Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » WM Project: From a Familiar Place

19

WM Project: From a Familiar Place

By

View read count
WM Project: From a Familiar Place
The WM Project, led by saxophonist Krzysztof Medyna and pianist Andrzej Winnicki, doesn't sound much like the Komeda Project. Medyna and Winnicki have earned well-deserved acclaim for their work in that ensemble that explores the music of their countryman, Krzysztof Komeda. But here, instead of the Polish melancholy, haunting themes and brooding melodies, they take From A Familiar Place into the more American realm of straight ahead, at times even brash bebop with, always, big solid grooves.

Two distinguished American horn men join the Polish team—trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and trombonist Marshall Gilkes. The pairing of Gilkes and Medyna recalls Sonny Rollins' trombone-and-tenor sax forays with bone man Clifton Anderson, especially on "Blind Warriors," penned saxophonist Medyna. The sound is propulsive and muscular, almost an assault, bebop style.

The group's take on Joe Zawinul's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" bursts with energy, featuring trumpeter Pelt at his most inspired on a soaring solo.

Seven of nine tunes here come from the pens of leaders—teamed in the writing or going it alone. Two are jazz standards, the previously-mentioned "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and Paul Desmond's "Take Five." And Michael Winnicki, the set's superb, powerhouse drummer, and son of the group's leader Andrzej Winnicki, adds a tune of his own. "Take Five" and "Mercy, Mercy Mercy" grew out of hip hop grooves, and turned into something different and thoroughly modern in the process.

The set closes out with Andrzej Winnicki's "Looking Ahead," an upbeat, up-tempo hard-driving romp that power-prowls on out into the night with an attitude. That's how to wrap up a show.

Track Listing

From a Familiar Place; Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; Blind Warriors; On Sunday, After Church; Take Five; Das Bounce; Grass Hoppers; Praeludium; Looking Ahead.

Personnel

Jeremy Pelt
trumpet
WM Project
band / ensemble / orchestra

Album information

Title: From a Familiar Place | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: WM Records

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.