NOWICKI/ŚWIĘS/FRANKIEWICZ TRIO

Radek Nowicki – saxes
Andrzej Święs – double bass
Sebastian Frankiewicz – drums

tickets: 25/30 pln

PATHFINDER is the latest project from a trio of young, but already esteemed Polish jazz musicians: saxophonist Radek Nowicki, bassist Andrzej Święs and drummer Sebastian Frankiewicz. Each of these three musicians had sufficient qualifications to begin a solo career, with multiple awards from various competitions and festivals testifying to their instrumental proficiency. This group’s undeniable assets include concert and recording work with a number of creative jazz musicians from Poland as well as abroad.
The Nowicki / Święs / Frankiewicz Trio utilizes their technical mastery for intelligent playing with tradition, which yields an amazing effect when juxtaposed with a presence that is often somewhat rebellious. Maintaining a balance between free jazz and tonal playing, they find their voice, which sounds fresh and inspiring. The album debut took place at one of Europe’s largest jazz events, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, where the Nowicki / Święs / Frankiewicz Trio gave a rousing concert.

“The trio of saxophonist Radek Nowicki, bassist Andrzej Święs and drummer Sebastian Frankiewicz performed at the 2012 Copenhagen Jazz Festival, where they received enthusiastic reviews. The group is comprised of musicians who have a good deal of experience, yet remain youthful and eager to find their own direction in jazz. It was with greater expectations of this nature that I reached for their album “Pathfinder”, and determined right away that it’s these kinds of recordings that Polish jazz continues to lack – ambitious, intriguing and friendly to the ear. The album contains original compositions by the musicians, with the exception of Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song”. Why is it that jazz musicians so often reach for their tunes? Because they’re melodic, have a complex structure, and they unleash the invention of the improvisers. In the trio’s hands, “Pyramid Song” becomes a Coltrane-esque nocturne – the phrases of the saxophone penetrate the air and drive deep into the heart, evoking anguish and sorrow. There are joyous themes as well, like Frankiewicz’s “Gardens of the Vistula”, with its brisk drum rhythms and slowly developing melody line on the saxophone. Andrzej Święs plays a soulful intro to his composition “For Aunt Mary” on bass, while Radek Nowicki weaves a lyrical melody on soprano sax. The natural, acoustic sound of the instruments was captured in Jan Smoczyński’s Studio Tokarnia. One returns readily to such passionate and interesting music.” – Marek Dusza