„Long-Distance Connections”
By admin on June 29th, 2019„Long-Distance Connections” is Łukasz Pawlik’s second album released under his own name after „Lonely Journey” (2016). The new album was recorded on three continents and features some famous jazz musicians, such as Randy Brecker, Tom Kennedy, Gary Novak, Mike Stern, Dave Weckl, along with a bunch of hot names of Polish jazz scene, including Dawid Główczewski, Cezary Konrad, Paweł Pańta, Szymon Kamykowski and the Australian percussionist Phil South.
Pawlik’s music on the album combines the elements of jazz, fusion, world music, electronics with the traditional sounds of the acoustic piano or the cello. Despite the structural complexity of the material, the themes of the songs are very melodic and they spur featured musicians to make passionate statements through their solos. The intense rhythms of the music are driven by the outstanding drummers (Konrad, Novak, Weckl). Their co-existence on the album offers a unique opportunity to witness a remarkable feast of colors and different faces of a drum virtuosity at the same time. Another attraction for listeners is undoubtedly the presence of Mike Stern on three tracks, which opens a new chapter of collaboration between the two musicians that began 3 years ago on Łukasz Pawlik’s previous record „Lonely Journey”. Whereas the results of Pawlik-Stern collaboration have been materializing for 3 years, both in studio and on stage, it is the very first act of a joint music making by Łukasz Pawlik and Randy Brecker. On the 2 tracks recorded by Brecker we can hear the sophisticated phrasing and lyricism that he is known for. The presence of mesmerizing personalities, rich instrumentation, space created by samples and computer effects uplift Pawlik’s music into new, often cosmic dimensions.
