Home » Jazz Articles » Tomasz Dabrowski: Ninjazz

Tomasz Dabrowski: Ninjazz

By Mike Jurkovic
February 1, 2019
Sign in to view read count

Ninjazz, just one of Polish trumpeter Tomasz Dabrowski's several recorded efforts of 2018, finds him leading his quartet Ad Hoc through a serious investigation of ten cerebral, tonal abstractions.

Uninhibited by language, and sound explorers all, Dabrowski's all-Japanese cohorts, pianist HIROSHI MINAMI, double bassist and electronics Hiroki Chiba and time-defying drummer Hiroshi Tsuboi viscerally take Dabrowski's harmonic minimalism and, in equal parts Miles Davis circa 1968-70 and ECM-style chamber improv, create charcoal smudges of sound, each shadowed delicately at the edges. The trio will pull Dabrowski this way and that while he in turn steers them towards another sonic destiny. Dabrowski's lone trumpet fanfares "Another More Desirable Reality" to life before his henchman, particularly Chiba and Tsuboi, forcefully break the tune away from the leader to make way for Minami's percussive interjections. With barely any infrastructure holding it in place, "Penalty Fare" lists and lingers, trumpet and piano chasing a hellbent runaway rhythm-section.

"Concerns" rolls out like an outtake from Miles Smiles (Columbia, 1966), with a noticeable, if not exactly hummable, trumpet melody line. An air of disembodiment holds the center of "Oddly Abstract Nature" as an electronic harp-like wash gives way to spectral piano and random voicings from Chiba and Tsuboi before a mournful brass makes it to the fore. There's much going on within the album, as "Lines For Bogdan," with it's elliptical phrasings and wandering, rumbling dialogues (ala ECM) and the disimiliar, slow moving virus-like atmospherics of "Corrosive Power," testify strongly to.

Track Listing

Another, More Desirable Reality; Penalty Fare; Concerns; Oddly Abstract Nature; Perfectly Average; Lines for Bogdan; Helga; Corrosive Power; The North.

Personnel

Tomasz Dąbrowski: trumpet; Hiroshi Minami: piano; Hiroki Chiba: double bass & electronics; Hiroshi Tsuboi: drums.

Album information

Title: Ninjazz | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: For Tune

Post a comment about this album

FOR THE LOVE OF JAZZ

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create 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.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve 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.