Janek Gwizdala’s Research
Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho, London
Bass players as band leaders have a long and distinguished legacy in jazz, encompassing acoustic greats such as Charles Mingus in the 1950s to the dazzling electro-fusion pioneers Stanley Clark and Jaco Pastorious in the 1970s with Return to Forever and Weather Report respectively. Walking basslines have eternally been the pillars of the music’s harmonic structure, so it shouldn’t be surprising that many of the form’s compositional visionaries have had a lower register perspective.
English-born New York resident Janek Gwizdala has been a feature of the international music circuit for several years, with credits including Mike Stern, Pat Metheny and Randy Brecker. His debut release, Mystery to Me in 2005, marked the 30-year-old not only as a prodigiously talented bass player and multi-instrumentalist but also an adept composer of adventurous, small group modern jazz.
For his two-set, two-night appearance at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, the funk and hip-hop influenced bassist was joined by some formidable improvisers, including British powerhouse drummer and multi-instrumentalist Gary Husband and New York’s coruscating rebel jazz-rock guitarist Wayne Krantz, alongside the mellifluous, classically influenced pianist Gwilym Simcock.
The opener was the first of several funk-fusion workouts anchored by a rolling groove with Gwizdala’s five-string bass and Krantz’s scrunching chordwork melding into one driving force, underpinned by Husband’s propulsions and delicate textural shades from Simock. Don Grolnick’s “Lotus Blossom” was the set’s only ballad, a nuanced, understated interpretation, while the leader’s “Mana” – inspired by the Mexican rock group of the same name – was a whirling vamp.
Firmly rooted in the New York jam band model, the set’s modal, one chord improvisations elicited some scalding efforts from Krantz, an extemporiser who thrives on cliff hanging instantaneousness while Gwizdala shared the guerrilla approach with an effortless dexterity and breezy virtuosity which inspired and unleashed his bandmates in equal measure. At times, the piano felt somewhat adrift from what was effectively a power trio session, but the improvising and musicianship ensured this was a highly memorable set.
James McGowan
