JazzKLUB / Jazzy Oberek / Jose Manuel Albán-Juárez - NOSPR

The oberek has already been paired with jazz, both classical and free, but a combination like this is a true innovation. In José Manuel Albán-Juárez’ music, the triple-step dance of the Polish lowlands meets Afroamerican music, and precisely that of Peru, the homeland of the Szczecin-born artist’s father. “Why so late!” – is what one feels like shouting out loud. The artist’s 25 years on stage – from Maanam, through Łona and Radzimir Dębski, to symphony orchestras – are crowned in the best way possible: presenting his most personal vision to the world. Albán-Juárez would spend his childhood holidays in the Mazovian countryside and in Peru – he quickly observed a correspondence between the musical traditions of those distant places. Musica negra y blanca is a realisation of those childhood observations – moving and natural, as if Poland and Peru were not over 11 thousand kilometres and several time zones away.  

Tomasz Gregorczyk