Suite for Trio + recorded with Luc-Cappozzo possesses a haunting and charming quality that has matured like a good wine to become- with passing of time - richer in taste and flavor.
Oles/Trzaska/Oles & Jean-Luc Cappozzo
Suite For Trio
Label: Fenomedia
Catalogue No: FM01
Format: CD
Tracks:
1. Freetan [03:36]
2. Suite For Trio + [11:26]
3. JLC [09:17] c
4. Budmo [04:13]
5. 5-5 [04:22]
6. Bolero Stefana [05:19]
7. N-ju [06:21]
8. Urodzaj [07:08] composed by Oles/Trzaska/Oles/Cappozzo
All compositions by Bartlomiej Brat Oles except Bolero Stefana by Marcin Oles / Mikolaj Trzaska, and Urodzaj composed by Oles/Trzaska/Oles/Cappozzo
Line up:
Jean-Luc Cappozzo - trumpet, fluegelhorn
Mikolaj Trzaska - alto saxophone, bassoon clarinet
Marcin Oles - double bass
Bartlomiej Brat Oles - drums
Recorded:
at Studio Radio Wroclaw, on February 27, 2003
What the critics say:
Better late than never. This album was released about two years ago, but I managed to get hold of it just now, so it can still get a review, and with reason. I have expressed my appreciation for the Polish twin brothers Marcin Oles (bass) and Bartlomiej Oles (drums) before, and with this album they climb even higher in my esteem. Their fellow countryman Mikolaj Trzaska plays sax to form their usual trio, and Frenchman Jean-Luc Cappozzo now also joins on trumpet. I had never heard of Cappozzo, and I'm glad I do now, because he is really excellent in this free musical environment, which is surprising for someone who apparently learned to play in the French army. This is the kind of free jazz that I like the most : free improvisation on a structured basis, creative, rhythmic, soft and intense. Listen to the title track : a unisono melody of sax and trumpet on a slow Eastern rhythm, out of which the trumpet frees itself for a beautiful solo, then the whole thing evolves into a bass solo by Marcin Oles, and believe me, this guy is among the best you can hear on the instrument these days, both pizzi and arco. His touch is both elegant and powerful, his improvisations melodic and creative (his solo bass album "Ornette On Bass" is also worth checking out). "JLC" starts with solo trumpet, then the band joins with some dissonant interplay, followed by arco bass which move into a folkish melody which could have been written by Henri Texier. "Budmo" is a slow, sad and gloomy piece, which stands in strong contrast to the next one,"5-5", a funky up-tempo rhythm fest, with amongst others a stunning duet between trumpet and drums, which then evolves into a variation of Ravel's bolero, with the well-known slightly dancing rhythm. Mikolaj Trzaska, on bass clarinet, is the star of this track. You could say that Trzaska is almost the opposite of Peter Brötzmann : he is a very sensitive sax player with a velvet tone, although he can do some fierce and outside blowing if needed, but it always remains elegant. An I think that word sums up the whole musical style of this album. The last track, "Urodzaj", starts with flutes in a kind of jungle atmosphere, with light trumpet blasts, reminiscent of Don Cherry and Codona, but then Marcin Oles comes on the stage with a wonderful bass line and he takes the whole band along into a beautiful melody with trumpet and sax alternatingly in unisono and counterpoint, fantastic, but too short, too short, too short... This is free music that is not aggressive, music that is accessible even if you haven't heard this kind of approach before. Anyone with interest in jazz will appreciate this album. It's rhythmic, melodic, great mastering of the instruments, great interplay. A real treat. Don't miss it!
(freejazz-stef blogspot)
******
Going from recorded strength to strength it's become apparent that it's time for Poland's Oles brothers to take up the North American challenge. This isn't an Americentric view of jazz - which say that real improv is only practiced stateside. It's just that bassist Marcin Oles and drummer Bartlomiej "Brat" Oles are such advanced players that everyday exposure to North American improvisers on their home turf, for at least a few weeks, would provide beneficial musical testing. Although visitors such as American saxophonists David Murray and Ken Vandermark as well as German reedists Rudi Mahall and Emmanuelle Somer have recorded with the two, somehow the absolute highest level of improv isn't often reached. Take SUITE FOR TRIO +, which appears to be more forbidding than it sounds. Although it's another high-class Freebop session from the duo plus guests, something seems lacking. This time the non-Polish guest is French trumpeter and fluegelhornist Jean-Luc Cappozzo, known for his work with clarinetist Louis Sclavis and pianist Sophia Domanchich. Fourth player is Mikolaj Trzaska, on alto saxophone and bass clarinet. A veteran who has worked with trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, the Oles/Trzaska/Oles trio is another of the brothers' regular formations. Trzaska's resonated pitch vibrations on SUITE aren't as low energy as on his last outing with the Oleses, but coupled with Cappozzo's sometimes legit-sounding brassiness, the proceedings seem a little disconnected. Throughout, by accident or design, a few of the tracks seem to start with uncoordinated trills and noodling from the horns, only to be brought to fruition by the elevated rhythmic sense of the bassist and drummer. This is particularly apparent on the reedist's own "Urodzaj", which vibrates with tweeting aviary-like coos and a pulsating accordion-like sonic, no doubt produced by extended reed and brass techniques and sul poticello bass expressions. Eventually the loping bounce of the bass and drums kick in to add some rhythmic thrust before proceedings get completely somnolent. On the other hand the tunes composed by one - usually "Brat" - or another of the Oles at least move with a straightforward sort of West Coast swing, often decorated with brassy triplets or tremolo flashing grace notes from Cappozzo. "Bolero", for instance is a pulsating "Caravan"-type line built on a restrained Arabic air leaked from Trzaska's mostly coloratura bass clarinet. Hocketing split tones from the reedist and brassy tremolo slurs from the trumpeter join with rapid, sawing bass lines and drum top polishing on "JLC". Although dedicated to the brassman the end product could be described as a hard bop mazurka. Then there's "N-Ju", which features vocalized, Harmon-muted wah wahs from Cappozzo harmonized with plucked bull fiddle pedal point and "Brat" channeling Gene Krupa on his tom-toms. The piece ends with another expansion of horn squealing and squeaking on top of a Klezmer-style beat: imagine Art Blakey gigging at a Jewish wedding. Less than 111 minutes long, the composition "Suite for Trio +" balances on a walking bass and the clink of a tambourine resting on top of a foot cymbal. After a unison expression of the theme, Cappozzo's variations involve strained plunger tones and rubato patterning that match Marcin's slip-sliding string exploration. Trzaska squeaking split tones add formal New music gravitas to the proceedings. Notable, but not quiet memorable, this CD confirms that the Oles brothers need more challenges.
(Jazzword.com)
Suite for Trio + pairs innovative Free Jazz French trumpeter Jean-Luc Cappozzo with the esteemed Polish jazz trio of saxophonist Mikolaj Trzaska and brothers bassist Marcin Oles and drummer Bartlomiej Brat Oles. The drummer wrote most of the pieces, and although there is a substantial amount of improvisation, the performances heard here are carefully structured, with tight harmonies that encompass a style something akin to an updated version of the early collaborations between Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. Cappozzo spits and jags across moving targets with a commanding presence (Think of Paul Smoker), incorporating recent innovations on the instrument. Cappozzo's solos are never static, so that even at his most abstract, his blowing appears purposeful Trzaska wails with the best, as he shows when sharing the melody with the trumpeter on "Budmo" or when exhibiting a sensitive side on bass clarinet on "Bolero Stefana." Trzaska is the more conservative voice, yet a good foil for the trumpeter, as evidenced on the slow, winding, beguiling though haunting shadows of "Bolero Stefana," a piece that begs to be heard repeatedly and that taunts with an uncommon allure. The Oles brothers take the cake both for their superb group support and for the high quality of Bart's writing. The Polish jazz scene began to flex its muscles and stretch just after the turn of the Twenty-First century , this recording being one sign of the extraordinary creativity emanating from that Eastern European country.
(All Music Guide)
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