Title: Astigmatic
By: Komeda Quintet
Released: 1966 (2016 re-releases)
Format: VINYL
Catalog No: XL 0298
Price : 60 USD
Format: CD
Catalog No: 0825646488605
Price : 25 USD
Astigmatic consists of three long tracks, all written by Komeda. "Kattorna" (meaning "female cats" in Swedish is based on a motif from Komeda's soundtrack for a movie of the same name directed by Henning Carlsen. "Svantetic" is dedicated to Svante Foerster, a Swedish poet who was a friend of Komeda. The music combines many disparate elements, including modal playing, free jazz-inspired improvisation, precise forms, tone clusters, aleatoric structures and avant-garde use of timbre and articulation, while imbuing them with individual expression and a sense of dramatic lyricism that's been compared to late Romantic music. (source)
Side A
1. Astigmatic 22:50
Side B
2. Kattorna 7:20
3. Svantetic 15:50
Line-up:
Krzysztof Komeda – bandleader, piano
Rune Carlsson – drums
Günter Lenz – double bass
Zbigniew Namysłowski – alto saxophone
Tomasz Stańko – trumpet
Additional personnel:
Halina Jastrzębska – engineering
Marek Karewicz – cover photo
Wojciech Piętowski – production
Adam Sławiński – liner notes
Rosław Szaybo – cover design
Recorded:
in Warsaw, December, 1965
What the critics say:
"Astigmatic has become a bellwether for European jazz, with critics pointing to how this album marked a shift away from the dominant American approach with the emergence of a specific European aesthetic". (Stuart Nicholson )
"Astigmatic is one of the most important contributions to the shaping of a European aesthetic in jazz composition". (Jazzwise Magazine)
"A milestone in the history of jazz". (Manfred Eicher, ECM Records)
"The best album of all time". (Jazz Forum Magazine )
"Komeda's compositions and arrangements are beautiful and complex, and it's the rare epochal album whose power is still potent from the first listen through to its thousandth". (Mikey IQ Jones, FACT Magazine )
'One of the finest jazz albums ever made in Europe". (The Penguin Guide to Jazz)
