The Jazztopad Festival in Wrocław derives its name from Listopad, the Polish word for November. This wide-ranging 10-dayer has now reached its 16th edition, centered around the newly built National Forum For Music since 2015. This is a monumental edifice that revolves around its main concert hall, with the smaller Red Hall deep down below
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The Christmas Market in Wrocław (Photo: Courtesy of visitwroclaw.eu)[/caption]
There were more than the usual amount of cellos present, compared to most jazz fests. Frenchman Vincent Courtois led his trio, for a commissioned work with the Lutosławski Quartet, who are resident at the NFM. Jazztopad’s inspired artistic director, Piotr Turkiewicz, studied cello in his early years, as it happens. The set opened with Courtois playing solo, then he was joined by the string quartet, before they played on their own. Next came the Courtois trio, which featured the twin tenor saxophones of Robin Fincker and Daniel Erdmann. The substantially varied set climaxed with all seven players together.
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Vincent Courtois (center) leads his trio at NFM.[/caption]
Courtois has the technique, but he also has the savage energy of an improviser, taking risks and always landing on balance. There was a notable electricity passing between the units, as the Lutosławski crew entered the Courtois zone of abrasive attack, the composer igniting, then pushing them hard. He’s eager to produce grainy, rugged textures, even sounding like a rock guitarist once he gets into a riffing pattern. The tenors circulated a theme whilst Courtois soloed, and then each of them produced rasping, heated solos of their own, as their leader’s compositions melded jazz, rock and classical elements.
The Chicagoan flutist Nicole Mitchell also presented a commissioned work, this time combining a jazz quartet core with the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra. She included grooves in her large-scale score, with drummer Mike Reed enclosed in a plexiglass soundproofing prison, Polish bassist Zbigniew Kozera thrumming emphatically, and cellist Tomeka Reid sitting centrally, in chief soloist position, swinging with a vibrato-fueled sweep. Tonally soft string-blooms issued from the Leopoldinum Orchestra, which also featured marimba and a bank of kettle drums. Mitchell used brightly optimistic sounds to transmit a fighting message against current global woes, as she pranced through an airy solo. The jazz quartet and the orchestra each played alone and together, offering various permutations, presenting atonal improvisation interludes between frothing Afro-calypso formations. There was a fearsome Reid solo, as she played completely alone, drawing in the surrounding energy with a rush of high-velocity invention.
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Nicole Mitchell performs at Jazztopad[/caption]
The Polish pianist Grzegorz Tarwid played a solo set prior to Mitchell, revealing a fresh slant on minimalism, with a harder edge. He hammered at high speed, constructing interlocking patterns that existed on parallel lines, with block rhythms and glassy pounding. Fine detail was combined with driven momentum. Tarwid also revealed his other, improvising side during the festival jam sessions.
An exciting aspect of Jazztopad is its satellite program in other locations. Every evening, beginning at 10 p.m., and finishing later and later each night (or morning), the festival jam session is like no other, dedicated to free improvisation rather than standards. The Mleczarnia club is a five-minute walk away from the NFM, and its basement scene is exceptional, with the house trio of Mateusz Rybicki (clarinet, tenor saxophone), Zbigniew Kotera (bass) and transplanted Australian drummer Samuel Hall, the three otherwise known as Sundogs.
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A view from inside Wroclaw's Mleczarnia club (Photo: Courtesy of visitwroclaw.eu)[/caption]
The house beer, called Mle, fuels the night, if desired, with its unusual sour honey tang. There was an amazing flow of guests, including Mitchell, Shabaka Hutchings and several funking members of the Austrian band Shake Stew, with both of their bassists slinging out the Milesian funk well after The Witching Hour. One of the most profound moments occurred around 4 a.m., as Vancouver guitarist Tony Wilson gradually introduced the theme of Ornette Coleman’s “Lonely Woman”, the rest of the band latching on, one-by-one, crafting one of the best interpretations heard outside of its composer’s head. Shout-outs are also deserved for the native Polish improvisers, including Kuba Kurek (trumpet), Matylda Gerber (baritone saxophone), Mikołaj Nowicki (bass) and Katharina Zyabluk (piano), the latter being a Ukrainian, living in Kraków. These will be names heard more in the future.
On the festival’s last weekend, there were two days of concerts in living rooms, around different parts of the city, and featuring many small groupings, with three sessions each afternoon. Mitchell, Courtois, Fincker, Erdmann and NYC drummer Andrew Drury joined up with the Polish contingent to produce an extremely high level of sets, ranging from quiet explorations to full free jazz blow-outs.
The conventional pull of Wrocław may well revolve around its historic buildings, but the city also has an impressive music scene. In the same week as Jazztopad there were two other festivals happening, One Love, with the English trip-hop band Morcheeba headlining, and Ambientalny, an introspective electroacoustic weekender that featured another cellist, New Yorker Julia Kent. There was also the American Film Festival, just before Jaztopad, at the New Horizons Cinema.
Prior to the festival, your scribe also visited the Vertigo Jazz Club, another typical basement joint, with a large table capacity for drinkers and diners. Jacek Baran & The Blues Connection managed to fill out the place on a Monday night, blazing through the Rolling Stones songbook. The Polish Cockney Jagger accent might have sounded strange, but the guitar solos were stinging.
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The Vertigo Jazz Club (Photo: Courtesy visitwroclaw.com)[/caption]
The NFM’s regular program continues with The Great Improvisation, a series of concerts in early 2020, including appearances by Branford Marsalis, John Zorn, Gordon Grdina and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, with Wynton Marsalis.
Feature photo of a Jazztopad house concert © Stawek Przewra