Things we like: Olbrzym i Kurdupel, Marcin Bozek, Tomek Gadecki

My late friend Dennis Gonzalez was a great fan of Polish jazz, and even wrote a tune celebrating "The Polish Spirit." My exposure to Polish musicians was limited to having seen violinist Michal Urbaniak and vocalist Urzula Dudziak open for Larry Coryell's Eleventh House at SUNY Albany back in '74, and awareness of recordings by trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, pianist Adam Makowicz, and pianist/composer Krzysztof Komeda. I first encountered bass guitarist Marcin Bozek in 2024, when he was on tour with Houston-based saxophonist Danny Kamins, and via their subsequent duo release Ignorantka. This past weekend, my wife and I had the pleasure of hosting Marcin, Danny, and Marcin's Olbrzym i Kurdupel bandmate, tenor saxophonist Tomek Gadecki, as they played the third date of a US tour at Fort Worth's Grackle Art Gallery. Now I have a stack of recordings to enjoy, so you get to join me as I dig in.

Perhaps the best place to start is with frrrr..., the debut recording by Olbrzym i Kurdupel (that's "giant and shorty" in Polish -- henceforth referred to as OiK). The cover art goes Who's Next one better, and is an example of the earthy humor that's part of the spirit Dennis loved. OiK coalesced in 2007 during jam sessions in their home town of Gdynia, on the Baltic Sea, where Bozek was employed as bassist in musical theater. They originally planned to work with a drummer, but when he failed to show up for their first rehearsal, they decided to keep the duo format -- shades of early AACM, or Tejano and blues bands I know in Fort Worth where members doubled because you couldn't afford to blow a gig when someone didn't show. You do what you can with what you have. On frrrr..., you hear the sound of two musicians getting to know each other. Both possess prodigious musical imagination and the ability to listen and respond empathetically. It's a solid debut.

 

Recorded in 2010 and released in 2012, Six Philosophical Games shows OiK broadening and deepening their expression, and expanding their dynamic scope. Gadecki is able to reach the tenor's highest range through the use of overtones, and even produce multiple tones, while Bozek burbles and rumbles underneath, playing a very active and percussive bass. You won't miss the absence of a drummer here, although one "game" invites you to "play with us as a drummer." The two men can conjoin their sounds with great intensity, but they don't fear silence and space. Gadecki's burnished tone occasionally gives way to a rougher texture that harks back through Archie Shepp all the way to Ben Webster. On "listen to the whole part after long run* remember not to take shower before the game**," they're able to sustain a train of improvisatory thought for 20 minutes, running a gamut of emotions. The deceptively titled "let's dance, solo* or in pairs***" ends the set on a melancholy note. Recommended for easy to advanced game players.

From 2013, Affair with Art is Bozek's solo statement. His is as distinctive a voice on bass as Jamaladeen Tacuma's, eschewing harmonic functions for a more energetic and engaged approach. His treble-abundant amp tone, rich with tactile information, gives his bass a dimension of sound sculpture like Sandy Ewen's approach to the guitar, only with more tonal input. 

Gadecki's 2022 solo effort let's talk about shame provides proof positive that the saxophonist is far from a one-trick pony. Apart from his improv work, Gadecki performs with the psychedelic/ambient rock unit Lonker See, and let's talk about shame reflects that part of his musical persona. Here, Gadecki's tenor and baritone appear in moody, atmospheric electronic soundscapes, joined by Michal Markiewicz's viola on "Shame Gdynia '80" (a reference to the labor strikes that led to the formation of Solidarity and the downfall of Polish communism) and Hubert Zemler's snare and kettle drums on two tracks (most effectively on the somber, post-apocalyptic "Windy soul"). The shift from Transgression's electronic beat to the martial tattoo that introduces the lament "Ukraine" is striking. Poland's history is one of repeated conquests by hostile powers from east and west. The disquiet that underlies this piece is one American listeners might find hard to identify with...or not. As a fan of Pink Floyd circa Ummagumma as well as the AACM, I know I'll be returning to this disc.

The 2024 release Sadoil teams Bozek's bass with Berlin-based chamber music specialist Marie Takahashi's viola. Together, they make a music of fine detail, like neurons firing. A quiet sound that amply rewards close listening. (Was sorry to read on Marie's website that she's been hospitalized. Wishing her a speedy recovery!)

Your best entertainment value in this review -- it's available as a free download via Bandcamp -- and thus perhaps your easiest portal of entry to the Polish improv universe is Plastikowy jednorozec (Plastic Unicorn), the debut release from the Gdynia Improvisers Orchestra. Recorded in 2018 and released in 2024, the album is a document of a group founded and conducted by Bozek, in which he uses a modified version of the conduction system devised by Lawrence "Butch" Morris to direct a large ensemble (up to 66 players) in spontaneously created works that sound through-composed. 

The album opens with a crescendo of voices and instruments that sounds like a roller coaster, leading into R&B/gospel organ fluorishes and pointillistic guitar, and a female vocalist cooing improvised lyrics (in Polish and English). A second female vocalist joins and a bossa nova beat emerges. A trumpet solos freely over the Brazilian groove, interrupted at intervals by dissonant organ chords and droning saxophones. A raga-like interlude ensues, accompanied by chanting which gradually overhelms everything. Then an episode of moody, Mingus-like horn polyphony...but I should let you discover the rest for yourself. It's a wonder, and highly recommended.

The latest Gdynia Improvisers Orchestra release, 2025's Milioni Slonc (Millions of Suns), isn't Bandcamp available, only via the orchestra's website (link above), Apple Music, and (shudder) Spotify, but there's a snippet on YouTube that lets you see them in action, including Bozek's conductions.

The orchestra here possesses a wider tonal palette than on the debut, including strings, accordion, and handpans. The opening ostinato with vocal extemporization gives way to an episode of squalling horns over swinging jazz rhythm, with the audience (on cue) adding their voices to the cacophony. Then a biting rock guitar slashes through before running aground in a repeating figure by horns, strings, and voices that feels like breathing. A descending line from the strings brings the tempo down while the bass solos tentatively underneath. The soundscape continues to shift, filled with sonic surprises. The astonishing thing is that all of this music occurred spontaneously, cued by Bozek's gestures. Endlessly intriguing, and highly recommended.

Released this past February, Gadecki's latest album is the solo Homo singularis, recorded in the resonant space of St. John's Church in the Baltic Sea Cultural Center. Gadecki uses his tenor and baritone saxes to shape the sound and push it out into the air, from long tones to various levels of multiphonics to feats of circular breathing endurance. Listen, feel the space and the moment. 

Last but surely not least, Olbrzym i Kurdupel's 20th Anniversary of Artistic Work is the duo's sixth album and a souvenir for those of us fortunate enough to catch them on tour in the US (readers in Rogers AR, St. Louis, Bloomington IN, and Chicago may still be able to; European listeners will have to wait until Poland's Jazz Jantar festival in October). At this point, Bozek and Gadecki are like a telepathic whirlwind, melding their minds and shifting direction faster than most musicians can think. Over two decades, they've perfected their common language to where they can glide from one expressive peak to another effortlessly. Powerful, soul-cleansing stuff from two improvisers who richly deserve your attention.

ADDENDUM: Milyoni Slonc is now Bandcamp available!