"Walerian is one of the most talented young jazz musicians on the Polish scene, if
not the most talented. He runs several different projects as a leader, and his
musical interests range from the contemporary musica da camera to jazz classics
and free jazz, employing oriental scales along with free improvised music." -
Maciej Lewenstein, "Polish Jazz Recordings and Beyond"
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"(...) Mat Walerian, whose playing reminds me of the Japanese paintings of
Sesshu,
full of fine lines, images, and sounds that tell haiku-like stories, arresting and
mysterious. As the music progresses from clarinets to alto sax to flute, you can
hear sound and space disrobe to reveal villages with beautiful clouds over trees
laced with seraphic hues and birds dancing. The musicians are never concerned
about style or genre. What do I call this music ? One word comes to mind :
“Exquisite.” (...) This music is more concerned with poetics because it is
poetics, not technique or academics, that will allow the music to go inside and
change the soul of the listener. It is transcendence of music that will lead us to
transcendence. I enjoyed this music on many levels; the more I listen to it, the
more layers of brilliance I discover. (...) Mat Walerian plays some of most lovely
and relaxed uncompromised beauty that I have ever heard in a long time. (...)
the
most important thing is that he is alive on the scene. Mat Walerian is one of the
special ones, and along with Matthew Shipp they have created a new music called
Elusive Beauty. I invite you to enjoy it and learn how to cherish life." - William
Parker, Live at Okuden liner notes
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Read more
"Walerian is one of the most talented young jazz musicians on the Polish scene, if
not the most talented. He runs several different projects as a leader, and his
musical interests range from the contemporary musica da camera to jazz classics
and free jazz, employing oriental scales along with free improvised music." -
Maciej Lewenstein, "Polish Jazz Recordings and Beyond"
_________________________________________________________________
___
"(...) Mat Walerian, whose playing reminds me of the Japanese paintings of
Sesshu,
full of fine lines, images, and sounds that tell haiku-like stories, arresting and
mysterious. As the music progresses from clarinets to alto sax to flute, you can
hear sound and space disrobe to reveal villages with beautiful clouds over trees
laced with seraphic hues and birds dancing. The musicians are never concerned
about style or genre. What do I call this music ? One word comes to mind :
“Exquisite.” (...) This music is more concerned with poetics because it is
poetics, not technique or academics, that will allow the music to go inside and
change the soul of the listener. It is transcendence of music that will lead us to
transcendence. I enjoyed this music on many levels; the more I listen to it, the
more layers of brilliance I discover. (...) Mat Walerian plays some of most lovely
and relaxed uncompromised beauty that I have ever heard in a long time. (...)
the
most important thing is that he is alive on the scene. Mat Walerian is one of the
special ones, and along with Matthew Shipp they have created a new music called
Elusive Beauty. I invite you to enjoy it and learn how to cherish life." - William
Parker, Live at Okuden liner notes
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___
"Although Mat Walerian is only in his early thirties, his playing sounds much more
mature. Mr. Walerian wrote six of the ten pieces here, the rest are duo improvs.
On the first piece, "Introduction", his tone on bass clarinet is rich and warm,
slow and assured (a slowed down version of Eric Dolphy perhaps). He sounds like
the perfect partner for Mr. Shipp, both men playing in superb balance and
reverence. The music has a regal elegance, not too dark yet consistently
enchanting. Nothing here is too dense, each note is well crafted and often
touching. Mr. Walerian's tone on alto sax is immensely mature sounding and
closer
to the way some of the elder statesmen of tenor play, lush and sublime. Some
folks
complain that solo or duo efforts without a rhythm section are missing something
for them but this is certainly not the case here. For me, this is perfect duo that
works together as one charming force of nature. Even when they go further out,
they do so as one combined spirit. A true consistency of excellence!” - Bruce Lee
Gallanter, DOWNTOWN Music Gallery, New York
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"In duo, Walerian and Shipp spin complex, information-rich webs" - The Wire,
Adventures In Music And Sound magazine, London UK
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"In recent years, some of the most interesting and evocative jazz albums (…)
have
featured someone playing the bass clarinet slowly and carefully in a way that
recalls some of the most interesting and evocative jazz albums of all time (…)
Which may explain why, despite featuring the nimble, expressive, and yes
interesting and evocative fingers of pianist Matthew Shipp, Live at Okuden really
gets its mood, and thus its mojo, from the bass clarinet, alto sax, soprano
clarinet, and flute playing of Mat Walerian.
Recorded live on May 15, 2012 during the Okuden Music Concert Series in Torun,
Poland - a gathering founded and curated by Walerian - Live at Okuden is a
moody
masterpiece (…) in a way that's even more spartan (…) and most of the credit for
this goes to Walerian (…)
Shipp has never been afraid to veer into free jazz territory, though usually while
his playmates stay the course, and here, both he and Walerian shows the same
predilection.
But the best moments on Okuden are the ones where the players are matched in
mood
and intent, and both are dark. Best typified by the songs "Introduction," "Black
Rain," and "Blues for Acid Cold," Live at Okuden paints a picture in shades of
black and grey, but with occasional bits of noisy dissonance. It's mournful,
contemplative, and sad, and even when it is a bit aggro, it's still hauntingly
beautiful. - Paul Semel, CultureCatch
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“Mat Walerian - like his American partner Shipp - has so much to say musically
with an uncommonly fresh vocabulary (…) He swings like a champ (…) Like Shipp,
Walerian distills all the genres of his influence into something profoundly genre-
less (…) one can sense that beauty that reaches back decades to find the roots of
jazz, where it coincides with the blues (…) even connects blues to the avant-
garde” - S. Victor Aaron, Something Else Reviews
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“The like-minded pair coauthor a genuine statement of just that peace and
respect.
Highly recommended.”
Jane Austen was mistaken when she wrote "Surprises are foolish things. The
pleasure is not enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.” Passing
away at the age of 41 in 1817, she would not have had the opportunity to hear
either jazz, nor the music of Matthew Shipp and Mat Walerian.
Shipp has played in the duo format before with horn players, notably with Roscoe
Mitchell and Rob Brown (…) Where past sessions were often defined by friction (a
successful improvising strategy), this session is cloaked with a feeling of amity
and warmth.
The concert opens with the woody bass clarinet of Walerian (…) His tone is more
relaxed then say Eric Dolphy’s, he seems unperturbed that his debut recording is
with this modern master.
(…) The two alto saxophone pieces, “Free Bop Statement One” and “Free Bop
Statement Two” carom and bounce with Shipp’s spry, buoyant lines and Walerian
giving chase. His saxophone recalls the breathy tone of Johnny Hodges. - Mark
Corroto, All About Jazz
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