Vocalist Grzegorz Karnas's latest album, entitled Karnas, is a one-of-a-kind mixture of 'borrowed songs' and original compositions by this outstanding alternative performer, whose creativity draws from a broad range of musical genres which, by virtue of his tremendous expressiveness, unique lyrics and exquisite playing on the part of the band, are fused into a single, coherent, jazz-based whole.
It's been more than fourteen years since Grzegorz Karnas led his own band. His project in concert is either a quartet or a quintet, and though its instrumental line-up (drums, acoustic bass, piano, cello and vocal) could portend somewhat of a mainstream adventure, it is far removed from the classical paradigm, although Karnas loves to perform jazz standards. The group often draws on the trance-like nature of ostinatos and the abstraction of modal playing, developed on the basis of simple and catchy melodic themes. A brief, general outline of Grzegorz Karnas's Vocal Cello Quintet in concert would be: energy-filled, groovy, acoustic music-making with a hefty dose of improvisation, at times almost bordering on musical nonchalance.
It's been more than fourteen years since Grzegorz Karnas led his own band. His project in concert is either a quartet or a quintet, and though its instrumental line-up (drums, acoustic bass, piano, cello and vocal) could portend somewhat of a mainstream adventure, it is far removed from the classical paradigm, although Karnas loves to perform jazz standards. The group often draws on the trance-like nature of ostinatos and the abstraction of modal playing, developed on the basis of simple and catchy melodic themes. A brief, general outline of Grzegorz Karnas's Vocal Cello Quintet in concert would be: energy-filled, groovy, acoustic music-making with a hefty dose of improvisation, at times almost bordering on musical nonchalance.
