Live From The Blue Note Jazz Club: Jan ‘Ptaszyn’ Wróblewski, Michel Korb, Felix Robin, Dawid Tokłowicz, Nata & Evgeny

Jan 'Ptaszyn' Wróblewski
Blue Note Jazz Club
Poznań, Poland
August 31, 2021


Although not acknowledged on the main Blue Note website, along with the clubs in New York City, Tokyo, Hawaii, Milan and Rio De Janeiro, there has been a low-key acknowledgement of this Polish outpost's bona fide status. The joint is much larger than most jazz clubs, even if not as cosy, in its stony sprawl. Tables stretch out across an extensive rectangular floor, with the stage at its far end. Massive paintings line the walls. The lengthy bar is situated along the right-side wall. The Blue Note's 600-person capacity is indeed high for a jazz club. Prior to its opening in 1998, this basement used to be a boiler house. The Blue Note lies underneath one of the towers of the Zamek castle (technically a palace), a 1910 German-rule construction that has now taken on a highly successful later life as a cultural centre, following its history as an eventual Nazi bastion in the 1930s and '40s.

The tenor saxophonist Jan 'Ptaszyn' Wróblewski is one of the venerable greats on the Polish jazz scene, although it's the younger generations of players who now have greater visibility outside of the country. Nevertheless, Wróblewski was a member of Krzysztof Komeda's sextet, making his debut in 1956. For this sold out gig he brought along Wojciech Niedziela (piano), Andrzej Święs (bass) and Marcin Jahr (drums). Remaining seated throughout, Wróblewski also wove tales of the old days, in between numbers, casting a warm glow on the proceedings. For the outsider, not speaking Polish, this was a severe disadvantage, although it was possible to feed off the general atmosphere via the audience mood.

Wróblewski inhabits the mainstream, spreading a coating of tenor warmth, opening up with "The Girl From Ipanema," and taking a lengthy, winding solo. "Autumn Nocturne" followed, as the slowness kept coming. A coasting "Mack The Knife" poured tranquillity out amongst the tables. There was a piano tuner between the two sets, a presence not seen publicly in most jazz clubs nowadays. Wróblewski was a frail figure, in his middle-80s, and he remains loved by his admirers. His days of innovation may well be over, but this was a special evening of jazz with a deep historical aura.

Michel Korb
Blue Note Jazz Club
Poznań, Poland
September 2, 2021


Two nights later there was a similar air of mild exclusion, as your scribe wasn't familiar with the songbook of French singer Francis Lemarque, although he wrote for Yves Montand and Edith Piaf. Lemarque's son, Michel Korb set out to correct that lack, addressing his departed father's repertoire in an evening that once again held a good amount of explanatory dialogue, this time translated from French into Polish, in a nightmare of multiple-lingo longueurs. It was best to simply concentrate on the songs, whose delivery combined jazz and Parisian café drama in well-balanced ratios. Singer Korb arrived with guitarist Romain Vuillemin, and the pair hooked up with the Hot Swing Quartet, a Polish combo of violin, accordion, upright bass, and another acoustic guitar. Most of the numbers moved at a fast trot, with individual solos flashing by at a quickened rate. Ripping led to waltzing, as Korb set up layers from his players, by making a clawing motion to include separate wings of the band, acting as an improvising conductor, the same gesture often signalling the sudden end of a song. His relaxed vocal delivery was in contrast to the often coiled, virtuoso relationship of the musicians. The gig had an early start, its sets were short, and Korb performed for just about the minimum length of set-time.

Felix Robin/Dawida Tokłowicza
Blue Note Jazz Club
Poznań, Poland
September 6, 2021


French vibraphonist Felix Robin and Polish alto saxophonist Dawida Tokłowicza headed up a quintet, continuing a collaboration they began in 2019, when they played here at the Blue Note before touring around Poland, France and Italy. The repertoire revolves around Tokłowicza's compositions, the line-up completed by Paweł Kaczmarczyk (piano), Damian Kostka (bass) and Stanislaw Aleksandrowicz (drums). The quintet grew dynamically, at first from alto and bass, then with the remaining players joining, a shimmering ballad developing, followed by a fast-chaser theme. Robin projected with an almost manic vibes solo, propelled by quickening drums, getting the entire band livened up at an early stage of the set. Tokłowicza's biggest influence might be Johnny Hodges, with an old fashioned dance band vibrato on his alto, leading an active shifting of dynamic states between his playing partners.

Nata & Evgeny
Blue Note Jazz Club
Poznań, Poland
September 7, 2021


The next night, Nata & Evgeny explored the unusual terrain of the ancient shofar ram's horn, used as a key instrument in Jewish religious ceremonies. This pair were born in Lviv, Ukraine, but have lived in Poland since 2017. They formed their musical duo in 2013. As used by Nata, the shofar is sometimes entangled with electronic effects, as a convention-twisting element in pop or rock-based songs, with Evgeny funking out the acoustic guitar parts. Nata also had a selection of percussion objects, with a mini-tambourine attached to her belt. The pair's nimble originals were usually repetitive and unchanging, to suit a ritual purpose, although some of their electronic beats sounded quite weak when set beside the main instruments. Nata's vocal style sometimes sounded like a cartoon version of nicotine-stained German cabaret singing, in a sort of avant-commercial manner. This seemed to be a deliberate stance, with effects on the vocals also being another aspect of the duo's broad palette of sonics.

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