Label: ECM Records, 2023

Personnel - Maciej Obara: alto saxophone; Dominik Wania: piano; Ole Morten Vagan: bass; Gard Nilssen: drums.

Polish saxophonist and composer Maciej Obara released Frozen Silence, featuring his working quartet with fellow countryman Dominik Wania on piano, and a Norwegian rhythm team consisting of Ole Morten Vagan on bass and Gard Nilssen on drums. Obara, known for his adaptability, is also a member of the drummer’s Supersonic Orchestra, but the propulsive energy and buoyant spirit of that ensemble contrast with what you'll experience with this third album for ECM. Written during the pandemic, these compositions have a direct relationship with nature and isolation, exposing the introspective side of the composer.

Bathed in contemplative expression, “Dry Montain” shimmers into the atmosphere with crystalline prose and profound intimacy. Finding space, the instrumentalists contribute beautifully to the whole, but it’s Obara's intonation and racing phrases that stand out, sometimes evoking the spirit of Charles Lloyd.

However, he acknowledges some inspiration from trumpeter Bill Dixon on “Black Cauldron”, a disconsolate chimera that pairs well with the rubato reflection of “High Stone”. There’s deep drama, even melancholy, in Obara’s music, yet “Twilight” finds hopeful rays of light in the dusky landscape. Immersed in a luxurious repose, the piece is enhanced by Nilssen’s excellent mallet drumming.

The title track, “Frozen Silence”, stands as one of the album’s glorious achievements. It’s set in motion with a dancing bass figure around which everything else revolves and gravitates. Wania speaks hybrid idioms - made of folk and jazz elements - with extraordinary clarity, and introduces “Rainbow Leaves” with a classical touch, after which a glaring 4/4 rhythm is established with the help of the remaining members of the rhythm section. The dynamics shift along the way, building toward its creative peak and then receding again to reinstate the early composure. This latter piece was co-written with pianist Nikola Kolodziejczyk.
Hardly revolutionary, Obara’s new album has moments of transcendent beauty, showcasing remarkable interplay.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Dry Mountain ► 03 - Frozen Silence ► 05 - Rainbow Leaves

Label/Year: ECM, 2017

Lineup - Maciej Obara: saxophone; Dominik Wania: piano; Ole Morten Vagan: bass; Gard Nilssen: drums.

With eager expectation but also unflinching confidence, Polish alto saxophonist Maciej Obara leads his inspired quartet, established in 2012, with a solid sense of unity, hoping for a great debut on the ECM label.
In fact, Unloved, the group’s first studio album doesn’t disappoint, thriving in a crescendo and maturing in our ears after repetitive listenings.

The six original compositions plus one cover were brought forth with the talents of his country fellowman pianist Dominik Wania, who met the saxophonist during a fruitful stint with the Tomasz Stanko group, and the Norwegian Ole Morten Vagan and Gard Nilssen on double bass and drums, respectively.

Obara and his peers set up varied musical settings that range from duskily contemplative to controllably busy to powerfully abrasive.

Both “Ula”, the opening track, and “Joli Bord”, a crepuscular portrait of a desolate landscape, belong to the first kind mentioned above, the sort of composition that Eberhard Weber would write. The former piece comes enfolded in this wintry, almost elegiac coating that derives from minor harmonies and the concise chamber movements provoked by Vagan, whenever he employs the arco. Whether a lament or a prayer, it appends a strong, gray-hued lyricism.

Conversely, the nearly pop atmosphere of “One For” lets the light in as an ear-catching bass groove adheres to the understated drumming and nice piano accompaniment. On top, Obara’s brushstrokes color the canvas with leveled timbres and surgical precision. Yet, it’s Wania who steals the show here, taking off on a tactful solo that brings up his advanced jazz language.

Symbol of astounding interplay and communication, “Sleepwalker” exposes folk charisma in the theme’s statement and, at last, presents Obara as a dashing improviser, capable of stimulating listeners and the rhythm section itself, which responds with prompt counteractions and triggers further incitement to exploration.

The only non-original selected for this album was the title track, a plainspoken ballad composed by Krzysztof Komeda and arranged with subtle arpeggiated harmonies as well as melodic parallelism and counterpoint.

After a solo piano preliminary section shrouded in alluring intrigue (a stern, slashing bowed bass joins for the final minutes), the stirring “Echoes”, an uptempo yet static tune, makes the bandleader return to the spotlight. Always alert to Obara’s fervent attacks, Wania responds and also shines in his improvisation as he fearlessly incurs in labyrinthine alleys with extraordinary agility.

The unobstructed sounds of Maciej Obara Quartet, a group with a strong talent to transform and adapt, oscillate extravagantly in mood, according to the emotional fragility or exhilarating imperiousness that might prevail. It is, indeed, a wonderful ECM debut.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - One For ► 05 - Sleepwalker ► 06 - Echoes