morton, Andrew Drury and others

First program of the season will start with a stomp as we celebrate the anniversary of Jelly Roll Morton (20th. October 1890) - the self-procclaimed creator of jazz music. 

Aside from that I'd like to present to you excerpts from the "A Momentary Lapse" by Andrew Drury - a striking set of modern jazz, brilliantly composed and performed. 

Two of the "Six Philosphical Games" by Olbrzym i Kurdupel serve also as an invitation to the Gadecki/Mazur/Murray concert - this Sunday at Literki.

As well as two pieces from the recent "Hellstorm" release by Mathka - a Martin Kuchen's solo album to remind you about his concert this Wednesday and subsequent evening with his quintet All Included (both at Alchemia, more info about the concerts in the Krakow Autumn Jazz Program).

Hope you'll like it

Jelly Roll Morton

1. Jelly Roll Morton - King Porter Stomp
2. Air - King Porter Stomp
3. Andrew Drury - Copalis
4. Olbrzym i Kurdupel - Get into a hot bathtube
5. Andrew Drury - The Schwartzes
6. Olbrzym i Kurdupel - Sit comfortably in a chair
7. Martin Kuchen - Ritual Deformation
8. Andrew Drury - Vaxjo Kollektiv
9. Martin Kuchen - Sarajevo
10. Jelly Roll Morton - Buddy Bolden's Blues
11. Air - Buddy Bolden's Blues

Jazz Alchemist Radio 15.10.2012 with J.R. Morton, A. Drury, M. Kuchen i T. Gadecki by Jazzowy Alchemik on Mixcloud

Mikolaj Trzaska at Alchemia on 09.10 (Krakow Jazz Autumn) preview

Mikolaj Trzaska, photo by K. Penarski

Mikolaj Trzaska appears often on this blog, I've already praised his solo concerts on the occasion of Poznan Tzadik Festival 2011, the Midrasz Lab at Cheder Cafe as well as summed up briefly the evening that ended the last year's edition of the festival. 

I don't want to repeat too often how much I appreciate Trzaska's music, so there won't be any post-factum review, instead I'd like to invite you wholeheartedly to come this tuesday to Alchemia and listen.

As a preview I invite you to check the interview I did with Mikolaj on the occasion of the last year's concert at Alchemia:

bi-lingual version : part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6

audio excerpts

the interview will be also re-pubslihed for polish readers on jazzarium.