Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Marcin & Bartlomiej Oles: Duo

266

Marcin & Bartlomiej Oles: Duo

By

View read count
Marcin & Bartlomiej Oles: Duo
Twin brothers Marcin and Bartlomiej Brat Oles have lent a unique perspective to several jazz recordings. Both play instruments that provide the rhythm and impetus to front line musicians; but each has his own sense of dynamics and harmony that often gives the music an unexpected dimension.

The Oles brothers have developed their approach and honed their art both as leaders and sidemen, playing with artists including Theo Jorgensmann, David Murray, Simon Nabotov, Herb Robertson and Kenny Werner. With a deep catalog of collaborations, they decided to strip away the extras and record as a duo. Their focus was to move away from common jazz patterns and give the music a distinctive character.

They have succeeded remarkably, their empathy a constant factor in the evolution of the music and they are as comfortable in a mainstream outing as they are in improvising on the spur-of-the-moment.

Marcin is the progenitor of a cornucopia of color on "White Rainbow." Bartlomiej plucks the melody, opening it up with his inventions before taking up the bow. His arco sets up a distinct melodic mood that is chamber-like, and brings in a hypnotic air with its arching, cyclic spin.

Vignettes of sound and tone are the core of several outings including "Skrik." Both players give each other space; intertwining and cleaving, they take different tempos but the logic is indisputable. Topping it all off they stamp their class as conversationalists with some exhilarating call-and-response.

The rhythm of "Afrik" is ripe for dancing. Marcin uses percussion and drums to lay down the tantalizing and irresistible beat, as Bartlomiej bows the redolent melody. The sparks fly on the pulse and kick of the bass drum, in the glow of the soft touch on the double-bass, and in the ability of the two to give meaning to the spirit of the music.

Turning it on with Duo, the Oles' enticing niche makes for an enjoyable listening experience.

Track Listing

Three Chords; Betula; Skrik; Lukacs; Avalanche; White Rainbow; Mortone; Jewisher; City Movement; Afrik.

Personnel

Marcin Oles: double-bass; Bartlomiej Brat Oles: drums.

Album information

Title: Duo | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Fenommedia

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.