R. Majewski sent me his latest album. Sublime.
As I mentioned a month or so ago, while doing a youtube search for Bobo Stenson, I ran across some tracks from Robert Majewski's 2011 album, _My One and Only Love_. Couldn't find it on Amazon, so I wrote to Majewski himself and he said he'd send it, gratis. Well, it finished its five-week trans-Atlantic sojurn yesterday, and it was worth the wait. With Majewski on flugelhorn, and featuring Bobo Stenson (piano), Palle Danelsson (double bass) and Joey Baron (drums), it's been playing pretty much non-stop for since I got it. I really don't know if I have a finer album. What you notice is that, in addition to Majewski's remarkably moving melody lines and improvisations, is the immediate communication between the quartet as a whole. With a song list that includes When I Fall in Love, Body and Soul, My One and Only Love, A Child is Born, The Nearness of You, Ballad for Bernt, Stella by Starlight, Nie Budzcie Mnie, and Never Let Me Go, there's danger in repetition. And to be sure, it's difficult to say why some performances of the standards just sail, and others sink. But if I had to put my finger on the special quality of this album, it's trust: not only trust among the quartet, which is obvious, but also trust in the music. There are no self-advertising pyrotechnics, but neither is there the slightest complacency about these pieces. They manage somehow to make these tunes sound like you're hearing them for the first time. A youtube search will get you a number of tracks, and there are a couple you can listen to on this download site:
http://www.mp3ye.eu/robert-majewski-bobo-stenson-palle-danielsson-joey-baron-m-mp3-download_1134995.html
Here, finally, is the write-up from one of the Youtube pages:
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Published on Sep 7, 2012
My One And Only Love, Zair records 2011
Robert Majewski: fluegelhorn; Bobo Stenson: piano; Palle Danielsson: double bass; Joey Baron: drums.
"My One And Only Love" is an encounter of famous jazz musicians: Polish trumpeter Robert Majewski, known for his unique sound; Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson, co-leader of a legendary quartet with Jan Garbarek; Swedish double bass player Palle Danielsson, part of famed European ensemble of Keith Jarett and American Joey Baron, one of the best drummers in the world, who on daily basis works with artists like John Zorn, Ron Carter or John Abercrombie.
"My One And Only Love", composed mainly of jazz ballads, was registered in mid-December in S4, studio of the Polish Radio in Warsaw. Along with world-famous ballads, the artists recorded also unforgettable Polish themes: "Nie budźcie mnie" of Jeremi Przybora and Jerzy Wasowski and "Ballad for Bernt" of Krzysztof Komeda, known from Polanski's film "Knife in the Water". What is the most curious, the musicians played in such ensemble for the first time (but, as they say, not the last either) and they played live in the same room and without earphones. As a result, we obtain a record with a real concert feeling and a studio quality.
Author of the project and it's music producer is Tomasz Gąssowski, knowed mostly as the composer of scores to Andrzej Jakimowski's films: "Tricks" and "Squint your eyes". The record is published by Zjednoczenie Artystow i Rzemieslnikow -- ZaiR, producer of aforementioned films.
Respect the artists and Zair Records! If you like it, buy this record!
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Highly recommended, to say the least.
