Undivided: Waclaw Zimpel, Bobby Few, Mark Tokar, Klaus Kugel

The Passion

Label: Not Two Records Country: Poland

"Passion" is the fourth CD output of Wacław Zimpel and at the same time the opening of his Undivided project. Undivided was founded as trio: Waclaw Zimpel - clarinets, Mark Tokar - bass and Klaus Kugel - but sometimes it will be extended to quartet, quintet or sextet, inviting other musicians for specific realizations. In this case it's Bobby Few, an American pianist, for years living in Paris. In early sixties Bobby Few performed and recorded with Albert Ayler, but worked with Steve Lacy, David Murray, Alan Silva, Sabir Mateen, Daniel Carter and Frank Wright as well (last autumn he gave concerts with Undivided Quintet - a group extended by clarinetist Perry Robinson).

The Project was born during the Holy Week of 2009 as a concert program for audiences in Poznan, Torun and Gdynia. The CD contains a concert recording from Dwór Artusa in Torun.

"Passion" is Waclaw Zimpel's initiative and composer's work. Intrigued by passion performances and their musical style he decided to confront with their form and essence, existing from time immemorial in European high and peasant culture. Not all melodic themes were created by Zimpel (He admits in liner notes that some of the melodic themes were adopted or travestied from modern composers), but all arrangements and transcriptions are realized by him.

This music is not meant to express any religious experience. It rather express musician's reflection about existence, experience and meaning of agony in human existence, it is not their individual statement of belief. But if anyone inspired by this music decides to follow "via Crucis", it shall be construed as the highest possible acknowledgment of the artist's vision

-Wawrzyniec Makinia