Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra - Trzy Dni (2024)

Warsaw Improvisers Orchestra is a collective founded in 2013 by Ray Dickaty, a British saxophonist. This exceptionally broad project, which can usually be heard at Warsaw's Chmury, is characterized by an exceptionally open approach to its formula. Over the past 11 years, countless musicians have passed through the project, invariably conducted by Dickaty. Their album, released in July this year, seems to perfectly capture the spirit of improvisation dependent on the individual musical dialects of the creators. The whole thing was recorded over 3 days in 2017, with a total of 46 musicians (including the choir).

The first day greets us with a rainy atmosphere, a slow start to the journey into the faded urban landscape. The track Bring on the dancing horses and let the flute sing in a slightly industrial way allows us to take in the melancholic atmosphere, brilliantly emphasized by the titular flute, to finally twist towards a possessed amalgam of sounds. While playing the recordings from that day, we will also find a place for practically jazz rock madness (the track After a time the groove settled with regular angularity) powered by a completely crazy scat and electric guitar, to finally end the whole of the first cedek with a beautiful cello track. My favorite track from the first day is An intense space, feel the heat d, in which we can experience great drum tracks and a guitar that seems to play a stillborn and broken version of schizoid blues.

The second day greets us with a witch's voice and catatonic consistency in the delivery of new sounds. In fact, the entire second day does not allow us to think about anything other than a magical ritual. It is still urban music, but thanks to the female vocals creating an incredible atmosphere, we participate in something bigger and unequivocally magical. There are also many more traces of a basically dark jazz atmosphere – which can be heard exceptionally well in Solitude, starting with bowls and a deep drum, with a distinctive trumpet part.

Trzeci dzień, paraphrasing the title of one of the tracks, speaks to us in the language of improvisational cinema. This is extremely visual music, a post-bop skeleton wraps vocals and wind instruments, allowing us to travel in a wild and intense story. Sometimes we feel like Charles Mingus, sometimes like Scott Walker's experimental records, but above all we become part of this entourage. Following the sounds gives the impression of finding the light, sought by the musicians in the track In a grainy world we find the light. Percussive rhythm and angelic vocals seek closure in the art of conversation with the mash of heavy atmosphere.

This is a demanding album – the recordings from all three days contain over 2 hours of music. Only tackle this album if you can afford to be exceptionally focused. I assure you, however, that it cannot disappoint then.