MACIEJ OBARA QUARTET - Unloved
ECM 576 4562
Maciej Obara (alto saxophone); Dominik Wania (piano); Ole Morten Vågan (double bass); Gard Nilssen (drums)
Recorded January 2017
This is a superb debut set for ECM from Polish altoist, Obara, and one which has been a constant visitor to my CD player since it's arrival.
A cursory listen to the album quickly leaves the impression that this is a well established working quartet, and this is indeed the case having previously released three live recordings on the Polish imprint For Tune, and it is hoped that this release on a major label will bring Obara and the quartet to a wider audience.
The altoist has written all the music for this set, with the exception of the title track composed by Kryzstof Komeda which is a beautiful and haunting melody that the quartet play with no little feeling and passion. This passion is inherent in all the pieces performed, and show an empathy and depth of understanding that lifts the music tremendously.
Obara's sound on the saxophone can be tender, yet not afraid to turn up the heat when required. For the most part his often light and airy alto sound drifts over the intricate and absorbing accompaniment supplied by the rhythm section, with pianist Dominik Wania frequently catching the ear with a turn of phrase or aside that sits perfectly with Maciej's melodic lines. And melody is perhaps the key ingredient here. All of Obara's compositions are intensely melodic, whether long spun lines or lyrical fragments framed by Wania's intelligent playing, the piano seemingly dancing around the phrases from the saxophone. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the lovely 'One For' with the understated playing of drummer Gard Nilssen, keeping everything compact and grounded.
Just when you think you have got the measure of the music and how the rest of the album will unfold, Obara shakes thing up with 'Sleepwalker' that begins politely enough and then shifts up a gear or two. The resultant music has a seething bubbling quality that threatens to erupt but the quartet manage to sustain the pressure whilst still retaining a rigid control on proceedings. Determined to cut loose, this the foursome do on the following cut, 'Echoes'. After a brooding and introspective introduction from the piano, the rhythm section gather themselves together and propel the saxophonist into his most torrid solo of the session. After this, nothing seems to be quite the same, as the closing piece 'Storyteller' brings this particular Unloved tale to a close. However on subsequent hearings of the set one is always aware of the latent power that the quartet hold in check.
An auspicious debut for an artist that has perhaps hitherto been a bit of a well kept secret, although he has built a steady reputation in the band of Tomasz Stanko more than a decade ago, and across the Atlantic playing with US trumpeter Ralph Alessi, and it is hoped that Manfred Eicher and ECM have long term plans for Obara. My only concern is that, on this performance, he may lose his rhythm section who are highly likely to be sort after as a separate unit in their own right.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
ECM 576 4562
Maciej Obara (alto saxophone); Dominik Wania (piano); Ole Morten Vågan (double bass); Gard Nilssen (drums)
Recorded January 2017
This is a superb debut set for ECM from Polish altoist, Obara, and one which has been a constant visitor to my CD player since it's arrival.
A cursory listen to the album quickly leaves the impression that this is a well established working quartet, and this is indeed the case having previously released three live recordings on the Polish imprint For Tune, and it is hoped that this release on a major label will bring Obara and the quartet to a wider audience.
The altoist has written all the music for this set, with the exception of the title track composed by Kryzstof Komeda which is a beautiful and haunting melody that the quartet play with no little feeling and passion. This passion is inherent in all the pieces performed, and show an empathy and depth of understanding that lifts the music tremendously.
Obara's sound on the saxophone can be tender, yet not afraid to turn up the heat when required. For the most part his often light and airy alto sound drifts over the intricate and absorbing accompaniment supplied by the rhythm section, with pianist Dominik Wania frequently catching the ear with a turn of phrase or aside that sits perfectly with Maciej's melodic lines. And melody is perhaps the key ingredient here. All of Obara's compositions are intensely melodic, whether long spun lines or lyrical fragments framed by Wania's intelligent playing, the piano seemingly dancing around the phrases from the saxophone. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the lovely 'One For' with the understated playing of drummer Gard Nilssen, keeping everything compact and grounded.
Just when you think you have got the measure of the music and how the rest of the album will unfold, Obara shakes thing up with 'Sleepwalker' that begins politely enough and then shifts up a gear or two. The resultant music has a seething bubbling quality that threatens to erupt but the quartet manage to sustain the pressure whilst still retaining a rigid control on proceedings. Determined to cut loose, this the foursome do on the following cut, 'Echoes'. After a brooding and introspective introduction from the piano, the rhythm section gather themselves together and propel the saxophonist into his most torrid solo of the session. After this, nothing seems to be quite the same, as the closing piece 'Storyteller' brings this particular Unloved tale to a close. However on subsequent hearings of the set one is always aware of the latent power that the quartet hold in check.
An auspicious debut for an artist that has perhaps hitherto been a bit of a well kept secret, although he has built a steady reputation in the band of Tomasz Stanko more than a decade ago, and across the Atlantic playing with US trumpeter Ralph Alessi, and it is hoped that Manfred Eicher and ECM have long term plans for Obara. My only concern is that, on this performance, he may lose his rhythm section who are highly likely to be sort after as a separate unit in their own right.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
