Above all...Joachim's phrases...have this melodious charm, which is available to only the greatest of pianists.
BEST RECORDING 2020 - High Fidelity Magazine (Poland)
Celebrated Polish pianist, composer, lyricist, and a foremost proponent of modern jazz on the hurdy-gurdy (vielle à roue), Joachim Mencel has a wide-ranging career composing for film, orchestras and ballet, touring with his jazz projects, or appearances with giants such as Lee Konitz, Dino Saluzzi, Richard Galliano, Dave Liebman, Eddie Henderson, Charlie Mariano, and many others. Though he's experienced performing in America before, including being a part of the Monk Piano Competition in 1989, Brooklyn Eye is the realization of a dream forged in his youth behind the iron curtain. Recording compositions that were informed by the culture, musicians, harmonies and feelings of America, and then to record in New York City with several vital improvisors whose music has inspired him for years - guitarist Steve Cardenas, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Rudy Royston - Mencel terms Brooklyn Eye, "a symbolic, idyllic place where dreams come true." Recorded the day after Notre Dame Cathedral burned in Paris, a palpable melancholy presided over the session, adding further dimension to this pivotal experience in Mencel's musical life.
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Joachim Mencel - piano, hurdy-gurdy (vielle à roue)
Steve Cardenas - guitar
Scott Colley - bass
Rudy Royston - drums
Produced by Joachim Mencel
Recorded by Aaron Nevezie at
Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, New York
Recorded on April 15-16, 2019
Mixed & Mastered by Mateusz Sołtysik at
MS Acoustics, Katowice, Poland
Cover photo by Guilherme Rossi
Band photos by Alicja Dybowska, Anna Yatskevich
Cover design & layout by John Bishop