Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Tomasz Dabrowski Ad Hoc: Ninjazz

71

Tomasz Dabrowski Ad Hoc: Ninjazz

By

Sign in to view read count
Tomasz Dabrowski Ad Hoc: Ninjazz
Award-winning Polish trumpeter/educator Tomasz Dabrowski (Gilad Hekselman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, TOM TRIO) and current resident of Copenhagen, has an impressive résumé amid a penchant for exploring dissimilar jazz-based methods. Here, the artist and his Japanese cohorts build an opaque conduit between modern jazz and experimental tendencies via a democratic engagement, where each musician's voice is heard.

Dąbrowski's bronze-toned phrasings are contrasted with muted wah-wah lines that instill a conversational tone as many passages are designed with odd-metered progressions. To that end, you won't be listening to hummable jazz tunes. Conversely, the interest factor lies more within the band's inner-workings and how they get from point A to Z.

On "Concerns" bassist Hiroki Chiba launches a melodic ostinato to establish the cadence for Dabrowski and pianist Hiroshi Minami's concisely stated theme-building and loose grooves, tinted with spirited inflections and bold proclamations, as they build upon layers while setting their sights rather high.

The trumpeter employs extended techniques and executes microtonal tone poems along with Chiba's spotty use of electronics. And certain movements are framed with intertwining unison choruses and linear patterns with an alterable game-plan that periodically occurs without any notice. Moreover, the quartet deconstructs, rebuilds and delves into fee-form improv vamps with animated advances and restless bop choruses.

Pieces such as "Corrosive Power" and "The North" include understated electronics treatments, surreal balladry, dense forests of sound and the leader's plaintive cries. However, they usually land somewhere within the fringes of a previously rendered theme.

Overall, there are numerous moving parts and cunning outbreaks that emphasize the quartet's far-reaching breadth of imagination and unbounded scope of attack. Dabrowski's willingness to embrace risk pays off rather handsomely.

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

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter 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.

You Can 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.

More

Sensual
Rachel Z
Over and Over
Tony Monaco Trio
Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.