Zbigniew Namyslowski Modern Jazz Quartet - Lola (1964)

01 - Piekna Lola, Kwiat Polnocy (Beautiful Lola, Flower of the North)
02 - Leszek I Ludwig
03 - Piatawka (in 5/4 Time)
04 - Blues Shmues
05 - Rozpacz
06 - Tkotkonitkotko
07 - Wozny - Najwazniejszy (The Caretaker - The Most Important Man)
08 - Ol' Man River

Personnel:
Zbigniew Namyslowski - alto sax
Wlodzimierz Gulgowski - piano
Tadeusz Wojcik - bass
Czeslaw Bartkowski – drums

However good European jazz musicians might be, seldom if ever are they likely to initiate any new jazz directions. During the last decade and a half we have had Swedish George Shearing-style quintets, Danish Mulligan-like quartets, and innumerable other imitation's. Poland's Zbigniew Namyslowski MJQ comes close to an original sound, yet it is obvious that this unit would never have existed in this present form without the work of John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman.

One nameless British jazz critic is quoted on the sleeve as saying that Namyslowski's own alto playing "almost makes Ornette Coleman sound like George Lewis". On the strength of the music heard here this is nonsense, for although Zbigniew Namyslowski's approach is 'new', he observes chord sequences and improvises in a more conventional manner than Coleman. At the same time Zbigniew has made quite astonishing progress when one considers that his experience of jazz has probably been limited to records and Voice Of America broadcasts heard in Poland. His playing transcends the expected type of phrasing, splaying across the 'traditional' breaks in the chorus construction. His tone, incisive with a cutting edge, brings to mind the attack of Sonny Criss and Jackie McLean.

The writing is by members of the quartet, with the exception of Kern's 01' Man River, of course, and takes in a variety of moods. Generally speaking, the work of the pianist, bass player and drummer is adequate rather than inspired, but the deep-rooted intensity of the leader's alto compensates for this. It would be interesting to hear Zbigniew Namyslowski after he had spent, say, six months working in New York with men such as Billy Higgins, Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison. This LP was made in London last summer during the Polish quartet's visit to this country. Readers may recall their appearances at the Ronnie Scott Club, the Richmond Jazz Festival and on a BBC broadcast, all of which opened a few eyes—and ears—to the advanced state of jazz in Poland. A.M. --- polish-jazz.blogspot.com

Fragment książki Historia Jazzu w Polsce (K. Brodacki), str. 265:

Kwartet spodobał się w Anglii tak bardzo, że firma Decca zaproponowała nagranie płyty, do czego doszło w Londynie w sierpniu 1964 r. Ten pierwszy longplay polskich jazzmanów, nagrany i wydany za granicą*, otrzymał tytuł Lola - Zbigniew Namysłowski Modern Jazz Quartet. Są na nim utwory lidera oraz Gulgowskiego i "krakowiak" Ol' Man River. Prócz Loli i Piątawki godna uwagi jest Rozpacz, w której Namysłowski zastosował efekt przyspieszenia tempa (accelerando), w jazzie rzadko spotykany (taki agogiczny manewr zastosują też Komeda i Kurylewicz). W improwizacji altu, często granej w trio bez fortepianu i daleko odchodzącej od pierwotnej harmonii tematu, są zestawione z sobą krótkie motywy w sposób przypominający grę Ornette'a Colemana lub Erica Dolphy'ego, a więc ujawniają się freejazzowe skłonności artysty. Nigdy jednak Namysłowski nie stanie się muzykiem freejazzowym tout a fait, skorzysta jedynie z pewnych free jazzowych elementów, gdy mu to będzie potrzebne. --- welovepolishjazz.blogspot.com

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