Piotr Schmidt Electric Group were, according to Jazz Forum’s Jazz Top poll, 2014’s 2015's and 2016's third best electric jazz band in Poland. Since inception the group fascinates with their mix of fusion and space jazz with soul, funk, R&B, film music, and occasional nods t drum’n’bass and hip hop.
The band members are all multi-award winning young artists. Since they got together in 2011, they have played all major Polish jazz venues and festivals.
Tear The Roof Off teems with musical innovation, and all of it grounded in jazz tradition. It develops in a perfectly structured narrative arc that keeps you riveted like an enthralling novel. In drawing on jazz tradition and seasoning it with contemporary sound, Piotr Schmidt and friends managed to create a truly original and peculiar aesthetic. Each of the original quartet’s musicians is an important pillar bearing the weight of the music, and responsible for the overall vision. Tear The Roof Off is also a masterpiece of sound engineering.
The album is replete with stirring melodies, surfacing out of artful arrangements. Piotr Schmidt’s own, trumpet-led Spanish Inquisition is a case in point, as is Tomasz Bura’s Vision 1, embroidered with well-matched vibraphone from guest musician Bartek Pieszka.
Amid all the opulent arrangements the ballad Still Without offers a break, with its simple trumpet lead, quietly impressionistic piano, and crisp vibraphone.
Another outstanding piece is the subtle, lyrical theme of Please Try Again Later.
The music is well seasoned, as with Michał Kapczuk’s bass guitar parts in Still Without or Vision 1, or electronic improvs in Spanish Inquisition.
The guest appearance by the British guitar player Alex Hutchings should be mentioned. His prog-rock-inspired solos appear in the short motifs Vision 2.0 and Vision 2.1. In his solo on the 10-minute-long You And The Night And The City, Hutchings gets to show off in full, and lends the piece a jazz-rock aroma - deftly supported by bass guitar.
Robert Ratajczak
Line-up:
- Piotr Schmidt – trumpet
- Tomasz Bura – grand piano, synthesizers
- Michał Kapczuk – bass guitar
- Sebastian Kuchczyński – drums
Featuring:
- Alex Hutchings – electric guitar (tracks 3, 6, 7)
- Joanna Szymala – electronics (tracks 2, 7)
- Bartek Pieszka – vibes (tracks 4, 5)
- DJ Krime – turntablism (tracks 1, 7)
- MC Solomon – rap (track 1)
- Marcin Jajkiewicz – vocals (track 1)
- Bartosz Libera – vocal scratches (track 1)
