SKJazz about “Hope” album – really good jazz!

So far, we have written about the outstanding Polish composer, pianist, and vocalist Ilona Damięcka (*1976) only in connection with the album Monk’s Midnight (Hevhetia, 2016), which was recorded by an international quartet, with Ilona as a part of the group. It should also be mentioned that she is a graduate of the Jazz and Popular Music Department at the Music Academy in Katowice. She is also one of the first pianists to complete the jazz piano program at the local academy under the guidance of Wojciech Niedziela. After finishing her studies, she moved to Kraków, where she collaborated for two years with saxophonist Janusz Muniak, from whom she learned how to work in a band. She has worked with many jazz musicians, including Maciej Sikała, Piotr Wojtasik, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Jerzy Małek, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Marcin Pospieszalski, Przemek Dyakowski, Ewa Uryga, and many others, as well as with the international jazz scene.

In the fall of last year, Ilona released her second solo album, Hope, which features eight of her original compositions, recorded only in a trio format: Paweł Urowski on double bass and Krzysztof Szmańda on drums. Experienced and versatile, Ilona Damięcka presents herself on this album primarily as a pianist, with one exception. She sings, in English, rather oddly, on only one track, Tenfour, which closes the entire collection of beautiful melodic and balladic pieces. Alongside the dominant slow tracks, there is also a more dynamic piece, Jewish Dance, which feels very refreshing. The trio is very well attuned to each other, not only hearing but also feeling each other, which allows the positive chemistry from the recording to easily transfer to the listener.

Hope is a very successful album that will delight not only romantics but also true jazz aficionados. Great jazz music!

Patrick Španko