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Ascetic

Ascetic is a band founded in 2019 on the initiative of clarinetist and saxophonist Mateusz Rybicki, accompanied by Tomasz Kaczmarek (piano), Ju Ghan (double bass) and Jan Słowiński (drums). "After years in which the main area of my musical search was free improvisation and free jazz, I felt the need to explore simplicity and tonality. It also overlapped with the time of my spiritual search. I wanted the music I play to draw from those experiences, bring peace and solace to the audience and was a form of contemplation and prayer. I invited musicians who's sound and personality were the most suited to this concept" - recalls the musician. The sound of Ascetic is very characteristic, in the band's work you can hear the fascination with many genres and the desire to create music clearly going beyond the jazz idiom. "I think that the main direction and the underlying idea of this music is a certain self-limitation in striving for maximum mindfulness and searching for a deep, spiritual charge. This is true both at the level of our intentions and purely formal procedures - most of the songs are based on modal scales and trancy repetitive grooves. We also wanted a certain universalism and reaching the widest possible audience," the artist continues. The group's main inspirations include the John Coltrane quartet, the music of Hildegard of Bingen, Gregorian chant, American minimalists such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley, as well as the band The Necks. Most of the songs on Ascetic's debut album grew out of ideas and sketches proposed by Rybicki, but the final shape of the composition is the result of intensive work of the entire line-up: "I am very grateful to my bandmates for their commitment and the possibility of such systematic and in-depth work both on the arrangement and sound level. We put a lot of work and time into the creation of this material, looking for different forms of expression and testing arrangement solutions. There are also several songs on the album that were born during improvisation in the studio" - sums up the musician.

Mateusz Rybicki – clarinet, tenor saxophone 

Tomasz Kaczmarek - piano 

Ju Ghan - double bass 

Jan Słowiński - drums 


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"...Overall, this is a brilliant debut recording, by any standard, and a surprising attempt to re-construct / de-construct the classic Jazz quartet statement, on an unprecedented scale, even if the musicians are not aware consciously of what emerged as a result of their creative effort. When the dust settles, this album is certainly here to stay as one of the most significant statements on the Polish Jazz scene this year, if not beyond. Time will tell, but in the meantime my warmest thanks to you Gentlemen, for your talents and determination. Hats off!" - Adam Baruch

"...I have already written way too much and way too showy about the album whose motto is the concept of 'asceticism'

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