Artisena

Joachim Mencel, a Polish pianist and composer, has created a cycle of eight jazz compositions inspired by traditional Polish folk dances and arranged for piano, hurdy-gurdy, violin, guitar, double bass and drums. Artisenawas originally composed for only classical instruments but Mencel wanted to achieve more of a traditional sound – so he taught himself to play the hurdy-gurdy.

The record opens with a clumsy ‘Polonez A-moll’ that seems to be an entanglement of numerous, aimless improvisations. It's difficult to extract the polonaise theme – it's as if the musicians were too shy to expose it. The subsequent tracks have a similar tendency – the sharpness and wit of folk dances are smoothed out with jazz piano and guitar and straightened with the predictable rhythmic section. The only details that make Artisena sound somewhat folky are the violin and hurdy-gurdy solos – and they feel like awkward guests at a party they weren't invited to.

This album was created and played by obviously highly skilled jazz musicians, but it feels like they didn't really try to open a dialogue with folk-music aesthetics. Labelled by the publisher as ‘fusion’ and ‘ethno jazz’, Artisena is a rather mediocre jazz album with folk elements tucked in here and there.