POLAND: Piotr Damasiewicz & Power of the Horns Ensemble-Polska (Astigmatic Records 2020)

A musical visionary, some outstanding instrumentalists, the 10th anniversary of the collective's founding, a reflection on Polishness, and finally - a 4,000 km-long walking pilgrimage of 100 solo concerts in 100 temples. These events, symbols, experiences and facts have somehow been combined into one coherent whole - the 'Polska' LP, the first release by Piotr Damasiewicz & Power of the Horns Ensemble since 2013. Led by trumpeter Piotr Damasiewicz, the recording also features saxophonist Maciej Obara and pianist Dominik Wania, who have released two albums on ECM as members of Maciej Obara Quartet. This repertoire has been influenced by the jazz that Piotr Damasiewicz discovered whilst building his musical identity - the Polish jazz of the 1990s and early 2000s. It was a period when he often listened to Piotr Wojtasik with Tomasz Szukalski and Billy Harper (it was the 'Quest' album that was the main inspiration behind 'Billy'), or some of the unearthly recordings of the Polish trumpet master Tomasz Stanko, such as 'Bosonossa', 'Litania', and 'From the Green Hill'. Damasiewicz spent that period of his life in Katowice, which he still associates with the hard work of miners. It also remains a symbol of Polish industrial characterised by heavy groove... That's why he has composed 'Kleofas', an homage to one of the Katowice coal mines.