Anna Maria Jopek & Branford Marsalis - Ulotne | Elusive (2018)

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Anna Maria Jopek & Branford Marsalis - Ulotne | Elusive (2018)

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Every new release by the Polish Diva Anna Maria Jopek is a celebration of Culture and a major musical event on an international scale, especially so when it involves a revered Jazz superstar like saxophonist Branford Marsalis. Jopek, famous for her consistent independent Artistic vision, managed to create her own universe, where she does not need to compare or compete with the rest of the world, which enables her complete freedom of expression and self-determination, which only very few Artists worldwide were able to achieve over time.
Recording an album with Marsalis was a dream, which Jopek held on to since the time she heard him playing with Sting, which of course was a huge influence on every true music lover at the time. The incredible chemistry that Sting and Marsalis demonstrated was an extremely tall order to follow, but Jopek never eschewed a challenge and this album proves that the realization of that dream was indeed worthwhile waiting for.
The album was recorded during two separate recording sessions, twenty one months apart, which considering the busy schedule that Jopek and Marsalis are both entangled in, is not as surprising as it might sound. The somewhat esoteric group of musicians includes percussionist Mino Cinelu, pianists Krzysztof Herdzin (who was also in charge of arrangements and conducting) and Marcin Wasilewski, multi-instrumentalist Piotr Nazaruk, bassist Robert Kubiszyn and Atom String Quartet (violinists Mateusz Smoczyński and Dawid Lubowicz, violist Michał Zaborski and cellist Krzysztof Lenczowski). Polish Folklore Guru Maria Pomianowska guests on one track. The album presents ten tracks on the "formal" first CD and four additional tracks (one of which is an alternate version of a track on the album) on the "bonus" second CD. The songs are mostly originals, written by Jopek or co-written with her spouse Marcin Kydryński, one song is by Herdzin, one by Tomasz Stańko (see below), one by Andrzej Zieliński (Skaldowie) and one by Harry Kandel with the rest being originally traditional Polish Folklore songs.
Musically the album marks a return to Jopek's established modus operandi, which combines Polish Folklore and original songwriting, spiced with Jazzy arrangements and of course dominated by her highly original expressionism. The music is deeply soaked in Polish lyricism and melancholy and her decision to sing in the Polish language emphasizes these elements even further. Marsalis plunges into this Slavic environment with vigor and determination, as if Eastern European sensitivities were his second nature, which is quite remarkable. It proves not only his openness and ability to embrace diverse Cultures, but also his incredible musicality, which enables him to feel completely at home in this Slavic musical setting. It also proves, perhaps more importantly, that music is universal, as is human soul, and ethnic boundaries can be crossed and amalgamated on the collective plane.