Air Condition – Polish Radio Jazz Archives Vol. 28 (2017)

Air Condition

Zbigniew Namysłowski - saxophone
Wojciech Gogolewski - piano
Marek Bliziński - guitar
Jan Cichy - bass
Adam Lewandowski - drums

Polish Radio Jazz Archives Vol. 28


POLSKIE RADIO 2060

By Adam Baruch

This is the twenty-eighths installment in the series of releases initiated by the Polish Radio, which presents archive Jazz recordings from the radio vaults. Radio recordings are always a fabulous source of remarkable material, and as far as Polish Jazz history is concerned, the Polish Radio, which was a state monopoly for 45 years, recorded over time a plethora of invaluable material, which apart from the albums released by the Polskie Nagrania record company (also a state monopoly), is the only available additional source of Polish Jazz recordings. For many years Polish Radio recorded concerts presented during Poland's most important Jazz venues, including the annual Jazz Jamboree Festival and many other festivals as well.

The tracks presented here were recorded live in October 1983 during the twenty-fifth edition of Jazz Jamboree Festival in Warsaw and present the quintet led by one of the Godfathers of Polish Jazz, saxophonist Zbigniew Namysłowski, called Air Condition, which also included pianist Wojciech Gogolewski, guitarist Marek Bliziński, bassist Jan Cichy and drummer Adam Lewandowski. The quintet performs seven original compositions, all composed by Namysłowski.

Namyslowski is one of the very few Polish Jazz musicians who have appeared consistently on the local scene since the 1950s and kept their music up to date over time, pioneering trends and new developments. Over the years his many groups featured the ever young talents of the heart and soul of the Polish Jazz community. This recording is a great document of that phenomenon, showing Namysłowski's Air Condition group, which was active in the early 1980s, recorded several excellent albums and toured worldwide. Although the group changed its lineup quite often, it was always excellent. This particular lineup recorded only one studio album, which was only released in Greece, which makes this recording especially valuable. For Namysłowski's many fans around the world and Polish Jazz enthusiasts this is an absolute must!

The beautifully restored sound quality is excellent and the warm ambience of the analog recording is a true joy. As usual with this series, which is very reasonably priced, I miss the presence of "in depth" liner notes/booklet, which should convey the circumstances at which this music was recorded and its importance to the development of Jazz in Poland. Nevertheless this is an absolutely essential piece of Jazz history which every Jazz fan will surely consider an absolute must.

Ewa Bem – Tribute To Marek Bliziński (2015)

Ewa Bem

Ewa Bem - vocals
Marek Bliziński - guitar
Janusz Strobel - guitar
Jan Borysewicz - guitar
Jarosław Śmietana - guitar
Wojciech Waglewski - guitar
Jose Torres - percussion

Tribute To Marek Bliziński


POLSKIE RADIO 1945-1946

By Adam Baruch

This is a wonderful archival 2CD album by the Polish vocalist Ewa Bem, which she dedicates to the memory of the superb and tragically prematurely departed Polish Jazz guitarist Marek Bliziński, who died from cancer just a few days before his forty second birthday. Bliziński was the first modern Polish Jazz guitarist of international class and for many years during the 1970s and 1980s was considered the top guitarist on the Polish Jazz scene.

Bem and Bliziński recorded together several times as a duo and these recordings were collected on the album "Dla Ciebie Jestem Sobą", released by the Poljazz label, which is reissued here as the first CD of this album. The album consists of eleven songs, nine of which were written by Polish composers and lyricists, and two are standards with lyrics translated into the Polish language. In retrospect, although over three decades have passed since this music was recorded, these songs sound remarkably fresh and sparkling, losing none of their original charm. As noted in the liner notes, these duo recordings were inspired by the Ella Fitzgerald/Joe Pass sessions, which produced four superb albums released in the 1970s and 1980s. Blizinski's virtuosic guitar riffs are beyond reproach, precise and incredibly sensitive, and he proves being not only an exceptional player, but also a most sympathetic musical partner. Bem's youthful energy and obvious talent come to full fruition on this recording, presenting her as fully mature vocalist in complete control of her vocal abilities. Her interpretations of these songs show that she feels comfortably in a Jazz environment, but easily moves into Cabaret and Pop, with the same seriousness and dedication.

The second CD of this album presents a live recording of a concert from 2000, which was a tribute to Bliziński and which presents new versions of the songs originally recorded on the duo album with Bem being accompanied by four Polish guitarists: Jan Borysiewicz, Janusz Strobel, Jarosław Śmietana (who sadly also died from cancer in 2013) and Wojciech Waglewski. The vocal/guitar duos are accompanied by percussionist Jose Torres. In addition to the songs from the original album the duos perform also songs written by the guitarists. Everybody seems to be in top form and the music flows splendidly from one song to another with Bem being on top of things at all times. Her vocal abilities are in excellent form during the entire concert and she elegantly moves between genres, whether it is Jazz, Pop or Blues. The entire concert is a very heartfelt tribute to the memory of Blizinski, who of course deserves to be remembered for his invaluable contributions over the years.

The entire album has excellent sound quality and is carefully produced and packaged, bringing back to life an important segment of the Polish Jazz history, and as such is of course most welcome.

Marek Blizinski – Wave (2009) ***

Marek Blizinski - guitar

Pawel Jarzebski - bass

Zbigniew Wegehaupt - bass

Janusz Stefanski - drums
Czeslaw Bartkowski - drums

ANEX 327




By Adam Baruch

This is the only album as a leader recorded by Polish Jazz guitarist Marek Blizinski, who was one of the first Jazz guitar players on the local scene. He was a very in-demand session player and participated in many recordings as well as recording with several groups of which he was a formal member, led by such Polish Jazz luminaries like Michal Urbaniak, Wojciech Karolak, Zbigniew Namyslowski and Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski. He was a brilliant improviser and had a wonderful tone, which ornamented many important Polish Jazz recordings.

His solo career, however, never really took off and this was the only album he managed to release as a leader, before his untimely and tragic death at the age of 42. The album consists of two radio sessions, with Blizinski playing on both in a trio format, first with bassist Pawel Jarzebski and drummer Janusz Stefanski and then with bassist Zbigniew Wegehaupt and drummer Czeslaw Bartkowski. Both these rhythm sections are considered to be among the best ones ever active on the local scene. The album includes seven compositions, all of which are standards.

Although well played, both by Blizinski and the rhythm sections, this album does not present his true abilities and sensitivities and in retrospect is unfortunately much less impressive than it could have been. Playing these standards, which present no true intellectual challenge for these experienced musicians, was a poor decision. His numerous recordings with other artists are much more impressive.

Guitar enthusiasts will obviously find here many beautiful moments of mainstream Jazz, with are every bit as good as those recorded across the pond. Definitely worth remembering!

Side Note: The Poljazz label, which originally released this album, was active for 20 years (between 1972 and 1991) and was owned by the Polish Jazz Society. Considering the fact that the music industry in the Socialist State was centralized and totally controlled, with just one State owned music company producing all the albums, the possibilities to record and release Jazz albums were extremely limited. Poljazz was conceived and founded in order to allow for many more Jazz (and other) albums to be released independently from the State owned Polskie Nagrania / Muza and as such revolutionized the music industry at the time, being the only such enterprise in Eastern Europe. The Polish label Anex reissued many of the original Poljazz albums on CD, bringing this fabulous music back to life.

BemiBem – Bemowe Frazy (Polish Jazz Vol.96 Deluxe, 1974)

Ewa Bem - vocal, precussion

Paweł Dąbrowski - bass

Mariusz Mrockowski - piano, vocal

Tomasz Jaśkiewicz - guitar

Aleksander Bem - percussion, vocal

special guests:

Marek Bliziński - guitar, 12-strings guitar

Jan Jarczyk - Fender piano

Wojciech Kowalewski - percusion, vocal

Zespół Instrumentalny - Tomasz Ochalski - conductor

Bemowe Frazy (Polish Jazz Vol.96 Deluxe, 1974)

This is the only album by the Polish Jazz-Rock ensemble BemiBem, which was formed by the siblings Ewa Bem and Aleksander Bem, both vocalists and percussionists. The group was formed after the ensemble Bemibek fell apart and the Bems remained as leaders of the new one. Aleksander composed nine of the eleven songs included here, which are all very melodic and quite sophisticated. The music is a mixture of Pop, Rock and Jazz, featuring excellent vocal harmonies accompanied by a great band and guest musicians like guitarist Marek Blizinski, pianist Jan Jarczyk and others. The vocal parts are somewhat similar to the style pioneered by the great Polish vocal ensemble NOVI. In retrospect this album is an overlooked gem, almost forgotten, but still sounding great after all these years. Although only marginally Jazz as such, it has a lot of Jazzy influences, which are clearly evident in the arrangement, instrumental backing and overall attitude. Ewa Bem would of course carry on becoming the First Lady of the Polish Jazz in the next decade, with this album being a nice reminder of the times when we were all much younger and innocent. It was an immense fun to listen to this album again after all those years and it remains to be a source of great musical fun. A must!

Track listing:

1. Podaruj mi trochę słońca
2. Bemowe frazy
3. Nie bójmy się wiosny
4. Dlaczego nas tam nie ma
5. Kolorowe lato
6. Nigdy w życiu
7. Podróż bez dziewczyny
8. Już ci nigdy nie przyrzeknę
9. Wędrowiec i Pegaz
10. Zawsze mamy siebie
11. Jajecznica

By Adam Baruch
http://www.adambaruch.com/

Wojciech Kaminski – Open Piano (Polish Jazz Vol.66, 1982)

Wojciech Kamiński - Piano

Zbigniew Jaremko - tenor saxophone
Henryk Majewski - trumpet
Janusz Zabiegliński - alto saxophone, clarinet
Władysław Halik - bass saxophone
Zbigniew Konopczyński - trombone
Marek Bliziński - guitar
Janusz Kozłowski - bass
Jarzy Bartz - drums 

Open Piano (Polish Jazz Vol.66, 1982)

This album by veteran pianist / composer Wojciech Kaminski presents the versatility of the Polish Jazz scene, which at all times presented the entire scope of Jazz music, from Ragtime to Avant-Grade, all of them on a very high artistic level. Kaminski was active on the local scene mainly in the traditional Jazz circles, co-founding such splendid ensembles as Ragtime Jazz Band and Old Timers. He felt most comfortable playing Jazz, which ranges from Ragtime, through Dixieland and into Swing and selected some of the absolutely best local players at the time to accompany him on this album: trumpeter Henryk Majewski, trombonist Zbigniew Konopczynski, saxophonists Zbigniew Jaremko, Janusz Zabieglinski and Wladyslaw Halik, guitarist Marek Blizinski, bassist Janusz Kozlowski and drummer Jerzy Bartz. Kaminski composed five of the ten compositions on this album (the remaining five include four standards and one composition by Zabieglinski). The level of performance is absolutely excellent all the way through and every Jazz fan should be able to enjoy this music for what it stands for: quality and fun! Recommended!

Track listing: 01. Codzienny Blues; 02. Deszczowy Maj; 03. The Wika Rag; 04. The Entertainer; 05. Wchodź po trzech; 06. Autumn Leaves; 07. Ruchome schody; 08. I Wish I Could Shimmy My Sister Kate;
09. Blues Dla Dziewczyny; 10. Jazz Me Blues

By Adam Baruch
www.adambaruch.com

Jan Ptaszyn Wroblewski / Wojciech Karolak – Mainstream (Polish Jazz Vol.40, 1973)

Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski - tenor saxophone

Wojciech Karolak - Hammond organ

Marek Blizinski - guitar
Czeslaw 'Mały' Bartkowski - drums

Mainstream (Polish Jazz Vol.40, 1973)

This album presents a meeting between two Polish Jazz veterans: saxophonist / composer Jan "Ptaszyn" Wroblewski and keyboardist Wojciech Karolak. The two cooperated in various Jazz ensembles since the late 1950s and until mid 1960s and this album marks their reunion in the studio after several years of not playing together due to Karolak's residence in Sweden in the late 1960s / early 1970s. The two are joined by another veteran, drummer Czeslaw Bartkowski, and excellent guitarist Marek Blizinski and together they play six tunes, five of which are standards and one id a Wroblewski original. Karolak plays the Hammond Organ, a sound that would be associated with him for his entire future career, and his passion fro that instrument is clearly evident here. Wroblewski and Blizinski play fire solos and Bartkowski drives the quartet forward at all times. Although typically mainstream, this is still great Jazz, performed with passion and considerable talent, which should be enjoyable to all Jazz connoisseurs. Recommended!

Track listing: 01. I Hear Music; 02. My Favourite Things; 03. Dookoła Wojtek; 04. Walkin'; 05. I got it Bad; 06. It Could Happen To Sou

By Adam Baruch

http://adambaruch.com/

Jan "Ptaszyn" Wroblewski – “Flyin` Lady" (Polish Jazz Vol.55, 1978)

Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski – tenor sax

Marek Bliziński – guitar
Witold Szczurek – bass
Andrzej Dąbrowski – drums

“Flyin` Lady" (Polish Jazz Vol.55, 1978)

This is an excellent album by Polish veteran Jazz saxophonist / composer / arranger / bandleader Jan "Ptaszyn" Wroblewski. One of the great pioneers of the Polish Jazz movement since the 1950s, Wroblewski remained very active on the local scene in many capacities, which included leading his own ensembles, directing the Polish Radio Jazz Studio Orchestra and teaching generations of Polish Jazz musicians. Wroblewski always firmly stood for the Jazz tradition, keeping the mainstream Jazz in Poland on a very high level. He was rarely associated with the Polish Jazz modernists and avoided Free Jazz excursions, even when these were fashionable. Nevertheless his unique and innovative approach to Jazz composition and virtuosic ability as a player make his very extensive legacy an infinite source of superb Jazz moments. This album presents six original compositions by Wroblewski, superbly performed by a quartet, which includes guitarist Marek Blizinski, bassist Witold Szczurek and drummer Andrzej Dabrowski. Blizinski should be noted as one of the greatest Polish guitarists and perhaps the Jazziest one, who avoided getting into Fusion at all costs, keeping his sound in the Wes Montgomery / Barney Kessel tradition. Altogether this is a great example of the versatility of the Polish Jazz scene and its excellence, regardless of the specific sub-genre in question. Highly recommended!

Track listing:  A1. Pastuszek Stomp; A2. Grzmot nad ranem; A3. Bossa Nostra; B1. Pani Ptakowa; B2. Dlaczego małpa...; B3. Licheć Checioł Dana

By Adam Baruch

http://adambaruch.com/

Janusz Muniak – Question Mark (Polish Jazz Vol.54, 1978)

Janusz Muniak - sax

Jerzy Bezucha - drums, percussion
Marek Bliziński - guitar
Andrzej Dechnik - bass
Paweł Perliński - piano, electric piano

Question Mark (Polish Jazz Vol.54, 1978)

This is the debut album as a leader by the great Polish saxophonist / composer Janusz Muniak, one of the forefathers of modern Polish Jazz. His legacy includes the membership in such legendary Polish ensembles as those led by Andrzej Trzaskowski, Krzysztof Komeda and Tomasz Stanko as well as leading his own groups. He is accompanied here by his quintet, which includes pianist Pawel Perlinski, guitarist Marek Blizinski, bassist Andrzej Dechnik and drummer Jerzy Bezucha, all excellent players themselves. Muniak has a completely unique, natural style of improvisation, which is passionate and highly expressive, putting him somewhat aside in a class of his own besides the other distinguished Polish saxophonists, like Zbigniew Namyslowski for example. His compositions incorporate beautifully Polish folklore and the Jazz tradition, often unintentionally, but always brilliantly. This is on of the strongest albums in the legendary Polish Jazz series, which is a very high distinction by any standard. This is a must to lovers of Polish and Eastern-European Jazz and a timeless masterpiece.

Track listing: A1. Przejażdżka walcem [12:10]; A2. Taniec Pawia [07:27]; B1. Obertas [09:50]; B2. Znak zapytania [10:12]

By Adam Baruch

http://adambaruch.com/