Reviews
JAN HOCEK
JazzPort.cz
Andrzej Winiszewski
Aleksandra Rybak-Żymła
Katowice City of Gardens
Amalia Umeda Quartet - Nowoświt
The material from the debut album Nowoświt by the Amalia Umeda Quartet is characterized by coherent, collective cooperation between the musicians. Each of the performers intuitively opens new levels of sounds and moods, often doing it through unconventional use of their instrument. The use of Amalia's voice to accompany the violin solos emphasizes the coherence of thought and body in the melodies played and sung simultaneously by the artist.
We can clearly find three directions here: a strong style of slavic jazz using the characteristic rhythm and melody of sound (using a bourdon) - an energetic Potion, a "bouncing" Podans or a Prayer that sinks in the mood and evolves in form.
Moreover, very contemporary, atonal games with color in Atonal, open in its form. And something that I personally liked the most - the minimalist trend (in Serpents or the perfect dialogue between the violin and the double bass against the background of the piano "pattern" in Echoism).
The musicians appearing on the album have an outstanding instrumental workshop, each of them has a space to show their artistic individualism in extensive musical forms. It is very encouraging that the leader of the team is a woman who, in coherent partnership with the male part of the team, carries out such a great project. Keep it up!
Andrzej Winiszewski
JazzPress
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Amalia Umeda Quartet - Nowoświt
Amalia Umeda, 2022
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Polish jazz violin is doing well, not to say brilliantly. Especially the last few years prove that we have a real abundance of jazz violinists and violinists. To a large extent, this is probably due to the active activity of the Fundacja im. Zbigniew Seifert and the violin competition organized by him, the laureate of which is also a new face on our jazz market, Amalia Umeda Obrębowska. Thus, she joins the group of improvising Polish jazz violinists - to mention, for example, Dominika Rusinowska (ex - ONE Quintet) or the true visionary Aleksandra Kutrzepa - who definitely refresh today's perception of Polish jazz violin, still orbiting more or less around Seifert.
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Listening to the music from the Nowoświt album for the first time, I got the irresistible impression that the term "jazz music" is fading from year to year in front of our eyes, losing its original meaning, taking on new meanings and meanings. Not that I feel any regret or disappointment about it, no. Amalia Umeda rather intrigues me with her courage, creativity, innovative approach to form and improvisation, and even on stage behavior (Jazztopad 2021). The way he spins his musical story is not boring, interesting, tempting to listen to it again, maybe even enchanting.
It is an ideal example of jazz (or maybe just music?) Of the 21st century, which does not divide, but rather unites everything that is valuable and valuable in the field of artistic activity. In addition, I think Umeda is aware that the music in the band does not happen by itself, and choosing the right partners is sometimes crucial. I am paying particular attention to the choice of Franciszek Raczkowski, an artist with broad stylistic interests, a total pianist, a consummate improviser and a musical erudite. His case is special here. There was no better choice.
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It cannot be denied that Amalia Umeda has, for a debutant, a very clear vision of her music. With such mature creative potential and artistic originality, I expect the artist to make new groundbreaking proposals. May they come ...
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Source: https://www.jazzpress.pl/plyty/amalia-umeda-quartet-nowoswit-rec
The new dawn of Polish jazz?
So this is the debut with a capital D! The Polish band AMALIA UMEDA QUARTET released their first album in April at their own expense under the ubiquitous title "Nowoświt". The recording was made with the help of Polskie Radio 2 (co-producer) and the international program Footprints Europe.
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Violinist and composer Amalia Umeda Obrębowska, as is her full name, began playing the violin at the age of seven. Years later, she felt an urgent, inevitable need to improvise, to devote herself to a risky musical form that would enrich her composed work, enabling her to develop and broaden her musical horizons. Amalia Umeda says: "In music, I especially appreciate the possibility of operating with space, reflecting on various emotional states, building tension and showing what cannot be described with words." She had the pleasure to play on stage with musicians such as Maciej Obara, Jim Black, Miles Perkin and the Atom String Quartet. She is one of the six artists selected for the international program Footprints Europe 2021, thanks to which her quartet released this album and will go on a summer tour in Norway and other Scandinavian countries. Footprints is an extension of the Jazz Connective project, implemented by six European countries (Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, France and Poland) in 2018-2020 to provide an educational program, support and mentoring and a range of other activities for selected artists, agents and organizers
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The quartet's debut album, which also features Franciszek Raczkowski (piano), Michał Aftyka (double bass) and Michał Szeligowski (drums), contains truly illustrative improvised music, inspired by the strength and beauty of nature, emotions, austerity and authenticity of folk music, and various emotional states of a human being . The four improvisers listen to each other, perceive each other mentally and physically, are inspired and work congenially with the dynamics, sound painting, structure and texture of gradually emerging compositions. All compositions are based on an outline of an idea, even a cursory approach to an original idea or theme, so the quartet allows you to change the shape, character and form of the pieces in each performance depending on the current moment, mood, acoustics of the concert space and the energy of the audience.
The quartet was of course in a great mood while recording the album. Each of the ten songs has its own aroma and smell. Fragrances are folk motifs, carrying melancholy and sadness ("On the other side of the dream", "Three chapters about straw feeling"), the then disturbing smell of freejazzowy relaxation ("Atonal"), a mess of passion ("Potion"), raw "Lamentation") , that is, all in one captivating, exciting and changing flow ("Węże", "Podans"). The instrumental performances are mature, dynamic and rich in expression. The leader, of course, dominates; full-blooded, saturated with impressions and emotions sound of the violin, drawing on Polish folklore and contemporary jazz expressions, including free jazz, sometimes complements the harmonious or contrapuntal vocal line, thoughtful, wild and passionate. The essence of femininity is in her game. The pianist plays his full hand and is extremely sensitive to minimalism, Chopin, hard bop and free jazz, and the expression never burns up. The rhythms create flexible polyrhythms in which even the drums can amplify this musical image in a gentle and explosive way, the double bass player often plays the string, intensifying the harmonic density.
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The culmination of the album are the last three songs in which the above-mentioned attributes combine to create a perfect jazz synthesis. Although ballads predominate, there is so much emotion and passion in them that the quartet sometimes has to even master them. However, this creates a huge tension in the musical matter, which, when listening, turns into even tangible tension. The energy does not look explosive, but it is like a trembling current that flows inward not only through the ears, but mainly through the heart. "Echoism" combines minimalism, folklore and Seifert's expression, "MÅ‚ynarsis" romanticism and dense drama (resembling a violin and Ivy Bitt's vocalization) to end with a several-minute long "Prayer", subliminal, but all the more evocative and intoxicating at the same time. A collision of bitterness, fragility, sadness, sinister silence, loneliness, meditation, delirium, furrows, density and tragedy ...
I dare say that with the debut of Amalia Umeda's quartet, a real new dawn of Polish jazz has come!
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source: https://jazzport.cz/2022/06/03/novy-usvit-polskeho-jazzu/
So this is a debut with a capital D! The Polish ensemble AMALIA UMEDA QUARTET released their first album on April at their own expense under the pervasive title "Nowoświt". The recording was made with the help of Polish Radio 2 and the international program Footprints Europe 2021.
Violinist and composer Amalia Umeda Obrębowska, as her full name sounds, started playing the violin at the age of seven. Many years later, she felt an urgent, inescapable need to improvise, to devote herself to a risky musical form that would enrich her composed work, enabling the development and broadening of horizons in music. Amalia Umeda says: "In music, I especially appreciate the opportunity to operate with space, reflect on various emotional states, build tension and illustrate what cannot be described in words." Obara, Jim Black, Miles Perkin or the Atom String Quartet. She is one of six selected artists for the international program Footprints Europe 2021, thanks to which her quartet released this album and will undertake a summer tour of Norway and other Scandinavian countries. Footprints is an extension of the Jazz Connective project, implemented by six European countries (Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, France and Poland) between 2018 and 2020 to provide an educational, support and mentoring program and a range of other activities for selected artists, agents and organizers. .
The quartet's debut album, which also features Franciszek Raczkowski (piano), Michał Aftyka (double bass) and Michał Szeligowski (drums), brings truly illustrative improvised music inspired by the power and beauty of nature, emotion, rawness and authenticity of folk music and various emotional states of man. The four improvisers listen to each other, perceive in mental and physical depth, are inspired and work congenially with the dynamics, sound painting, structure and texture of gradually emerging compositions. All compositions are based on a mere outline, even a cursory shot of the author's idea or theme, so the quartet allows you to change the shape, character and form of the songs in each performance depending on the current moment, mood, acoustics of the concert space and audience energy.
The quartet was obviously in a great mood when recording the album. Each of the ten songs has its own scent and smell. The scents are folk motifs, bearing melancholy and sadness ("The Other Side of Dreams", "Three Chapters About a Straw Feeling"), the smell then disturbing freejazzový loosening ("Atonal"), a mess of passions ("Potion"), raw "Lament") or all in one captivating, exciting and changing flow ("Snakes", "Podans"). Instrumental performances are mature, dynamically and expressively rich. The leader, of course, dominates; full-blooded, impression and emotion-saturated sound of the violin, drawing on Polish folklore and modern jazz expressions, including free jazz, sometimes complements the harmonic or counterpoint vocal line, the thoughtfully, the wildly, and the passionately. The essence of femininity lies in her game. The pianist is full of handfuls and extremely sensitive from minimalism, Chopin, hard bop and free jazz, while the expression never burns. Rhythms create flexible polyrhythms, where even drums can amplify musical drawing in a fragile and explosive way; the double bass player often plays the bow, so he emphasizes the harmonic density.
AMALIA UMEDA QUARTET: NEW
I dare say that with the debut of the Amalie Umedy Quartet, a truly new dawn of Polish jazz has come!
Readers rating31 Votes
5
evaluation
The album culminates in the last three songs, in which the above-mentioned attributes combine into a perfect jazz synthesis. Although ballads predominate, there is so much emotion and passion in them that the quartet has to suffocate them. However, this creates a huge tension within the musical matter, which changes in tension to even tangible when listening. The energy does not look explosive, but like a trembling current that flows into the interior not only through the ears, but mainly through the heart. "Echoism" mixes minimalism, folklore and Seifert expressions, "Młynarsis" romanticism and thick drama (reminiscent of the violin and vocalization of Iva Bitt) to culminate in more than ten minutes of "Prayer", really subliminally explosive, but all the more suggestive and intoxicating at the same time. The clash of bitterness, fragility, sorrow, sinister silence, loneliness, meditation, delirium, wrinkles, density and tragedy…
I dare say that with the debut of the Amalie Umedy Quartet, a truly new dawn of Polish jazz has come!