''Night in Calisia'' is a jazz album recorded by

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was born on Nov ...

, the Wlodek Pawlik Trio, the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra and Adam Klocek. Composed to celebrate the 1850th anniversary of

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

, the six-part jazz suite was recorded in March 2011, and released in Poland on November 13, 2012, and in the United States on August 13, 2013 through

Summit Records Summit Records, Inc. is an internationally distributed record label that evolved out of the large brass ensemble Summit Brass in the late 1980s. It was established by David Hickman and Ralph Sauer. Four Summit Records recordings have been nom ...

. The album won the 2014

Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album The Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album has been presented since 1961. From 1962 to 1971 and 1979 to 1991 the award title specified instrumental performances. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works ...

Background and recording

''Night in Calisia'' is the third collaboration between Polish jazz pianist and composer Włodzimierz Pawlik and American trumpeter

– their first album, ''Turtles'', was released in 1995, while ''Nostalgic Journey - Tykocin Jazz Suite'' was released through

in 2009. To celebrate the 1850th anniversary of the Polish town of

, the director of the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra Adam Klocek asked Pawlik to write a composition for the occasion. Randy Brecker, Wlodek Pawlik Trio (with Pawlik on piano, Paweł Pańta on double bass and Cezary Konrad on drums) and the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Klocek played a concert in Kalisz on June 19, 2010. The album was recorded in the studios of

Polskie Radio Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna (PR S.A.; English: Polish Radio) is Poland's national public-service radio broadcasting organization owned by the State Treasury of Poland. History Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began making ...

on March 3–4, 2011.

Composition

''Night in Calisia'' is a six-part

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

suite. The title of the first track, "Night in Calisia", was inspired by the jazz standard by

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

, "

A Night in Tunisia "A Night in Tunisia" is a musical composition written by Dizzy Gillespie around 1940–42, while Gillespie was playing with the Benny Carter band. It has become a jazz standard. It is also known as "Interlude", and with lyrics by Raymond Leveen w ...

" (1942). The third part of the suite, "Orienthology", is a reference to "

Ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

" (1946) by jazz saxophonist

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. "The ''Tykocin'' music is directly connected with the history of the Brecker's family battle with

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

's disease, (...) whereas the compositions for Kalisz are lacking any clear programme. I was rather playing with form, picturing completely abstract and surreal associations for example within the titles, referring to the wanderings of merchants on the ancient

Amber Road The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade. ...

, on which, according to Roman books, the settlement known as Calisia lay," said Włodzimierz Pawlik in an interview with ''Jazz Forum'' magazine.

Critical reception

In a review for

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

, Nicholas F. Mondello praised the album calling it "a gem," an "exuberantly satisfying recording," and "a sprawling, beautiful and inspiring performance which, through Pawlik's effusive musical pageantry, Brecker's outstanding playing, and the orchestra's hometown fervor, appropriately helped the ancient town celebrate its 1850th anniversary."

Awards and accolades

In December 2012, Polish newspaper ''

Rzeczpospolita () is the official name of Poland and a traditional name for some of its predecessor states. It is a compound of "thing, matter" and "common", a calque of Latin ''rés pública'' ( "thing" + "public, common"), i.e. ''republic'', in Engli ...

'' hailed ''Night in Calisia'' the Jazz Album of the Year. In October 2013, the album won the Grand Prix Jazz Melomani award in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

, for the Album of the Year. On January 26, 2014, the album won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album The Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album has been presented since 1961. From 1962 to 1971 and 1979 to 1991 the award title specified instrumental performances. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works ...

. It was Randy Brecker's sixth win, while Włodzimierz Pawlik became the first Polish jazz musician to ever win the award.

Track listing

Personnel

– trumpet ;Wlodek Pawlik Trio * Włodzimierz Pawlik – piano * Paweł Pańta – double bass * Cezary Konrad – drums ;Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra * Adam Klocek – conducting

Charts and certifications

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2012 albums Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album Randy Brecker albums