...trio is characterized with freedom and peculiar talkativeness, which, according to their needs, allow them to poor a thick brew of red - hot sounds over the listeners heads.
Trzaska / Friis / Uuskyla Unforgiven North
Label: Kilogram Records 2004 Catalogue No: KG 08 Format: CD
1. Hot Curry 2. Mild Mahora 3. Hydro Symphonic 4. Bactrian 5. During the night 6. Tradition One
Line-up:
Mikolaj Trzaska - alto saxophone & bass clarinet Peter Friis Nielsen - bass Peeter Uuskyla - drums
Recorded:
April 2004 at the Mechanik Club, Gdansk, Poland
About:
Mikolaj Trzaska - saxophonist, bass clarinetist. Born 1966 in Gdansk; co- founder of the cult group Milosć, leader of Loskot, member of Oles /Trzaska/ Oles trio, revered as the most interesting jazz ensemble in Poland; co- founder of the famous yass scene. Currently considered one of the top Polish jazz musicians. Trzaska is also a composer of film and theatre music, known for his independent standpoint and unconventional attitude towards music. Trzaska has collaborated with such stars as Lester Bowie, Tomasz Stanko, Jean Luc Cappozzo, Noël Akchoté, Marcin and Bartlomiej Oles, Adam Pieronczyk, Leszek Mozdzer.
Peter Friis Nielsen - bassist. Born 1948 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Leading bass player of the international improvised music scene. Has performed and recorded with such greats as John Tchicai and Evan Parker. Also cooperated with Marilyn Mazur, (a drummer popular in Poland) as well as with Louis Moholo, Kenneth Knudsen, Lotte Anker, Hasse Poulsen, Jesper Zeuten, Pierre Dorge.
Peeter Uuskyla - drummer. Born in 1951, Goeteborg, Sweden. One of the leading improvised music drummers in Scandinavia. Has cooperated and recorded with artists such as Cecil Taylor, a famous American free- jazz pianist, as well as with the following bassists: Barre Phillips, Peter Kowald, Bengt Frippe Nordstrom, Bjorn Alke, Karin Krog, Anders Jormin. Also performs solo which was documented on two CD's. Peter Friis and Peeter Uuskyla from a regular rhythm section for Peter Brötzmann, a popular German saxophonist.
Reviews:
Mikolaj Trzaska is arguably the only yass scene representative who seems to consciously and consequently cultivate pure jazz traces of his musical interests. It is beyond doubt that he does it with artistic excellence. Album after album, the musical language constituents of this saxophonist - natural have been astonishingly enriched, sublimed and individual. At the same time he has almost given up his pseudo-dadaist pranks and sonic clap - trap on behalf of raw and refined art of free improvisation, exercised most willingly in the elementary trio formula. Three albums recorded with Oles brothers confirmed Trzaska being of the Polish jazz Premier Ligue. Unforgiven North, a record documenting his cooperation with an excellent Peter Brötzmann rhythm section is a step in the direction of the European Champions Ligue where the saxophonist can stand aside Krzysztof Komeda and Tomasz Stanko. Already with the first composition, the trio pour their emotional heat, the temperature of which approaches “Sunship of the famous Coltrane’a. in its best moments. The rhythm section plays a very important part here, playing in the manner so distant from the contemplative and ascetic Oles style. The harsh sounding, Peter Friss Nielsen amplified bass seems extremely dynamic, Peter Uskyyla’s drumming joins vitality and inclinations to break unified pulsation with great rigor ensuring continuity and logic of musical narration. The Scandinavian rhythm section creates the form so thick and consistent that it could be a layer on its own. However, on the surface, a brilliant saxophone part by Trzaska is developed. Moved by great temperament of his Nordic friends, he gives a display of his current skills, which astoundingly overcome his best achievements from the era of Milosć and Loskot. The minimalist Oles - Trzaska - Oles trio formula seemed to slightly restrain the leader’s melodic inventiveness. Here Trzaska conjures unlimited number of beautiful and original phrases marked with his specific, sublimed sentimentalism, which only at moments gives way to showy clamor. Such brewed, energetic free jazz fills most of the album space, at the same time being its most moving moments. Musicians of such class however also paid attention to the concert dynamics, introducing more contemplating, slow compositions where they emphasized sonic values. Nielsen’s ‘dirty’ bass sounds exceptionally well during such moments which corresponds with Trzaska’s somewhat naturalist bass clarinet. Music of the highest European standards. Michal Mendyk (www.radio.com.pl)
*****
Unforgiven North is a recording of a concert which took place in April 2004 at the Gdansk Mechanik club. I hope that saxophonist and clarinetist Mikolaj Trzaska, bassist Peter Friis Nilsen and drummer Peter Uuskyla started a long lasting cooperation with this record and that other recordings of the trio will follow. Trzaska is in my opinion saxophonist no.1 in Poland A.D. 2004, due to his seemingly unlimited creativity as well as constant strive towards development and exploration. He found perfect place in cooperation with the Scandinavian musicians. His melodic and extravert alto saxophone as well as somewhat melancholic bass clarinet constantly move the music forward, finding base and counterweight in parts of electric bass and drums, at one time speaking with one voice, at other times seemingly moving away, which they do only to complement each other. It must be added here that not only Friis and Uuskyla understand each other well, also Trzaska seems to be speaking the same language. The whole trio is characterized with freedom and peculiar talkativeness, which, according to their needs, allow them to poor a thick brew of red - hot sounds over the listeners heads. Unfortunately, in some cases they overdid it, perhaps not with the temperature, but with the size. In my opinion, shortening a few compositions would be a good move. Long pieces make the musicians lose their way, motifs inadequate to the whole structure appear as well as traces leading in strange places, seemingly with no way out. Obviously, musicians with such experience and talent find a solution somehow but was it worth to make listeners feel uneasy? As I mentioned before, “Unforgiven North is a live recording, a fourth meeting of the band in the process of formation. I think it would have been a better idea to compile the best fragments of different performances or studio sessions, possibly waiting until the trio is completely shaped. In my opinion, “Unforgiven North is a good record but some fragments suggest that it could have been excellent, which makes this album a lost chance. On the other hand I am waiting for following records of the band which will make me look at this one from another angle, not worrying that they were unable to record the trio in its full blossom, but will feast on what the album contains. Tadeusz Kosiek (Gaz-Eta)
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