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Polish
group Slow was founded by Tomasz Kaczmarczyk (guitar) and Krzysztof
Wermiński (piano). Their debut album Art of Silence (2011)
was followed by Songs For Everyone (2015). Their newest
project is Under Everchanging Sky (2022).The group's leader, composer, arranger and producer Tomasz attaches importance to the fact that the new project is stylistically different from its predecessors. The emphasis is on diversity and ranges from contemporary jazz to classic bebop to world music.
The melodies are lead by his guitar and Leszek Szczerba's soprano sax. Furthermore pianist Krzysztof Wermiski participates. The rhythm section is built by bassist Tomasz Grabowy and drummer Sawomir Berny.
The album opens with Grashopper which is a beautiful example of the interaction between saxophonist Leszek Szczerba and guitarist Tomasz. Obviously this formation has grown together and recommends itself also as a live event.
Red Cloud presents itself with multiple faces. Introducing as rock music, it changes again and again to a soft ballad. The focus is clearly on the guitar solo followed by the keyboard solo ending with a sax solo.
Introvertical is the aptly title of this cushy acoustic tune combing soprano sax, acoustic guitar and percussion drifting into the realm of world music. It could be the introduction to the following world music ballad Jeremy's Wanderlust exploring the insatiable desire to discover the distant in order to find inner peace there.
The Entanglement seeks contact with a melodious basic attitude. The soprano saxophone sounds plaintive at first before the basic attitude changes to a more positive mood, which is also expressed in a faster tempo.
Adequate to the title Yolanda, which corresponds to a female name, the acoustically pronounced ballad courts the gentle component of the fair femininity. Bebop Baroque is a jazz piece not only in its core but as a whole, which takes advances to classical music only in its subject matter.
Jemaa el-Fna is a festival of rhythm with pure percussion. Only later does an oriental-inspired saxophone add a foreign, Far Eastern touch to the whole thing. The album closes with the title song, a gentle ballad that sways in the auditory canals.
As a smooth jazz fan, I regret that Slow has turned away from this genre. But it's just the freedom of artists, even musicians, to express themselves in the musical genres they feel comfortable with.
Buy the album in all stores
Album information
Title: Under Everchanging Sky
Artist: Slow
Year: 2022
Genre: World Music
Label: Slowmusic
Tracks:
1) Grasshopper (4:40)
2) Red Cloud (5:57)
3) Introvertical (3:00)
4) Jeremy's Wanderlust (6:27)
5) The Entanglement (5:51)
6) Yolanda (5:46)
7) Bebop Baroque (5:03)
8) Jemaa el-Fna (5:02)
9) Under Everchanging Sky (5:54)