Night in Calisia

Background and recording

Night in Calisia is the third collaboration between Polish jazz pianist and composer Włodzimierz Pawlik and American trumpeter Randy Brecker – their first album, Turtles, was released in 1995, while Nostalgic Journey - Tykocin Jazz Suite was released through Summit Records in 2009.

To celebrate the 1850th anniversary of the Polish town of Kalisz, the director of the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra Adam Klocek asked Pawlik to write a composition for the occasion. Randy Brecker, Wlodek Pawlik Trio (with Pawlik on piano, Paweł Pańta on double bass and Cezary Konrad on drums) and the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Klocek played a concert in Kalisz on June 19, 2010. The album was recorded in the studios of Polskie Radio on March 3–4, 2011.

Composition

Night in Calisia is a six-part jazz suite. The title of the first track, "Night in Calisia", was inspired by the jazz standard by Dizzy Gillespie, "A Night in Tunisia" (1942). The third part of the suite, "Orienthology", is a reference to "Ornithology" (1946) by jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker.

"The Tykocin music is directly connected with the history of the Brecker's family battle with Michael's disease, (...) whereas the compositions for Kalisz are lacking any clear programme. I was rather playing with form, picturing completely abstract and surreal associations for example within the titles, referring to the wanderings of merchants on the ancient Amber Road, on which, according to Roman books, the settlement known as Calisia lay," said Włodzimierz Pawlik in an interview with Jazz Forum magazine.

Critical reception

In a review for All About Jazz, Nicholas F. Mondello praised the album calling it "a gem," an "exuberantly satisfying recording," and "a sprawling, beautiful and inspiring performance which, through Pawlik's effusive musical pageantry, Brecker's outstanding playing, and the orchestra's hometown fervor, appropriately helped the ancient town celebrate its 1850th anniversary."

Awards and accolades

In December 2012, Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita hailed Night in Calisia the Jazz Album of the Year. In October 2013, the album won the Grand Prix Jazz Melomani award in Łódź, for the Album of the Year.

On January 26, 2014, the album won a Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. It was Randy Brecker's sixth win, while Włodzimierz Pawlik became the first Polish jazz musician to ever win the award.

Track listing

All music composed by Włodzimierz Pawlik.

Personnel