Michal Urbaniak

 Another fairly recent discovery--an artist I'd heard of but never heard before 2024--and I am in love with his 1970s discography. Michał definitely represents some of the most consistently high quality Jazz-Rock Fusion of the decade. He dabbled in both Smooth Jazz and Funk R&B music, but really remained fairly loyal to the serious composition and musicianship that defined the peak years of Jazz-Rock Fusion (73-76) for the entire decade! Extraordinary! Not only do you have the employ of a list of extraordinary musicians on every single album he produced, you have peak Jean-Luc Ponty music and sound before Jean-Luc Ponty ever made the switch to this style of lush electrified jazz-rock fusion! And then you get to hear the once in a generational talents of Michał 's partner and wife, vocalist extraordinaire Urszula Dudziak in the mix!

MICHAL URBANIAK GROUP Paratyphus B (1971)

Virtuoso violinist and award-winning saxophonist, this is Michał Urbaniak's debut album for Germany's Spiegelei Records. Though Michał is recognized within the jazz world as an innovator and pioneer of many of the breakout styles of music that have sprung up since Jazz-Fusion burst open the floodgates, his name is not nearly so known among the public (like me).

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak/ electric violin, soprano sax, tenor sax, flute
- Urszula Dudziak/ voice, percussion
- Adam Makowicz/ keyboards
- Pawel Jarzebski/ electric bass
- Czesław Bartkowski/ drums
- Branislav Kovacev/ conga-drums

1. "Paratyphus B" (3:40) from the very first notes of this dynamic song we are informed of the amazing talents and skills contained in this band: from the drumming talents of Czeslaw Bartkowski (who would go on to play with Czesław Niemen and Extra Ball), electric bass playing of Pawel Jarzebski, and incredible NORTHETTES-like happy-go-lucky vocal talents of Urszula Dudziak scatting wordlessly at 100 miles per hour right in the thick of the rest of the high-speed weave. The song opens with 46-seconds of a high speed motif that sounds like something coming straight off of HATFIELD AND THE NORTH's debut album (which wouldn't come out for another few years). Then the frenzied yet-tightly-synchronized band lays perfect support and impetus for some of Urszula's most impressive scatting until the band sits back for some solo drum display from Czesław. They return for a reprise/variation of the opening motif for the final 30-seconds. An undeniable crowd-pleaser. And you know how I love The Northettes! (9.75/10)

2. "Valium" (12:36) a 15-second bass-and-drum jazz-funk opening belies the following long section of sparsely populated sonic fields which incorporate free-form violin and crazed percussive scatting. There is some multiple violin interplay with minimal support from the others--mostly from the percussionists.--before Ula joins in during the third minute with effervescent bubbles ascending from her voice, eventually driving her husband into the role of second fiddle (pun intended). There is an increase in contributions from Adam Makowicz' electric piano and Czesław Bartkowski's indisciplined drumming beneath Ula's vocals for the next couple of minutes before the music subtly changes directions: allowing Adam to noodle freely on his electric piano as if he's practicing high-speed runs of his scales. Pawel and Czesław participate, at first minimally, then with increasing fervor as Ula and Branislav Kovacev's percussion contributions also increase. Michał begins his slow return to the scene in the ninth minute before the band suddenly jumps in with a very engaging jazz-funk groove beneath Michał's continued effected-electric violin play. Getting into the groove, Michał's playing becomes far more melodic and fluid (though still remarkably fast). Such great play from everybody else: they're really synched in, maybe even entrained. Pawel takes off on a solo in the 12th minute with only the fantastic team of Czesław Bartkowski and Branislav Kovacev supporting him from beneath. Then Adam, then Michał, and then a rather crazed Urszula return until they are all faded out at the end of the 13th minute. Not my favorite kind of music but I fully respect the band's fervor and enthusiasm for this freestyle form of experimental Jazz-Rock Fusion. (22/25)

3. "Irena" (3:26) a slow-holding violin and vocal melody line (that previews some of Fermáta's best stuff). This is really beautiful--and haunting for its two-person entrainment. It also sounds very much like the intro to the VANNELLI brothers' "Storm at Sunup." (Est-ce possible?) (9.3333/10)

4. "Winter Piece" (3:39) this sounds like a little STÉPHANE GRAPPELLI interlude: as if the Master was playing for one of Fred Rogers' "Neighborhood of Makebelieve" skits. In the fourth minute the music tries to congeal into something jazz-funky--a really cool groove--but, alas! It's over as soon as it begins! (8.875/10)

5. "Sound Pieces" (14:57) more jungle free jazz, this time with flutes and saxophones leading the way through (a different part of the jungle) while the percussionists, electric piano, bass and violin populate the jungle ambiance. In the sixth minute the music congeals into a more pleasant Caribbean groove with Chick Corea-like smoothness and a relaxing electric piano-dominated Latin fusion conveying a beach-side bar/cabana feel while Ula Dudziak sings in her best monkey and toucan style of animal talk. By the end of the ninth minute Ula is resting while Adam and Pawel groove to a "lime in the coconuts" kind of motif. Michał's soprano sax is the next instrument to take the lead while Czesław, Pawel and the percussion crew seem to really amp up their expressions of joy and enthusiasm under neath. At 11:20 the whole band rests while Michał's sax continues to flit and flail like a bird experimenting with flight skills over the palm tree-shaded windy beach. Fender and drums begin to add their little flourishes until they're back and full supporting Michał again. The final minute sees Michał desist with a whole-band flourish before Adam takes us out with a circus motif organ and piano on his own. Free jazz is not my favorite type of music but the Caribbean beach scenes conjured up by the mid-section's beautiful groove are enough to save this song from total disregard. (27/30)

Total time: 

Since I started my awareness of Michał 's music with his 1975 release, Fusion III, I have an unusual perspective from which to view this album--the start of his experimentation with J-R Fusion. Despite the predominance of cacophonous free jazz music on over half of this album's music 

There is quite some confusion over where the two adjacent songs, "Valium" and "Irena" begin and end, which may be hindering my review of the two songs. I've tried listening multiple times to the wide variety of offerings available on the Internet, but none of them seem to line up with the time indicators given on sites like ProgArchives and Discogs.    

90.54 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of experimental Jazz-Rock Fusion--an album that definitely helps explore some of the more adventurous possibilities offered by the combination of the more experimental Jazz musics of the Sixties with the up-and-coming technologies of studio engineering in the world of rock music. Michal and his crew were definitely at the leading edge in defining that which we've come to recognize as "jazz-Rock Fusion." 

Michał URBANIAK GROUP Inactin (1973)

Recorded in 1972 for Germany's Spiegelei label (at Stuttgart's Horst Jankowski Studios), this is another album of 100% Michał Urbaniak compositions as performed by his loyal band of virtuoso collaborators--though, in truth, it sounds and feels a lot like a collection of scraps and outtakes from the Paratyphus B sessions. The album was released in 1973 after the band had already started touring Germany and Poland with a new lineup (now calling themselves "Michał Urbaniak Constellation"), had already recorded a live album in May for Polskie Niagrania Muza/Pronit/PolJazz Records (released as Podróż na południe [Moving South]), and then signed a new contract with CBS for whom they recorded the material for Super Constellation at Walldorf Studios in June (which was released in Europe late in 1973 and would then be re-released in America six months later as Fusion).

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak / electric violin, violectra, soprano sax

- Urszula Dudziak / vocal, Dynacord, Echocord, percussion
- Adam Makowicz / Fender piano, Hohner clavinet
- Roman Dylag / 

- Barcus Berry / bass and electric bass
- Czesław Bartkowski / drums, Paiste cymbals

- Branislav Kovacev / conga-drums

1. "Inactin" (6:58) a funky groove that feels like a slow summertime cruise through the 'hood in a convertible with lots of banter being engaged by sidewalk passers-by. At 3:30 the music cuts out, making way for some very idiosyncratic a cappella electronically-effected scatting (sounding to my imagination like the scurrying of mice around the house under the cover of darkness). The happy-go-lucky music returns at 5:45 and gradually re-establishes the neighborhood groove from the first half, only with Urszula still scatting above. (13.375/15)

2. "Alu" (3:58) with this gentle, spacious song we've re-entered the realm that will be explored more next year by HATFIELD AND THE NORTH. Roman Dylag is given quite a bit of time and room in the spotlight to solo his double bass. Ula's melliflous vocalese are gorgeous. (8.875/10)

3. "Ekim" (5:49) solo experimental electric violin opens this one before Roman's now-Barcus Berry-miked (and thus electronically treated and processed) bass enters and joins in. The combination of Michał's screeching and wining violin paired with Ula's equally feline vocalese and Adam Makowicz's obnoxious clavinet work is a bit disturbing--not unlike some of the work Herbie Hancock experiemented with in his electronic-dominated phase of operations. I understand and appreciate the skill involved to create this stuff, but using an historical perspective, it was kind of a waste of time and vinyl. (8.6667/10)

4. "Silence" (3:31) bowed violin and electrified bass perform a slowly-evolving space-atmospheric duet that is supported by some loosely--almost-randomly--played Fender Rhodes and percussion. Another song that is so predictive of some of the musics that are to come (including some of the great intros to Lenny White songs on Venusian Summer.) (8.75/10)

5. "Fall" (7:42) even more experimental sound production of the avant garde/free jazz sort. It gets even crazier when Ula's IRENE PAPPAS/GILLI SMYTH-like orgiastic scatting and Adam's frantic clavinet play double up in the fifth minute. Wild! (Yes, even wilder than anything published by GONG). Not even the somewhat-coalescent coming together of the band in the final minute can save it from future skips. (13/15)

6. "Groovy Desert" (5:01) faded in as if an excerpt from an extant jam, the groove devolves (while drummer retools or takes a little beer break) into an Adam Makowitz, Czesław Bartkowski, and Branislav Kovacev tuning and brief exploration of two separate themes joined together. Was this album just material grabbed from the cutting floor of the previous album--scraps and discards that the record label pasted together in order to try to make a few Marks from this band of now expats? (8.25/10)

7. "Lato" (8:06) the music of this song reminds me of the very first post-Bitches Brew recordings that Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea did with their new bands (many members of whom were also in situ during Miles' seminal sessions). that they would eventually be calling WEATHER REPORT, "Mwandishi," and RETURN TO FOREVER, respectively. Nice stuff, a liitle rough  in organization--feeling a lot like exploratory jam-like session play--but, unfortunately, not my favorite direction that J-R Fusion took. (13.25/15)

Total time: 41:04

An album filled with such renegade experimentation, so much so that it seems to beg the question from us 21st Centurians, "What was going on here?" It's not that it's not admirable and skillful, it's just that it offers very little audio pleasure. I stand by my deduction that this is probably an effort by Spiegelei Records to eke out some more money from their now lost (moved to New York City) commodity. I feel that the album's lack of a citation/credit for a producer only lends to this theory.

87.25 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a very interesting (and perhaps historically significant) collection of "songs" from the end of Michał and Urszula's time in Europe. Recommended for all those curious about the roots and unusual experiments of infant Jazz-Rock Fusion.

Michał URBANIAK Fusion (1974)

Polish-born musician and bandleader, Michał Urbaniak, and his wife, Urszula Dudziak, immigrated to New York in September of 1973, three months after their Constellations band recorded their first album under their new contract with CBS. In more recent interviews, Michał and Ulla both recall their decision to come to the United States as a permanent move--saying that they fully intended on becoming US citizens from the start. The release of this album, Fusion, in February of 1974, may have been Columbia Records' way of celebrating the arrival and commitment made by their new-found power couple, but the album is, for all intents and purposes, a veritable re-packaging and re-release of that same studio material that was released, in Europe only, the previous year. Same songs (same exact recordings extracted from the same master tapes made in Germany). Same song order. Same everything. It is in fact the same collection of songs that was recorded in June of 1973, in Europe, and released, in Europe, later in 1973, under the title "Michał Urbaniak Constellation Super Constellation." 

In order to give proprietorship and thus new life and new title to this new version, CBS had Michał record one additional song in the US using American musicians. This was the song "Fusion," which would become the title of the "new" album as well as one of the side-monikers Columbia would use for the Jazz-Rock Fusion project they had in mind for Michał over the next couple of years. Unfortunately, the label would only continue their contract with Michał for three albums: this one, 1974's Atma, and 1975's Fusion III, three albums that are usually considered his peak contributions to the Jazz-Rock Fusion lexicon.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak / Electric violin, violectra, soprano sax
- Urszula Dudziak / Voice, percussion
- Adam Makowicz / Keyboards
- Wojciech Karolak / Hammond organ, Farfisa
- Czesław Bartkowski / Drums, Paiste cymbals

A1. "Good Times, Bad Times" (5:13) potent hard-driving bass, drums, and keys (organ, clavinet, and Fender Rhodes) support the smooth violin play of Mr. Urbaniak as well as the treated Northettes style vocalese of Ula Dudziak. Ula is most aggressive when she's off on her own, but she is "reigned in" for most of the song by running the same melody lines alongside her husband's violin or the right hand of the song's composer Wojciech Karolak's organ. Strong, demanding composition. Great performance from drummer Czesław Bartkowski. (9/10)

A2. "Bahamian Harvest" (7:14) opens with a long Billy Cobham-like syncopated drum line over/within which Urlszula performs some GILLI SMYTH like pixie/faerie mischief. Multiple bass lines, coming from organ and Fender, help the two keyboardists drive the song forward so that Michał can get the most out of his electric violin and violectra (a Barcus Berry-electrified baritone violin). The second half of this song--the violin-dominated half--is the part of the song presents to the world the Jean-Luc Ponty "cruising" sound that would become the signature Jean-Luc Ponty sound even before Jean-Luc Ponty ever heard or conceived of it. (13.25/15)

A3. "Impromptu" (3:25) percussion instruments and loose Fender Rhodes support Michał's slow and pensive violin play (on two violins in two different tracks). Organ and other heavily-treated electronic keyboard sounds provide a kind of bubbling effect to go with the Fender and percussion sounds. (8.75/10)

A4. "Seresta" (6:06) an upbeat, cheery tune of electro-funk that presents Ula and Michał's instruments in an early version of what would become the Third pre-Fourth Wave Smooth Jazz that Brian Auger had already been pioneering and that Jean-Luc Ponty, Larry Young, and others would soon become fully entrenched in. Very cool, innovative percussion sounds being used here by both Czesław and Urszula. The big lead instruments are not only Michał and Ula but Wojciech Karolak's organ. Very new and fresh overall sound palette. (9.125/10)

B1. "Fusion" (2:55) chorused electric guitar arpeggi and congas open this one before bass, organ, clavinet and Fender Rhodes join in with Ula's vocal scat lines performing the lead melody along side her husband's electric violin and a Moog-y synth. (I'd love to know exactly who the "American musicians" Columbia employed to create this song with the Urbaniaks.) Sounds very much like some of those early GONG songs only with much richer and fuller sound engineering. (9/10)

B2. "Deep Mountain" (6:34) organ chord, introductory drum rolls, long-held bass and flanging violin notes behind which Ula's pretty voice soars like a smooth-flying raptor--all this lasting almost a minute and a half before Czesław and the keyboardists launch into the medium-paced funky track that they're going to play beneath Michał's wah-wah/flange-effected electric violin. Ula's duplication of the synth (or heavily-treated violin)'s main melody line is remarkable--and so charming. CBS most definitely must have had an idea of what they wanted from Urszula cuz she never ever gets as wild and crazy as she used to on the band's earlier albums; her singing lines are very smooth and supportive, often mixed well into the background (though mixed very clearly)--angelic like the three voices of Hatfield And The North's Northettes--rarely used as a lead instrument and never mixed out in the front. (I feel bad for her!) Adam Makowicz gets the next solo after Michał with his "dirty" Fender Rhodes. Very smooth, engaging, and well-performed. While I love the Northettes-like vocalizations asked of Urszula, I can't help but feel sorry for her being so much more reigned in than usual. (9/10)

B3. "Bengal" (13:51) Shakti-Shankar-like plaintive violin opens this one as frenetic Fender Rhodes, African-like percussion, organ, and drumming elements play wildly around in the background, beneath the increasingly effected-disrupted violin sounds. After more than two minutes the music smooths out from beneath with drums, bass, and percussion settling into fairly straightforward jazz play (while the "distant" Fender and Wulitzer organ continue their frenzied play). Ula is given free reign and front billing for the fifth minute--and she does not disappoint with her Flora Purim-like scatting of a wide variety of African jungle noises. Drummer Czesław Bartkowski really shines throughout this entire song with his constantly creative rhythms and fills. Michał, of course, takes a few of the solo segments though there is a very interesting/entertaining passage in the tenth minute when two keyboardists (two channels of Adam Makozicz?) seem to both take on the frenzied, frantic lizard/instect style of their vocalist and violinist leader (all the while with Czesław Bartkowski absolutely killing it beneath them). While this song stands out for many people for many reasons, I find it less cohesive and less enjoyable than the previous three songs. It's too loose and spacey like something from Bitches Brew (an album I've never particularly enjoyed). Impressive performances and ideas brought to life, to be sure, but just not as enjoyable to listen, groove, or dance to as some of Michał's other stuff. (26.5/30)

Total time: 45:14

I happen to agree with many reviewers that Side Two of this album is superior to the music and songs of Side One. Another aspect of this album that renders it so essential as a representative of peak Jazz-Rock Fusion is the advanced sound recording and engineering techniques: it's so clear and clean, mixed with such excellent definition, despite the use of many effects on almost all of the individual mics and instruments. 

89.08 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of genre-defining Jazz-Rock Fusion music. Though this is not my favorite Michał Urbaniak album, the music is definitely back on track after the disturbingly substandard Inactin. 

Michał URBANIAK Atma (1974)

Michał's first album recorded and released for CBS Records in the USA (Fusion was a re-release of a previously released European-recorded album from 1973). Atma was recorded in New York in June and released in September. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak / electric violin, vi-tar violin and soprano sax
- Urszula Dudziak / voice, percussion
- Czesław Bartkowski / drums
- Pawel Jarzebski / electric bass
- Wojciech Karolak / keyboards, Fender piano, Moog, Farfisa, Clavinet
- Ray Mantilla / Congas, drums, percussion

1. "Mazurka" (5:08) opens with a little spirit of Stéphane Grappelli in Michał's violin, but then his ground-breaking MIT-designed vi-tar electric violin hybrid takes off in the fashion only heard by the future sound of L. Shankar--all played over a wonderfully-lo-funk rhythm track held tightly together by Wojciech Karolak's awesome keyboard play (mostly clavinet). Awesome futuristic sound. Definitely genre-bending. (9.5/10)

2. "Butterfly" (7:13) more prototypical Smooth Jazz with wordless vocalist Urszula Dudziak's Northettes-like performance in much of the song's lead position over the first three minutes. The Latin-infused smooth funk is like BOB JAMES music only several steps up in terms of both sophistication and production. Michał's loyal band is so locked in, so synchronized and attuned to one another's perfectly blended contributions to the music playing beneath the soloists. (Wojciech is astoundingly good.) And I can't let this go without mentioning the amazing STEELY DAN/DAVE STEWART-like shift in the rhythmic tone of the song around 5:43 that comes from Wojciech--switching in and out of a bassa nova lite. Genius! So beautiufl! Then why do I find myself craving some of that raw "dirty" play from Michal's earlier albums? (14.75/15)

3. "Largo" (4:30) another "Silence"-like (from Inactin) slow violin and other drone-like bowed and synthetic instruments. Ula is in the mix, helping with the presentation of the main melody, but then providing ghost-like GILLI SMYTH-like faeirie-waif vocals between and around the impressive electric violin play of her husband. The drums, bass, percussion, and keys beneath are solid, as always, in their shifting duties of support. (8.75/10)

4. "Ilex" (5:48) a fast-paced, uptempo mostly-race, sometimes cruising song of great complexity suddenly turns quite serious and heavy at 1:15, but then at the very end of the second minute it shifts back into an awesome J-L Ponty-like cruising speed with some interesting Latin-Caribb rhythm play beneath Michał's soaring Ponty-like electric violin play. The bridges between solo passages are lightning fast and complex whole-band affairs in the same way that Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever use. Urszula gets the next solo but she is rather reserved, holding surprisingly close to the main melodies--which is even more amplified in the next section in which she tandems with her husband's frantic violin lines. It's nothing short of amazing! Easily a top three song for me. (10/10)

5. "New York Batsa" (5:03) more clavinet-heavy highway cruising with Ula in the lead with her husband's vi-tar and some saxophone (?!) very cool composition that takes no little talent and skill to pull off for all the band members--especially the remarkable Urszula Dudziak. After the 2:25 restart, Michał takes a turn soloing all alone on his slow-flanged violin (not the vi-tar--that returns a little later). Columbia must be getting more comfortable (or impressed) with Ula's talents as they're really letting her have free reign as well more front and center positioning in the mixes--it's not all GONG-like faerie work or sexy/soothing Northettes fare. (Thank god! She's just too talented to try to hold back.) (9.5/10)

6. "Kama (part I)" (2:24) or "Kama Ula" on some albums; a solo a cappella performance from Ula that is very, very heavily treated with many effects that I cannot begin to guess at. (Todd Rundgren-like.) (4.375/5)

7. "Kama (part II)" (2:21) the Ula-fest continues but this one is more straigtforward (less prodcessed) and more Flora Purim-like (though she definitely goes far beyond the Santería chanting of Flora as the song goes on) with some great fast-paced, highly percussioned jazz-funk running beneath her. (4.667/5)

8. "Atma : yesterday" (3:17) a surprisingly gentle and spacious slow jazz-funk that provides the spacey foundation for Michał to boldly go on his delay-echo-infinite-sustained violin some amazing melody playing. (Had the band possibly heard KOOL & THE GANG's "Summer Madness" before they created this song?) The man knows how to use his effects! (and inspire Jean-Luc Ponty along the way). Do I hear a little saxophone doubling up the violin at the end? This little tune could very well have served as a back up theme for Alan Almond's Pillow Talk radio show. (9.5/10)

9. "Atma : today" (3:30) uptempo yet not as breakneck as some of the other songs on the album--more Brasilian bassa nova in its base, the bass, drums, congas, rich multiple keys, and other Brazilian percussion are exquisite in their support of Michał's violin and background saxophone play. The fact that this man, a Pole, could find this kind of affinity for Brazilian bossa nova for his sensuous electric violin to play over but Jean-Luc Ponty never could exposes one of the flaws/biases in M. Ponty's music. (9.3333/10)

10. "Atma : tomorrow" (3:16) a variation of the first Atma's theme and sound palette, slightly changed, engineered slightly differently. Might Ronnie Laws have heard this before he launched into the recording of his first solo album? Not as rich or powerful as the previous "version" but still quite good. (9/10)

Total time: 42:30

94.08 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a true masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion; one of the best shining examples of peak Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion that I've ever heard (and by now I've heard a few!) Absolutely an essential acquisition to any music lover who claims to know or love J-R Fusion.

URSZULA DUDZIAK Urszula (1975)

Husband Michał Urbaniak recruits his usual high-profile band of musicians (the same lineup that would appear on his own first Arista album--which was to be released in the Spring of 1976 as Body English) to perform his compositions for his wife's unique wordless scat-plus vocals to soar. What an advantage: to have this kind of quality music beneath you to show off your individual skill! Urszula was recorded in New York for Arista by Michał in the summer of 1975 and then released toward the end of the year. 

 
Line-up/ Musicians: 

- Urszula Dudziak (Michal Urbaniak's Fusion) / Vocals, Percussion 

- Basil Fearrington (Mtume, Stephanie Mills, Mary J. Blige) / Bass 

- Gerald "Gerry" Brown / Drums 

- Harold Ivory Williams / Electric piano, Keyboards 

- Reggie Lucas / Guitar (solo A2) 

- Joe Caro / Guitar 

- Michal Urbaniak / Lyricon, producer 

A1. "Papaya" (4:02) I'd never heard this song before checking this album out but I can definitely concede my comprehension as to why this received such world-wide acclaim and popularity; it's delightfully upbeat--like a Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song. It's Disco with absolutely excellent musicianship--especially from the rhtyhm guitarists and Urszula's husband's Lyricon. The vocal skills Ula shows in the third and fourth minutes put her in the company of some of the 21st Century's greatest acrobatic vocalists. (9/10)

A2. "Mosquito" (4:25) straight on funk--like the stuff being used to fill soundtracks of Black Exploitation films of the era. Ula's vocal work here sounds like something between underwater gargling and orgiastic ecstasy. Nice guitar solo from Reggie Lucas but the albums other solos, which, by default, seem to be credited to 19-year old Joe Caro, are much better. (8.875/10)

A3. "Mosquito Dream" (2:34) heavily-treated, multi-effected Irene Pappas/Donna Summer-like orgasm vocals left to their own spacey psychedelic drug scene. Interesting but not really great music. (4.333/5)

A4. "Mosquito Bite" (4:23) sounds like a Discofied version of high-speed jam of  over which Urszula scats aggressively, almost violently, alternating (and duelling!) with some rather amazing heavily-treated electric guitar work which, until further notified, I'll attribute (as indicated in the credits on the liner notes) to 19-year old Joe Caro. Several instruments seem treated by flange and chorus pitch-shfiters--including Urszula's voice, the drums, and the lead guitar. (9/10)

 

A5. "Just The Way You Are" (3:22) a slow, three-plateau jazz-funk torch song (with English words) that sounds very much inspired by both Maria Mudaur and Minnie Ripperton's work of the same period. Sexy yet bird-like. What a talent! What I love most about the song is the tandem work of bassist Basil Ferrington and the guitarists. Really cool! (9/10) 

B1. "Sno King" (4:34) opening with some really funky solo drumming that is quickly joined by the rest of the rhythm section to gradually establish the pedestrian music over which Ula and her guitarists will present the song's melody. It's nice, kind of a step up from the concurrent music being produced by the like of BOB JAMES and the Laws family. Great musicianship. Not my favorite song. (8.75/10)

B2. "Butterfly" (4:34) smooth and melodic--almost dreamy--very much in a LONNIE LISTON SMITH meets The NORTHETTES sound and form. Great instrumental performances on some heavily-drugged up instrumental sounds. Michał 's lyricon is a cool touch. The further the song goes on the more I'm reminded of NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN's albums from 1976 into the Eighties, though there is a little JEAN-LUC PONTY in the sound palette as well. (9/10)

 

B3. "Zavinul" (5:06) a very cool and unusual (innovative) sound palette with many unusually processed instruments forming a gorgeously dreamy music over which Urszula vocaleses in an unusually-pitchy/scratchy vocal. Is this meant to be something negative directed toward Joe? I wish I knew Urszula's intentions with this. (9/10)

B4. "Funk Rings" (2:24) Urszula performing a single-track solo vocal in which her percussion-imitating voice is sent through a Moog processor. Real cymbals, drums, and fretless bass join in in the second half. I really like this! (4.5/5)

B5. "Call Me Monday" (5:12) another jem of an Elysiac jazz-funk piece with Urszula fast-scatting with 19-year old Joe Caro on guitar and some more stellar drum and bass play (often bordering on the Disco fringes) from Gerry and Basil with Harold Ivory Williams' excellent keyboard play. I've heard Ula's vocals compared to ecstatic female expression of the "hedonistic era" that was the mid-1970s, drug or nature induced, perhaps even orgasm. As always, I think her expertise on her percussion instruments really contributes to her astonishingly controlled and skillful scatting runs and vocal sound variations. (9.25/10)  

Total time: 40:36

Haters of this album probably don't like Minnie Ripperton, Annette Peacock, The Northettes, Gilli Smyth, or many of the 1960s Brazilian hits of Sergio Mendez, Herb Alpert, and Burt Bacharach as well some of the vocal experimentations of Flora Purim and Gayle Moran. All of this would be understandable. I just happen to like all of the above.

89.68 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of Third Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion. Another of Michał Urbaniak's masterful productions. I love his music--the sound palettes his musicians and engineers create. 

MICHAL URBANIAK Fusion III (Recorded late in 1974; released Feb. 1, 1975.)

A name whose presence in the musicians' credits of so many pop and jazz albums of the 1970s seems rather ubiquitous yet he also remains quite mysterious for the fact that one never hears his name mentioned along side the other violin virtuosi of the era (e.g. Jean-Luc Ponty, Jerry Goodman, Darryl Way, PFM's Mauro Pagani, Arti e Mestieri's Giovanni Vigliar, David Cross, Ray Shulman, Dave Swarbrick, Robbie Steinhardt, and, of course, Eddie Jobson). Also, one must remember he is also a Montreux Jazz Festival award-winning saxophone player! Listening to this I cannot help but wonder why. This is Michał's first album made without his core of native Polish musicians, incorporating a full complement of American jazz-rock musicians--a veritable Who's Who of the Jazz-Rock Fusion movement. It was recorded at Electric Lady studios in New York City for CBS late in 1974 and then released to the public on Columbia Records on February 1, 1975.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak / Electric violin, violin synthesizer
- Urszula Dudziak / Voice, percussion, electronic percussion
- Wlodek Gulgowski (Pop Workshop) / Electric piano, Moog, and electric organ
- Anthony Jackson / Bass guitar
- Steve Gadd / Drums
- John Abercrombie / Guitars

With:

- Joe Caro / Guitar (A3)

- Gerald Brown / Drums (A3, B1)
- Larry Coryell / Guitar (B1)

- Bernard Kafka / Voice (B3)

A1. "Chinatown [part 1]" (5:24) opening with a keyboard riff that conjures up memories of many Jean-Luc Ponty songs, it quickly turns Mahavishnu as the blazing guitar of John Abercrombie takes us out of the intro and into the somewhat sparse-yet-funky motif the rest of the band establishes over the next minute. Man! is John flying! And man! is this band in synch! The syncopation coming from Steve Gadd's concise drumming is met and accented by everyone else with concise perfection. Urszula and Michał's doubled up lead melody takes us through a section of even more Mahavishnu-like complexities, which only continues and intensifies as Michał's wailing electric violin blazes on and the rhythm team below handles some incredibly difficult Cobham-like funk from beneath--and this never lets up for the entirety of the song! Astonishing! Amazing realization of the great violinist's compositional skills. (9.75/10)

A2. "Kujaviak Goes Funky" (6:12) A song that was originally composed by keyboardist Wlodek Gulgowski's band-mate and songwriting partner from his previous project, POP WORKSHOP, saxophonist Zbigniew Namyslowski (and which appeared as the last song on that band's final release, Song of the Pterodactyl released in 1974). Here Michał and Ula lead us through a slowed down RTF/J-LP-like opening of step-by-step unfolding and unstable music that has us on the edge of our seats, expecting tangents or changes in direction in each and every minute while Michał's violin and then Wlodek Gulgowski's Moog and, later, John Abercrombie's guitar, solo at the god-like levels of the greats of their ilk, like Jean-Luc Ponty, Jan Hammer and Chick Corea, and John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola, respectively. The whole band playing at an incredible level of technical wizardry that I thought only occupied by the likes of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever. but no! Michał Urbaniak's Fusion is every bit as good--maybe even smoother and better engineered than the afore-mentioned superstars. I guess sometimes it takes a great song to inspire the performances of the current band members. (9.5/10)

A3. "Roksana" (5:42) here employing guests "Gerald" Gerry Brown for drums, Joe Caro for the guitars, and featuring scat vocalizations of percussionist Urszula Dudziak, the band cruises along with admirable skill, speed, and solo performances from Michal, percussionist Urszula Dudziak creating some rather unusual yet-highly-skilled wordless scat vocalization, and excellent electric piano work from Wlodek Gulgowski. Quite simiilar to The Mad Hatter-era Chick Corea. I just love the mood of joy and ease projected by this song. (9.25/10)

A4. "Crazy Kid" (2:35) another heavily-processed single track of percussive pre-Bobby McFerrin vocalese scatting from Ula in the same vein as previous a cappella tracks like "Kama Ula" from the band's previous album for Columbia, Atma. (8.875/10)

A5. "Prehistoric Bird" (5:19) another slightly-more-angular RETURN TO FOREVER-like funk tune that was written by keyboardist Wlodek Gulgowski for his former band, POP WORKSHOP, and its 1974 fusion release entitled, Song of the Pterodactyl. This version includes some very innovative sound from bassist Anthony Jackson's electric bass--especially the full chord play (the kind of which RTF bassist Stanley Clarke would make great use of on next year's Romantic Warrior album). The lead instrumentalists all seem to be travelling at those breakneck speeds first championed by the first incarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, including Ula's scatting voice, Michał's violin, John Abercrombie's extraordinary electric guitar, Wlodek Gulgowski's Moog, and, of course, Anthony Jackson's amazing bass. With its title and angular rhythmic and melody lines I find myself falling into almost constant comparisons to Japanese band BONDAGE FRUIT's first two amazing albums. Almost too amazing to process! (Are we sure that this isn't a song on which the great Larry Coryell is also collaborating? I swear in that last minute that the screaming lead guitar belongs to none other than The Godfather of Fusion! If it's not then even greater kudos need to be offered to the sadly under-acknowledged other-worldly skills of Mr. Abercrombie.) Also, the opportunity should never go unpassed with which to acknowledge the incredible gift and skill that Urszula Dudziak possesses: to be able to keep up with those machine-gun-fast melody lines, matching the other soloists note for note with such flawless timing is nothing short of miraculous--especially in this pre-digitized era where every thing had to be synched up live! (9.333333/10)

B1. "Bloody Kishka" (4:21) the other song on the album on which Gerry Brown sits at the drum kit in place of Steve Gadd also features peak fusion-era Larry Coryell on guitar. As much as I've always loved the drumming of Steve Gadd (he is definitely the most impressive drummer I've ever seen in a live concert setting), I have been feeling an increasing appreciation and love for the smooth, super-filled funk playing of Gerry Brown. I've come to cherish his play as the only drummer on a par with Lenny White and Billy Cobham. (Jack DeJohnette may be in a category all to himself.) BTW: this is a charming song with cute, catchy, excellent melodies and flawless whole-band funk support. I'm so tuned in to the amazing work of Gerry and bassist Anthony Jackson that I almost forget to pay attention to Michał and Wlodek Gulgowski's main melodies much less Larry's excellent "underwater" guitar solo. Great performances from Wlodek Gulgowski and Urszula Dudziak as well (first and foremost for her percussion work but also for more of those wonderful main-melody-duplicating wordless vocals). Definitely a top three song. (9.25/10)

B2. "Cameo" (4:41) gorgeous melodies over a J-L Ponty-like slow-funk support--I mean, it sounds almost exactly like something off of Aurora or Imaginary Voyage.which is weird since both of these albums were released after this album. Maybe it was Michał's work that pushed Jean-Luc into his string of albums on which he really began exploring his increasingly-highly-processed electric violin sounds!? Whatever. Michał is definitely in the same category of haunting melody-making as Ponty and Vigliar. (9/10)

B3. "Stretch" (6:20) more great funky jazz-rock of the Third Wave style and sound production stupendously cohesive performances from Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, and his Polish compatriots (Wlodek and Urszula). Such a solid, mature song. (9.33333/10)

B4. "Metroliner" (4:44) another GREAT Jean-Luc-like jazz-funk song with great melodies throughout as well as stupendous work from the rhythm section that also features a breath-takingly amazing guitar solo from John Abercrombie. (9.5/10)

B5. "Chinatown [Part II]" (3:56) a loosy-goosy chance for each of theband members to let loose (great way to end an album cutting session!) Not the most pleasant listen but an awesome display of skill and fun. (8.875/10)

Total time: 49:14

Overall I don't hear a lot of distinctive sound or melody play from Michał on his electric violin; it all sounds very similar to the sound and amazing sense of melody-delivery that Jean-Luc Ponty and Giovanni Vigliar possess. It's a good thing I love the sound, work, and albums of Jean-Luc Ponty so much since it allows me easy access to the genius of this composer/violinist. Also, high commendations should be awarded to Michał for the genius decision of employing this particular team of support musicians: they can really deliver the funk; they're definitely one of the most skilled, cohesive ensembles I've ever heard. Now that I've heard one of Michał's solo albums, I feel quite compelled to go back and listen to the rest of his discography--which is a problem in that he has a dozen solo studio album releases from the Seventies alone! 

92.66 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; one of the most impressively consistent displays of excessively high skill and compositional and performance perfection ever put to vinyl (or tape). And I'm not just talking about a couple of the songs, I'm including the whole album, start to finish. An album that now sits in my Top 20 J-R Fusion Albums of All-Time! You'll come away blown away by not only the music here but the skills on display from every single member of this band! Visionary and ahead of his time, when you listen to any album by Michał Urbaniak you MUST take into consideration that the songs you are listening to were recorded and released BEFORE any of the references your brain wants to compare them to!

After listening intimately and with great rapture to Michał's first seven albums over and over during the past week I have to say that I think he has supplanted all of my other heroes of the Jazz-Rock Fusion movement at the top of the hierarchy: the most consistently best compositions, the most consistently interesting, innovative, and high-quality sound production, he attracted/chose the absolute highest caliber of musicians to collaborate with (many of whom are still woefully unsung), and the albums that he created have all felt absolutely incredible start to finish--and remain albums that not only keep me coming back but eliciting pure joy and excitement with every thought of doing so.

MICHAL URBANIAK Body English (1976)

Undaunted at being dropped by Columbia Records, Michał moved across the street to Arista (who were into a big support mode for the new and popular Jazz-Rock Fusion/Jazz-Funk style of music--having concurrently made quite an investment in Austrian Hermann Szobel). Body English was the result of their first recording sessions (at Dick Charles Recording studio by Gene Paul and Les Paul, Jr.), being released on May 19, 1976. 

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak / Violin, violin synthetizers, lyricon, farfisa organ, polymoog
- Urszula Dudziak / Vocal, percussion, synthesizer
- Harold Ivory Williams (MFSB, Miles Davis) / Keyboards
- Basil Farrington / Bass
- Joe Caro / Guitar
- Steve Jordan / Drums
- Bernard Kafka / Voice
- Earl Crusher Bennet / Congas

1. "New York Polka" (5:52) sounding less like a polka than a country-bluegrass jamboree or, with it's brief intro, something out of England's mediæval prog scene, this funk band lineup is solid, tight, as is the composition, with perhaps a little less effects used on Michał's violin. New drummer Steve Jordan holds his own and Harold Ivory Williams shines quite brightly--is highly creative--on his keys. Joe Caro impresses as well, crossing that bridge between jazz-rock and blues-rock with apparent ease. I guess it's really the "Robin Hood"-feeling reset bridge that's doing the most to keep steering me toward this country-bluegrass label; the rest is just pretty standard funk. (8.875/10)

 
2. "Afterglow" (1:38) a pretty interlude that somehow manages to sound very much like a full orchestra without the addition of a single extra to the basic lineup. Impressive! I guess with three band members playing the keys anything is possible! (4.5/5)

3. "Zad" (6:50) cool clavinet, bass, and other synthesized deep bass play gives this stop-and-go song a cool early-Disco feel and sound. Clearly Michał is hearing all the funky R&B that's reaching the radio stations and dance floors. Lyricon and Ula's smooth voice are quite often delivering the lead melodies on this one--except in the chorus and bridges. Though he is no Anthony Jackson, the solo by Basil Farrington in the fourth minute is pretty decent. (He's enjoying experimenting with Larry Graham's thumb hits and finger pluck-snaps). Ula's presence is felt more in the instrumental department as her vocalizations seem to be limited to solo-like appearances (5:00) or the afore-mentioned main melody deliveries. Steve Jordan really hits a Steve Gadd stride in that section beneath Ula's scat solo. Harold Williams' keys are so lush and filling that you practically don't notice they are there (but would sorely missed if they weren't--quite similar to Greg Phillanganes' work on Earl Klugh's Heartstring album from the same year.) An excellent song to keep you warm in the winter. (13.75/15)

4. "Sevenish" (6:43) a solid Jean-Luc Ponty-like slightly-medieval or bluegrass-infused opening turns into something more attuned with Joe Zawinul's WEATHER. REPORT--despite the military drumming and frequent reminders in the sound palette of Jean-Luc Ponty (coming not just from Michał's synthesized violin). Composed, performed, recorded and mixed really well. This one begs the question: Which came first: Jean-Luc Ponty's slide over into the lush side of synthizer-heavy jazz-funk or Michał Urbaniak's? Using this song as a determiner the chronology looks pretty similar. (9/10)

5. "Body English" (6:03) "Turn Me Loose" synth note and funky wah-effected bass play open this one before drums, congas, percussion, guitar, and other keyboards join in. The initial solo melody-carriers are, in fact, one-note percussive synthesizers. With its jazzified Disco foundations we have something on the novelty range like a combination of the instrumental radio hit, "Popcorn" with an Average White Band song and some Herbie Hancock pleasure candy, and yet it still has that solid core of perfectly-aligned funk masters in the rhythm section. I happen to like it quite a bit! It's very cute, melodic (borrrowing a bit from Diana Ross' version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"), and memorable. (8.875/10) 

6. "Quintone" (2:33) synthesized violin, chorused bass chords, flange-wah-wahed rhythm guitar, and multiple keys present a very pensive melody and chord progression before settling into something soft and gentle in the second minute--with a heart-wrenching pop ballad melody. Simple but oh-so pretty! (9/10) 

7. "Lyricon" (6:58) another richly-textured BOB JAMES-like melodic Smooth Jazz adventure on which Michał displays some of his saxophone skill (doubled up with his violins) with his Lyricon (an electrified saxophone-like wind instrument that had been pioneered by L.A. session god and solo artists Tom Scott back in 1974). In Michał's hands, here, the Lyricon sounds like a synthesized flute. Nice Moog ("polymoog"?) solo in the fourth minute (Michał's?) I also hear a little Smooth-era Weather Report in the palette of this song. (8.875/10)

8. "Satin Lady" (5:49) It has become obvious by this point in the album that Arista had exerted quite some control on Michał's musical direction; Smooth Jazz and Steely Dan-like "Yacht Rock" were becoming all the rage and I'm sure the big record company wanted to see sales from their investments. At the same time this is a fine song, with some great violin playing, nice lead and support contributions from Ula (and male vocalist Bernard Kafka) over a very engaging easy listening BOB JAMES-like groove played to perfection by the band. It's just that Ula's presence leaves me longing for more as I know how talented she is and how integral she had been to all of Michałs previous albums. Plus, she'd just put out her second solo album (also on Arista)--and it is great! (I wonder if they were signed as a team or if Ula was given her own album as a promise to Michał--or even as a bargaining point--or as a test drive for this new band.) (9/10) 

9. "Zomar Land" (1:11) an excellent little bass and Ula show that packs so much into its brief time; it's like a mix of funk and the Carnatic Indian tradition of konnakol vocal percussion syllable singing. Cool! (4.75/5)

Total time: 43:37

I find little or no depreciation in the quality or skills on display in these compositions. Michał had worked with most of these musicians before and seems to really click with all of them. They aren't the "name" players that he had on the last two Columbia releases (including Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, John Abercrombie, and Larry Coryell) but these guys are all very, very good. Well-respected music reviewer Adam Baruch (blogpage "The Soundtrack of My Life" and "Jazzis" on rateyourmuisc.com) carries the opinion that Michal's best output ended with the end of his association with Columbia Records. This album is allowing me to realize that this is simply not true: this is a very good album! The weakness for me is in the bass: it's still amazing and perfectly funky and well-deserved in its leadership role within each song on the album, but after Michał's last album on which Anthony Jackson gives one of the most astonishingly innovative displays of future bass potentialities, poor Basil Farrington just can't compare. (No one could.)

89.56 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; another very high quality and amazingly-consistent collection of jazz-funk songs here displaying Michał's willingness to experiment with the new Disco and Easy Listening sides to Jazz-Funk and Jazz-Rock Fusion. A near-masterpiece of music however you spell it out. Highly recommended. 

MICHAL URBANIAK's FUSION Smiles Ahead (1977)

Apparently the husband-wife team either didn't make any money for the Arista company or else they were too much to handle because suddenly they are back in Europe recording this album for the legendary German label MPS (the first of two albums they would release in 1977 for Joachim Berendt's pro-Polish company) recorded at the famous Zuckerfabrik studio in Stuttgart, Germany in November of 1976.

Line-up / Musicians:

- Michał Urbaniak / Violin, Lyricon, synthesizers

- Urszula Dudziak / Vocals, electronic  percussion, synthesizer

With:

- Harold Ivory Williams / Keyboards (1, 2, 4, 8)

- Robert Anthony Bunn / Bass (1, 2, 4)

- Transcending Sonship (Woody Theus) / Rhythm-sounding color (drums & percussion, voice) (1, 2, 6)

 - Emmett Chapman / ChapmanStick (3)

- Joe Caro / Guitar (8)

- Basil Farrington / Bass (8)

- Steve Jordan / Drums (8)

1. "Smiles Ahead" (10:55) (17.25/20) :

- a) "Smiles Ahead" (4:00) more of that feeling of band fatigue (standard bass play, very boring keys) while the engineering department continues to over-compress the high ends.

- b) "From Smiles to Smiles" (2:07) Ula playing within an echo chamber--like a little kid in a big room. (4/5)

- c) "More Smiles Forever" (4:48) Ula leads the band into a carnival madhouse. It's a little more lively and enthusiastic but still less "invested" than anything Michał's composed before. (Maybe here are the signs that the couple's marriage is on the decline: the collaborative fires are dwindling.)

2. "Hymn of the Uranian Sequels" (7:03) Unfortunately this Jean-Luc Ponty-like groove song suffers a bit from a compressed feeling: it's as if all of the high ends of the sound spectrum have been dampened/muted. Also, this is just too loose and underdeveloped to stand up to the extremely high standard of the amazingly full and sophisticated compositions that Michał had been penning up to this point (except for the other scrap heap from his previous German record label, 

3. "Piece for 15 Strings" (4:35) a duet between Michał's 5-string electric violin and Emmett Chapman's treated ChapmanStick (the other 10 strings). Definitely previewing the spacey violin sound that will become Jean-Luc Ponty's standard about this time but more this song demonstrates far more of the sonic potential and versatility of the ChapmanStick than expected. It also demonstrates, once again, Michał's affinity for exploring the latest innovations in technology. (8.875/10)  

4. "In the Wake of Awakening" (6:37) tom-tom-heavy drums with heavily "warped" fretless bass and odd ChapmanStick-like chords coming from the keyboard (an oddly-destabilized [chorused] clavinet?). Lyricon, Ulla-scatting, and perform most of the soloing over the top of the underwater rhythm section. Kind of cool, interesting, but not my favorite sound palette. Plus, it has a weird little coda tagged onto the end that seems like more of a "loose end." (8.75/10)

5. "Aflatus" (5:10) Gentle GILLI SMYTH-like Ulla vocalese accompanied by slowly played, slow-to--decay heavily-echoed and -reverbed electric violin for the first 2:20 before Ulla's vocalese turns to her African/Santería-style percussive scatting--only with a heavily-processed sound product. Meanwhile, Michał's violin must've turned off an effect or two as it starts sounding more present, more defined. Again, interesting, but not a very pleasant or danceable song. (8.6667/10)

6. "Schwarzwald Vibes" (2:55) synths and synth washes with synthetic and treated percussion sounds dispersed throughout. Very cinematic and creepy. (4.33333/5)

7. "Sunday Melody" (1:19) rapid fire Ulla-scatting. Reminds me of Cos's Pascale Son. Entertaining and joyful. (4.375/5)

8. "Autobahn" (4:45) a song that was left over from the previous album (Body English) starts out as a steady one-and-a-half chord first 3:25 over which Ulla gets free reign to perform her magic--this time with little or no sound-warping effects on her voice. (8.75/10)

Total Time 43:19

Unfortunately, this album feels more like another attempt to grab a bunch of underdeveloped or unfinished pieces of sound experimentation (many of which feature Urszula performing her unique vocal craft) 

87.21 on the Fishscales = B-/3.5 stars; an interesting representation of Michał and Urszula's experimentalism but not one of their most engaging or inspired song collections. 

MICHAL URBANIAK Urbaniak (1977)

Recorded at Powerplay Studios, Zurich, Switzerland, and Secret Sound Studios, New York City in August 1977, this is the second of the two albums Michał and Urzula would make for Joachim Berendt, the famous advocate of Polish jazz music.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak / Violin, Lyricon

- Urszula Dudziak / Vocals, percussion, synthesizer

- R. Anthony Bunn / Bass

- Kenny Kirkland / Piano, Synthesizers

- Lurenda Featherstone / Drums

- Zbigniew Namysłowski / Saxophone

A1. "Tie Breaker" (7:03) it might be Smooth Jazz but it's definitely back to Michał's sophisticated, well-composed, multi-layered tapestry-making. (Thank god!) (13.375/15)

A2. "Strife" (6:13) a little more smooth, simple, and straightforward than I'd like to hear (sounding more like something from Joe Sample or his [Jazz] Crusaders or some of Jean-Luc Ponty's simple stuff from 1979-82) at least the sound isn't overly compressed and the musicians can be clearly, cleanly distinguished. Weird to hear Urszula singing out of time with the other melody makers (especially Zbigniew Namysłowski's saxophone). That's a first! Nice drumming and keyboard play. (8.875/10)

A3. "Mountaineers" (4:00) another unusually less-sophisticated, more-spacious weave from Michał that hits all of the radio-friendly buttons but falls short of anything propelling Jazz-Rock Fusion into anything that a future conveyance of background/elevator music. A lot of similarities to the music coming from STEELY DAN at around the same time (Aja and even previewing 1980's Gaucho). (8.75/10)

A4. "Weird Creatures" (7:03) another very simple funk-lite weave that seems like such a watered down version of Michał's former compositional skill and genius. Nice performance from drummer Lurenda Featherstone. Interesting to hear Michał's Lyricon mixed between a real live sax, a sax-like synth, and Ulla's treated vocalese. (13.25/15)

B1. "Jasmine Lady" (8:22) Ula's gentle vocalizations here predate some of Bobby McFerrin's stylings  from the 1980s--here presented within a gentle Caribbean-lite JAY BECKENSTEIN/ SPYRO GYRA-like smooth jazz weave--even moving toward choral presentation of the song title using words! How Bob James-like! Zbigniew Namysłowski's smooth DAVE SANBORN-like sax seems to get most of the spotlight on this one--which is okay cuz he's rather good. Michał's murky electric violin gets its first really distinctive solo spot in the fifth and sixth minutes as the rhythm section soothes and lulls us with its JEAN-LUC PONTY "I Only Feel Good With You"-like motif from below. As corny as parts of this are (which was all the rage at the time and for some time thereafter) this is the best, most complete and satisfying song on the album. I just noticed the attempt to incorporate something into the main melody that might sound Asian/Oriental: cringe-worthy--big fail! (18/20)

B2. "Always Ready" (7:08) Michał's soaring electric violin over richly-chorused Fender Rhodes electric piano opens this one for the first 1:40 before poorly plucked electric bass tries to initiate and introduce the main motif for the rest of the song. I don't really like the cheesy electric percussion sounds Ula is playing but am glad to hear her African-style scatting take the lead in the fourth minute. Michal is next up for the spotlight, playing his electric violin with the note-bending melodic sensibilities of both Jean-Luc Ponty and Hugh Marsh. The best lines in the song seem to be coming from Kenny Kirkland's Fender Rhodes. (13/15)

B3. "Stray Sheep" (5:08) an odd four-part suite that opens with another simplified smooth jazz piece that actually sounds more like something created for a television theme song or as an advertising jingle. After a minute of this motif, the band switches gear and puts their head down to try to create a solid cruising groove over which Zbigniew Namysłowski's sax gets some significant time to solo. The problem is that this rhythm track is quite lame--thin and almost aggravating. At 3:20 we switch again, this time quite radically, into a nice little syncopated jazz swing, over which Michal solos on his violin with beautiful charm and smoothosity. The song then ends with some kind of weird attempt at the employment/usurpation of some kind of Scottish drinking melody and sound palette. Weird. Some parts are embarrassing, some actually kind of nice. (8.666667/10)

Total time: 45:10

88.33 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; a step up from their other 1977 release, Smiles Ahead, but still a step down from the masterful music and compositions Michał was creating in the first six years of the decade. Recommended but more for fans of Jazz-Rock Fusion who can tolerate the movement's degraded descent into Easy Listening/Smooth Jazz.  

MICHAL URBANIAK'S FUSION featuring URSZULA DUDZIAK Heritage (1978)

Recorded in Stuttgart at Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik in July and August of 1977 while the band was touring Europe, Michał and Ulla have an absolutely killer band with them.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak / Violin
- Urszula Dudziak / Vocals
- Kenny Kirkland / Keyboards
- Tony Bunn / Bass
- Lurenda Featherstone / Drums

1. "Heritage" (7:02) a slow introduction takes a minute to come together. When it does it is in the form of a traditional folk reel with a Celtic-sounding melody. But then things shift at the two-minute mark, with Michał using his plaintive violin to bridge us into a motif that uses two chords played with percussion on Tony Bunn's bass, which then sets up a long passage for some of Ulla's wordless vocalese: these some of the more slowed-down and wordlike riffs I've ever heard from her. The music slows in the fifth minute, giving Michał plenty of space to play his solo while slowly building his melodies and riffs.  (13.375/15)

2. "Prayer" (3:20) feels like a Chopin étude with some vocal and percussive frivolity and tempo-shifting fun. The violin is Ponty-like, but the sound play is more Zappa like. I really like it--though it probably should have been a minute or half-minute shorter! (8.875/10)

3. "Vio-lines" (2:33) Michał playing his electric violin solo in a big echo chamber. He does a really outstanding job of "playing with" (or "off of") his echoed doppleganger. It's really nice to hear Michał with some passion back in his violin playing. (4.375/5)

4. "Stick it in" (7:58) a more up-tempo song, like the old days, with some funk and jazz and some of Michał's most dynamic violin playing in a long time. A sound palette and musical style very similar to that which Jean-Luc Ponty is developing at the same time (minus the presence of Ulla). A second high-speed motif with Ulla's fast-scatting matching Michał's violin is used three times or four times as a kind of chorus (or extended bridge). Kenny's Fender Rhodes solo in the seventh minute is a little more his own and less a Chick Corea imitation. (13.5/15)

5. "Cucu's Nest" (8:17) a very pleasant and melodic smooth jazz-funk tune in which Kenny Kirkland's Chick Corea-like Moog sounds a lot like Ulla's scat vocalizations. (17.75/20)

6. "Gaby's Mood" (3:21) this one opens up sounding just like one of Ulla's solo voce pieces that we've heard before: almost exactly like "Funk Rings" from her own 1975 solo album, Urszula--but then, about halfway through, she shifts into some more ethereal ambient vocal tactics. Nice. And smart. (8.875/10)

7. "Storks" (8:30) opening with emotive bass and drums supporting Kenny, Michał, and Ulla's gentle melody line turns into a violin solo with some pretty awesome bass and Fender Rhodes support--which shifts into double time around 1:20 and then a frenetic funk passage at 1:35 which persists in the form of a two-chord vamp shuffle for Ulla's exquisite vocal scat solo. Man! are Tony Bunn and Lurenda Featherstone in synch! And Tony's fretless bass play is makin' me wanna get up and dance! After another brief frenzy bridge Michał takes a turn up front--this time over the most recent up-tempo Latin motif. Ulla joins in during the sixth minute, playing off of Michał, but then Tony steps up and starts to play off of Ulla's funk staccato scats! So cool. Next up is Kenny Kirkland with a wonderful prolonged solo on the Rhodes. This is as powerful a Jazz-Rock Fusion as anything Chick Corea did in the 1970s. (18.5/20)

I have to say that this album shows Michał Urbaniak at his most showy, dynamic, and skillful in a long time. While there is a little Smooth Jazz being expressed here, it's far more filled with sophisticated, dynamic, top-tiered Second Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion than the smooth stuff--sounding like Jean-Luc Ponty circa 1979 and 1980 with far more sophistication and complexity in both the construction and performances of the songs (especially the long songs).  

89.74 on the Fishscales = B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of super high quality Jazz-Rock Fusion. I guess Michał's not quite ready to submit to the pressure of conforming to the Smooth Jazz rage; he's still very committed to making high-quality power J-R Fusion!

MICHAL URBANIAK Ecstasy (1978)

Recorded at Rosebud Studios, New York, in June of 1978.

Line-up / Musicians:
- Michał Urbaniak* / Violin, Strings [Oberheim Synthesizer], Tenor Saxophone, Conductor

- Kenny Kirkland / Piano [Acoustic, Yamaha Baby Grand], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Minimoog, Polymoog

- Zbigniew Namysłowski / Alto Saxophone

- Anthony Jackson / Bass Guitar 

- Pee Wee Ford / Bass Guitar
- Bernard Pretty Purdie* / Drums

- Gary Mure / Drums
- James Crab Robinson / Guitar
- Crusher Bennett* / Percussion

- Arthur Jenkins / Percussion

- Ralph Macdonald / Percussion

- Othello / Steel Drums 

Vocals [Lead]:  Calvin Brown (A4, B1), Henry Jackson, James Crab Robinson*, Keith Keyboy Rose , Urszula Dudziak (A2, B2, B3, B4)

Vocals [Background]:  Keith Keyboy Rose, Rickie Byars-Boger*

A1. "Body Rub" (4:42) group vocals over funk R&B music conjoins this song with music by funk R&B bands like The OHIO PLAYERS, PARLIAMENT, CAMEO, THE BROTHERS JOHNSON, SLY & THE FAMILY STONE,THE COMMODORES, The GAP BAND, KOOL & THE GANG, DAZZ BAND, GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION, EARTH WIND & FIRE, The ISLEY BROTHERS, and The AVERAGE WHITE BAND.  (9/10)

A2. "Free" (4:45) I have to admit to being quite shocked that Michał didn't enlist his superhuman wife to attempt to cover the vocals of this iconic Deniece Williams song--on her own. The credits say she's there but I have to admit that I cannot distinguish her voice from those of the men around her. Still, it's a pretty good rendition: very funky and soulful in the same vein as the above funk R&B artists. (8.875/10) 

A3. "Ecstasy" (3:02) this one sounds very much like EARTH, WIND & FIRE or The BROTHERS JOHNSON. (It may be a cover of one of their songs. It's definitely not a cover of The Ohio Players song of the same name.) It may be an original. Great song--with some awesome musicianship across the board (especially from the bass)--and some very creative and spirited electric violin play from Michał. Should've been a radio hit! (9.125/10)

A4. "Just A Funky Feeling" (5:22) stanky funk-blues that sounds like The O'Jays, War, Rufus, Kool & The Gang and many other Funk R&B bands. Great contributions from the percussionists, vocal team, bass player, and saxes. Another absolutely outstanding funk R&B song. You'd be hard-pressed to admit that the band leader and composer was a European white guy! (9.333/10) 

B1. "Want's Ta Make You Feel Good" (5:41) this song definitely brings one deep into the fold of the KOOL & THE GANG/BROTHERS JOHNSON/EARTH, WIND & FIRE pocket of smooth, sexy/sultry Funk R&B. Again, I'm pinching myself: Michał Urbaniak! Who knew?! There's even some RICK JAMES in this one. If you love the funk of the late 1970s, you're gonna LOVE this! Awesome! You could not ask for better band and musicianship! (9.5/10)

B2. "A Day In The Park" (4:04) down to the beautiful Smooth Jazz that Michal also excels at--this one serving as a perfect vehicle for some of his wife Urszula's most beautiful vocals--this one worded! Ulla's work here reminds me very much of the work of Patricia Kaas and Deniece Williams--though not so much when she starts her bird like scatting in the third minute--but it's short-lived: she returns to worded singing, mirrored by the nice gentle male voice of either James Crab Robinson, Keith Keyboy Rose, or Rickie Byars-Boger. Lovely. (8.875/10)

B3. "French Kiss" (5:17) now settling into the Smooth Jazz territory pioneered by BOB JAMES and FREDDIE HUBBARD--only with Michał's sexy sax in the lead position. Nice! Nice slap bass play from Pee Wee Ford over Anthony Jackson's far-smoother mellow note play. The slightly-scattered ramped up "chorus" motifs detract a little from the flow and success of the song due to the instrumentalists' inability to stay synchronized with one another (unless it's intentional). It's just a little off-putting. (8.75/10)

B4. "Creation" (6:21) another smoother return to the Jazz-Rock Fusion foundations of Michał's past, here with some nice smooth funk bass and Fender Rhodes support from Anthony Jackson and Kenny Kirkland, respectively. Even Ulla seems at ease and fully on board with this one. (I'm suspecting that the heavier Funk R&B is neither in her interest or comfort zones.) Nice, steady, superior quality and caliber Jazz-Rock Fusion that is, perhaps, lacking a little energy or enthusiasm. (8.75/10)

Urszula's participation here is so minimal--and so muted--that it may have been an indication of A) her displeasure with the direction Michał was taking with their music, B) her dissatisfaction with their marriage, and/or C) her longing to go back to her homeland (Poland). 

90.26 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion that contains five songs (our of eight) that represent some of the Seventies' highest quality Funk R&B--some of the greatest songs that you will ever hear (but probably haven't). A must hear album! Especially if you like Funk R&B!