Resonance finale at Manghha - Krakow Autumn Jazz 24.11

It's been 6 years since Resonance was born on Alchemia's stage. Born first as an idea by Krakow Autumn Jazz Festival's director, then on the paper as Ken Vandermark would prepare the music for the artists he and Marek have invited, but truly brought into existence during a week of daily rehearsals and improvised concerts in the evening. 

The group is now the only orchestra Vandermark leads. Territory Band would focus on more experimental forms and fully improvisational Chicago Tentet (where Ken is almost often named the co-leader along Peter Brotzmann and Mats Gustafsson), Resonance, in my ears, was a truly jazz orchestra with a big sound, gritty grooves and plenty od Mingus, Evans or even Ellington, even if Vandermark's vision is fully dedicated to the presence of improvised music.

Postermczak - Szpura duo / Imprographic Quartet - Polish Jazz at Alchemia (Krakow Autumn Jazz 23.11)

A day off for Ken Vandermark and Resonance during a week of heavy workload. Saturday at Alchemia was a polish jazz evening, a presentation of some of the most talented and active musicians on the scene. Alhough Krakow Autumn Jazz festival have never focused on music played by polish artists, it did keep track though of some of the most interesting musicians and there would always be a polish ingredient in the festival's mix.

Resonance day 4 at Alchemia - Krakow Autumn Jazz 22.11

The last of the four days with Resonance at Alchemia, but not the last meeting with music during the week. Polish jazz scene will be presented Saturday evening (Pawel Szpura & Pawel Postaremczak duo; Piotr Damasiewicz Imprographic Quartet). The Resonance orchestra will return on Sunday for the final concert at Manggha to present the results of the rehearsals held during last few days.
A brief summary of friday events at Alchemia:

Day 4

Set I

Per-Ake Holmlander - Tim Daisy
Tuba and drums is definitely not your usual jazz duo, but such boundaries are not really of importance in improvised music. Per-Ake employs his repertoire of bubbling and gurgling sounds and Tim spices it up with some tricks from his own bag (literally, taking out a different set of mallets, pocket radio and else). The most entertaining and surprising part of the set is when Per-Ake treats his tuba as a drumset of his own - a percussive fiesta alltogether with Tim. 

Resonance at Alchemia days 2 and 3 - Krakow Autumn Jazz 20-21.11

The week continues with more powerfull music, more crazy fun dj sets (Tim, Christoff and Ken would control the setlist for the afterparties), more drinks (surprising few mad dogs being drunk this year). Here's a brief summary of the 2nd and 3rd day with Resonance:

Day 2

Set I

Steve Swell – Waclaw Zimpel – Tim Daisy

A dynamic interaction between the three, one that let you appreciate both melodic and hectic side of improvised music.  The melodic - that would be for the most part the domain of Waclaw's clarinet, Steve countered those lines with trombone rambling, but there would be some parts where all three musicians would just kick it up a notch. The adventurous set closes with a primal ethno-passage with both Steve and Waclaw plaing wooden shepeherd flutes.

Resonance day 1 at Alchemia - Krakow Autumn Jazz Festival (19.11)

I've been offline last couple of days but I'll try to catch up quick- Resonance is back in Krakow. A group born 6 years ago on the festival transformed from a festival project into a regular group and a whole matrix of possible musical combinations. 

The alchemia evenings are exaclty that - an (al)chemistry laboratory of improvisation in a way, trying out all the possible combinations of x elements taken from y-large group. Here's the brief round-up of the first night:

Day 1

Set I

Magnus Broo – Mark Tokar – Tim Daisy

Freewheeling session with strong pulse, heavy bass tone and panache flurry trumpet flights. As groovy as abstract (Mark would massage and tap the bass as if it was a drum instrument). You can hear the enthusiasm and joy of meeting but most of all the level of communication between the trio's members (includin a semi-conducted drums-trumpet „cuts” during the monstrous bass solo). Strong set to kick off the week.

Krakow Concert Schedule 18-24.11 / Resonance at Krakow Autumn Jazz

The main story of the next week is you get into a six-night marathon of improvised music with some of the most creative musicians of the genre.

Resonance was created 5 years as a special project commissioned by the Krakow Autumn Jazz Festival and brought together musicians from Poland, Ukraine, Sweden and States (Chicago and New York). One week of performances and rehearersals (documented on the Resonance 10cd boxset released by the Not Two Records) has transformed this group of musicians into a band which have continoued to evolve.

This will be their third residency in Krakow and, as both previous ones, it promises a whole world of music to Krakow audience. The setlist below might help you to choose the nights according to your preferences but it seems like to miss any of this is a capital crime if you're into improvised music.

Nu Ensemble final concert at Maghha (Krakow Autumn Jazz) 12.10

Gustafsson's ability to lead bands as well as play in the orchestras (Chicago Tentet, London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Barry Guy New Orchestra) is well documented but I must admit I did not know what to expect of him leading such a big ensemble (although Fire! Orchestra project did promise a lot). I had a sneak of what's about to happen on saturday during one of the weekdays as I could overhear the band practice, excitement is the word. 

NU Ensemble presented one extended multimedia piece, the main axe of it being the two solos by Stine J Motland who was simply spectacular and

Nu Ensemble at 8th Krakow Jazz Autumn - day IV (11.10)

The fourth and the final of the Alchemia evenings was so packed that it seems impossible to me to fit the whole in a single post but I'll try to do a telegraphic one.

Set I 

Once again a solo + duo + solo formula. Dieb13 appears on stage behind 5 (!) turntables, the music is a mirage of loops, electronic noises, acoustic samples. A marriage of analogue sounds in a digital world. Impressive sense of drama and tension and technical mastery in managing the five different sources contemporaneously.

Peter Evans and Per-Ake Holmlander

Peter Evans and Per-Ake Holmlander started off with a series of burps on the horns but this time the real pleasure was to hear Peter Evans playing in the more "traditional" free-jazz vein, with wild runs trumpet flights (l had an immage of a hunter playing his bugle, with the steadier tuba walkig by heavily).

Nu Ensemble at 8th Krakow Jazz Autumn - day III (10.10)

The week continues with more solos, duos, trios and one quite large ensemble in the middle. 

Set I
You might think that piano is a keyboard instrument. It ain't necessarily so, Augusti Fernandez for his solo performance doesn't even stand beside the keys but hunches above the strings from the other side of the instrument. The effects are haunting and dark, the music full of suspense, Augusti plays on the strings with bare hands and variety of objects, plucking and scratching to create a variety of mysterious sounds and echoes. 

Nu Ensemble at 8th Krakow Jazz Autumn - day II (09.10)

The second chapter of the five-days marathon with Nu Ensemble showed yet another faces (masks?) of modern improvisatoin.

The evening begins with the polish representation: Dominik Strycharski and Rafal Mazur duo, both names familiar to the followers of the local and national free improv scene. Characteristic sound of Rafal's acoustic bass guitar fills low registers with a magmatic and dense flow. Dominik Strycharski plays on the stage a variety of wooden flutes and brings forward sound that combines emotional characteristic of human voice, and trance echoes of tribal ethno. The circling lines expose both contrast and consonance of the two instruments, with the extremes being the most effective – with high register whistles, piccolo flute and eerie suspended sounds of the bowed strings on one end and heavy stomps of the bass flute and blurried bass lines on the other. A worthy presentation of how vibrant the polish scene is, though it felt to me that both the audience and the musicians needed a warm – up, the further they went, the better was the chemistry.

Joe McPhee

The second set once again is divided into solo + duo + solo fragments. Joe McPhee begins his

performance with the pocket trumpet in hand, creating an quasi-electronic musical landscape filled with breath, whisper and hushing sounds. Once he switches to tenor sax all his maestry and richness of the experiences of life and art is in full evidence. His playing is profoundly emotional and the feeling is palpable. Within not even half hour Joe Mcphee tells with his own sounds the story of american black music. You'll hear echoes of Mississippi, Harlem, Broadway, New Orlean. You'll hear the longing for freedom hidden in the old negro spirituals songs, soulfull tone, haunting melodies cut by an ayleresque scream, the whole history of jazz sax. A true professor.

Jon Rune Strom and Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten

The second performance in this part of the evening is Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten and Jon Rune Strom duo so it's a double double bass heavyweight match. Those two to do not joke around. They have no mercy for their instruments. The strings are being struck, torn, bent, pulled, plucked, bowed, scratched with gypsy-like passion and gusto. The intensity is overthrilling so they cool down a few times, take a very short breath and began another furious crescendo with the ferocious light-speed high tones bowing being the most impressive one. Downright brutal and damn impressive.

The last one in the set to step on stage is Christer Bothen with the bass clarinet. His musical narration is poetic, subtle, minimalistic and all the musical action would happen somewhere hidden, under, behind, beside the note – within the whisper, the natural rhythm of inhale-exhale – with all the long sustained sounds and circular phrases disapperaing one into other, echoing in space. Music dense and mysterious as misty fog above the water, an hour before the dawn, sounds coming from unknown close or distand sources, some of it merely immagined.

Mats Gustafsson, Augusti Fernandez, Peter Evans

Third set brings on stage the trio EFG – Peter Evans, Augusti Fernandez and Mats Gustafsson. This is music of liberated sounds, freely placed into the space and time, found in the archives of the lost and found sounds. Sounds scary abstract and highly intellectual right? Fortunately Gustafsson's eloquence (and it count for the other two as well) never stops him from acting like a mischievous villain on stage. EFG is hellishly abstract but also bursting with energy, spontanous combusionts and musical chain reactions.

Augusti Fernandez stays throughout under the piano panel, creating a horror soundtrack, Gustafsson sax and the other thing (kind of a slide, metal flute?!) screams, kicks and punch while Peter Evans kinda mimicks Donald Duck with his trumpet. No matter what, the class of the musicians, their understanding of the musical direction, dramaturgy of narration makes so that they not only create the chaos but then thay master it as riders of the Apocalypse. The instruments are not there to play notes, notes are of secondary importance. There are only sounds.

More pictures by Krzysztof Penarski available on the photofreejazzblog

Set I

Dominik Strycharski - wooden flues; Rafal Mazur - acoustic bass guitar

Set II

Joe McPhee - tenor saxophone, pocket trumpet

Jon Rune Strom, Ingebright Haker-Flaten - double bass

Christer Bothen - bass clarinet

Set III

EFG

Peter Evans - trumpet, pocket trumpet; Augusti Fernandez - piano, objects; Mats Gustafsson - saxophones

Nu Ensemble week at Krakow Autumn Jazz. Alchemia. 09.10.2013

Nu Ensemble at 8th Krakow Jazz Autumn - day I (08.10)

Autumn has arrived and with it the Jazz Autumn Festival in Kraków. It took three years to bring back Nu Ensemble together, some of the musicians in the group have visited Krakow on many occasions before, few came to Alchemia for the first time and they all received a warm welcome from the full crowd audience.

Paulina Owczarek and Tomek Gadecki

Differently to the weeks with Resonance and Barry Guy New Orchestra, the program scheduled for the week has a strong focus on solo and duo performances, with the last set reserved for a bigger group. The new element is the presentation of the polish improv scene and the honor of launching the festival was given to Paulina Owczarek and Tomek Gadecki - SamBar duo. Two baritone saxophones filled the musical space with intriguing sonoristic effects, smoothly exchanging "rhythmic" and "melodic" roles and exploring the unexpected possibilites of the instruments. Coincise and rewarding performance.

The second set was introduced with a short minirecital by Stine J Motland with (as Mats would say afterwards) "some kind of vocal".

Krakow Concert Schedule 06-13.10 / Nu Ensemble at Krakow Autumn Jazz 2013 Festival

This the moment many of the free jazz lovers in Krakow have been waiting for a long time. Autumn has officialy begun! 5 evenings with Nu Ensemble make fill pretty much the whole week but there still are some more options to choose from. This is a long list, you may get dizzy.

06.10 Traces, Shreds, Hints at Klub Re
"Ślady, Strzępy, Wskazkówki" is a performance that combines improvised sounds, words, gestures and movements. Not exactly the lazy sunday afternoon kind of thing, it's a promise.


Traces, Shreds, Hints from Anna Trzewiczek on Vimeo.

8th Krakow Autmn Jazz Festival starts on 8.10!!!

Last couple of posts I've been inviting you to various places for a variety of great short and long jazz festivals. I'ts high time to invite you to Krakow to follow the 8th Krakow Jazz Autumn Festival.

During 8 years with Krakow Jazz Autumn the audience had a chance to seen some unforgettable concerts and a number of brilliant artists, both young cats as well as famed veterans of the stage, some of whom become a frequent visitors in the cellar's of Alchemia club. Many of the concerts have been recorded and released by the Not Two records.

Faithful readers of the blog will remember that the whole blogging thing started during the 2010 Autumn Jazz Festival, as I decided to post daily about a week with the Barry Guy New Orchestra.

8th Krakow Jazz Autumn sports a very coincise yet a reach and intensely-packed program with two week-long events at its core. 

Couple of years back (5 if I'm not mistaken) a Festival introduced a special formula - a big group would rehearse during the day, musicians would play improvised concerts in small combos in the evenings, with one final orchestra performance on the final night. 

The success of the formula produced more events of a sort in the following years, including the above mentioned series with Barry Guy and his New Orchestra. A member of which is one fellow named Mats Gustafsson. 

To start off with a big bang, the 8th festival will gather together the Nu Ensemble a band under Gustafsson's direction, that includes such giants of modern improvisation as Augusti Fernandez, Joe McPhee, Peter Evans and Paal Nilssen-Love to name just a few, a band that will be reunited on one stage for the first time after 8 years! The details of the week's program are already available on the festival's site and I will include them in the weekly concert's schedule.

The project that 5 years introduced the festival's formula was Resonance that gathers musicians from Ukraine, Poland, Sweden and States (Chicago and New York) under the direction of Ken Vandermark. The band thus born performed and recorded more material over the next years, including an appearance on the Chicago Jazz Festival that resulted in the "Kafka in Flight" release. The band's return to Krakow in November constitues the second main event of this year's festival.

The two weeks are to be considered the main musical courses for the hungy ears. For the appetizers and the dessert there are three additional concerts (Matthew Shipp / Mat Walerian M-Theory Project; Gaia Mattiuzzi & Francesco Cusa; Clayton Thomas / Christian Marien / Gerard Lebik trio).

You can obviously count on Jazz Alchemist blog being there to keep nagging at you so you'd come down to Krakow, Alchemia's cellar, You won't be dissapointed.