Maciek Pysz Trio  – Insight
(33JAZZ231. CD Review by Al Ryan)

“Insight (n.)  the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively ” (Merriam-Webster).

In this his debut album, Polish-born and London-based guitarist Maciek Pysz has realized this act precisely with his equally talented colleagues, Israeli drummer Asaf Sirkis and Russian double bassist Yuri Goloubev. There is an intuition or shorthand between the musicians that brings together some of the freshest musical ideas and world wide musical influences to jazz. This CD is a culmination of three years of playing and touring together and the vibe and connection is obvious in the music.

There’s a warm sexy breeze blowing through this album which can be heard in tracks like ‘Amici’ , ‘Blue Water’, ‘Maroon’, ‘Under the sky’ and the title track ‘Insights’ The music takes us on a journey through continents, picturesque landscapes through Brazilian, Spanish and Latin rhythms combined with classical and jazz. All tracks are imbued with Pysz’s signature picking style and rhythm variations. His style is soft, clean, melodic and highly emotional. Sirkis sits behind his self-invented percussion kit consisting of hand drums and Udu drum together with his signature cymbals. Goloubev takes us back to his years playing with the Moscow Soloists playing beautiful lines with his arco particularly in ‘Moody Leaf’ and ‘Steps of time’.

All nine pieces on the album have been composed by Pysz and one, ‘Amici’, is a collaboration with Italian guitarist Gianluca Corona. Maciek’s compositions have been previously described as “fresh, accessible, technically challenging, they can satisfy a demanding music lover’s ears but are also very pleasurable to hear”. All and all this a really well produced and beautifully performed album – a must have for the summer.

LONDON DATES:
28th July – EALING JAZZ FESTIVAL
14th September – KING’S PLACE FESTIVAL
16th November – LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL