(Jazz Ethno, Jazz Modern Creative) [WEB] Cukunft (Raphael Roginski, Pawel Szamburski, Michal Gorczynski, Pawel Szpura) - Wilde Blumen - 2013, FLAC (tracks), lossless

Cukunft is one of those young bands in Poland you should definitely know about. Created by charismatic guitarist Raphael Rogiński it is a serious project designed to remind the Polish audience of great legacy of Jewish music in Poland, now forgotten, as Jewish community is almost not existing. On their first disc "Lider fun Mordechaj Gebirtig" (2005) they took up the music of legendary bard from Cracow, on second double CD "Itstikeyt / Fargangenheit" (2010) the music was more varied but again was inspired mainly by pre-war Jewish city songs but also contained Rogiński's own compositions. On their third and newest release we see a continuation of this trend as references to klezmer music are more and more general while Rogiński's compositions and play on guitar become the focus of the whole album.
While listening to "Wilde Blumen" I couldn't help but recall the poem "Kwiaty Polskie" by Polish poet of Jewish origin Julian Tuwim. As in this one of the most famous works of our poetry in prewar period the flowers become symbols of beauty of almost transcendental dimensions. The same feeling of innocence associated with unworldliness pervades music of Cukunft on this release. But all these praises of mine shall not be limited to Rogiński only as the support he receives from his companions is impossible to overestimate. Paweł Szamburski on clarinet, Michał Górczyński on clarinet and saxophone, and Paweł Szpura on drums are all creme-de-creme of young generation of Polish musicians with excellent projects already done on their own.
Making long story short I want to summarize this review by strongly recommending you rehearsal of this disc. Of many Polish albums inspired by Jewish music those by Cukunft, along with discs recorded by Ircha Clarinet Quartet, trio Shofar or Bester Quartet, are clearly most original in conception, excellently performed and, very importantly, authentic of all.

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"Wilde Blumen" to osiem wyjątkowych kompozycji na gitarę, perkusję, klarnety oraz saksofon. W skład grupy wchodzą Raphael Rogiński, Paweł Szamburski, Michał Górczyński oraz Paweł Szpura. Większość utworów została napisana przez gitarzystę Raphaela Rogińskiego oraz zaaranżowana wspólnie z kwartetem. Cukunft w swojej działalności niejednokrotnie odnosił się do tradycyjnej muzyki żydowskiej. Ma na koncie m. in. opracowanie utworów kompozytora i poety żydowskiego Mordechaja Gebirtiga, wykonania dzieł polskich kompozytorów i poetów żydowskich (Icyk Manger, Mosche Shneur), a także współczesne przetworzenia weselnej muzyki żydowskiej z terenów Galicji. Album "Wilde Blumen" to poszerzenie tego kontekstu o autorski, indywidualny język i unikatowe brzmienie kwartetu Cukunft. Oficjalna koncertowa premiera najnowszej płyty będzie miała miejsce w dniach 2-4 lipca w ramach Międzynarodowego Festiwalu Kultury Żydowskiej w Krakowie. Cukunft wystąpi na wspólnym koncercie wraz z wybitną wokalistką Marią Raducanu. Jesienna trasa promocyjna rozpocznie się 1 września koncertem finałowym Festiwalu Warszawa Singera, na którym zespół poszerzy skład o muzyków związanych z Orkiestrą Klezmerską Teatru Sejneńskiego.

The band Cukunft (‘the future’ in Yiddish) was established by guitarist Raphael Rogiński. The idea of the project is the continuation of the Jewish musical tradition of Eastern Europe with all its richness and in all its forms and genres. The musicians interpret pre-war pieces, and compose their own using the entire spectrum of Jewish music which, for them, remains very much alive. Cukunft’s repertoir is created spontaneously, but is also backed by serious musical and sociological research. In its original line-up a few years back, Cukunft prepared and performed the pieces of Mordechaj Gebirtig (b. 1877, d. 1942), who lived and composed in Cracow during the interwar period. This material was featured on the band’s EP entitled “Lider fun Mordechaj Gebirtig” which was released in 2004. In their subsequent line-up, which featured a basoon and percussion, Cukunft worked with pieces by Polish composers to the words of Jewish poets (Icyk Manger, Mosche Shneur, David Beigelman and others) as well as with music composed by Raphael Rogiński. That time the band focused on the tradition of the Jewish ‘city music’. The understated, even minimalistic way of performing allows audiences to realy delve into the sound of contemporary Jewish music as that contemporary character is experienced by the musicians. Currently, the band is focused almost entirely on Jewish country music from the Galicia region. Processed through Cukunft’s original sound, some of the traditional dances – frejlaks, turkiszer or voleks – are becoming the conteporary repertoir for a modern ‘klezmer orchestra’. Currently, the band’s line-up includes Raphael Rogiński on electric guitar, Paweł Szamburski on clarinet, Paweł Szpura on drums and Michał Górczyński on bass clarinet.