Europe Jazz Media Chart - August 2020

“Beyond Infinity” is the long awaited newest album by Włodek Gulgowski, a Polish born, Swedish based veteran pianist and composer. The album features his intriguing original music, with classical, electronic and jazz elements, performed solo on acoustic piano and keyboards. The action is constantly moving forward, unfolding an ever-developing story built on pulsating rhythms, dynamic shifts, changing moods and colors. Gulgowski first emerged in the early ’60s  as a member of the legendary Zbigniew Namysłowski Quartet, with whom he toured Great Britain and recorded “Lola” (Decca), the first Polish jazz album released in the West (1964). He soon emigrated to Sweden, reuniting with Namysłowski in the next decade on two albums, „Pop Workshop 1” and „Pop Workshop 2”, the latter including Tony Williams on drums. In the mid-70s Gulgowski lived temporarily in New York, collaborating with, among others, Michał Urbaniak, Al Di Meola, Steve Gadd and Anthony Jackson.

Saxophonist Lenny Sendersky, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, recorded his newest album with Russian musicians in Lenny's native St. Petersburg; the resulting tracks (eight originals and three standards, arranged in the jazz/classical crossover vein) were released on a Norwegian label; the beauty of today's multicultural, polycentric world!

Pianist Benjamin Moussay has a beautiful gift to just by two carefully set tones transport listeners fully into experiencing a deeper world layer of calmly roaming and astounding sensing. In short, he creates distance to the everyday outside business and simultaneously access to freed intimate sensing and contemplating our state of being. While shades might wave in and inexorably darken the mental scenery evoked by his magic tone colors it also brightens in non-predictable ways. It is interweaving mystery and clarity where the real and the magic meet and illuminate each other. It’s small pianistic gestures with meaningful halts, which give this carefully orchestrated music its deep reaching impact - a humble masterwork. This music trusts itself and lets listeners find themselves, something needed in these disrupted days.

An exceptional amount of work has been put into this project by Maria Schneider – one of the most gifted big band composers and arrangers ever. So much music to dive into and so many views to consider. A corner stone in her oeuvre.

The great project, made in and for the studio, was performed live at Jazzfest Berlin 2019. This circular stage covered with many instruments, heavy and highly tuned, was the place of an heathen ceremony, where drummer Lillinger was heart-beating the audience. This very composed and framed music was warmed and shoved by legion of keys (grand piano, upright piano, synth, keyboards) and blades (vibraphone, marimba). A must heard.