Danny Kamins: Pracownia Wschodnia/The Creamery

Texas saxophonist Danny Kamins heads to church. Musically speaking, that means the sacred sound of John Coltrane. But before he can fully enter that space, he must first run the gauntlet and undergo a kind of sonic purification. This process is reflected in both his discography and the opening moments of Pracownia Wschodnia / The Creamery.

Kamins' musical résumé is wide-ranging: he has traversed doom metal, prog rock, experimental music, free jazz, and free improvisation. He has been battle-tested alongside formidable collaborators like Damon Smith, Marc Edwards, Sandy Ewen, Vinny Golia and Alvin Fielder. On this release, he presents four solo performances—two recorded in Arkansas and two in Warsaw, Poland.

The album begins with "Joyride By Force," in which Kamins employs circular breathing on the sopranino saxophone to create a swirling dialogue with the reverberant acoustics of the performance space. As he unleashes an unbroken stream of tones, the sound accumulates like waves in motion, growing in intensity without sacrificing precision or control.

Next comes a radical reinterpretation of the standard "Body and Soul." Kamins deconstructs the melody in the spirit of Evan Parker, layering extended tones with intricate, microtonal detail. The result is both cerebral and emotionally charged.

On "Może Pan Idzie Do Impreza," Kamins explores the outer edges of his instrument with a barrage of extended techniques—breathy textures, squawks, guttural growls, siren-like wails and relentless circular breathing—all conjured into a fiercely expressive solo.

The journey culminates in a sixteen-and-a-half-minute rendition of Coltrane's "Living Space," originally recorded in 1965. Kamins transforms the piece into a meditative blues prayer, sustained by circular breathing and enriched by the natural resonance of the room. It is a powerful, unbroken offering—one that feels less like a performance and more like a deeply personal invocation.

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