Oleszkiewicz, Darek - Like a Dream
SKU
17-CRYPTOGRAMOPHONE119
Darek “Oles” Oleszkiewicz is, quite simply, a musician’s musician. He is a virtuoso bassist, a wonderfully evocative composer, and a mature and lyrical improviser of the first order. Darek’s bass sound is full and warm, and unlike many of his contemporaries, he – in Bob Brookmeyer’s words – “plays the bass, not the amplifier.” His solos are marvels of construction, understatement, and irony, each telling a story in a different way, much like the celebrated writer Vladimir Nabokov, whose own stories often shimmer with dark originality and character. In an interview in The San Diego Union Tribune, pianist Brad Mehldau, who appears on this disc, said of Darek: “He’s got everything, great technique, great ears, he plays in tune and has a real sound…he’s very open musically, very adaptable to whatever you put in front of him.” Mehldau might well agree that there are few bassists who bring as much expansive lyricism and humanity to any musical setting as Darek does."
"Oles may not be a secret on the LA scene, but he is less well-known on larger national and international stages. With Like a Dream he proves that he has what it takes, as a performer and composer, to reach the next level; once again the adventurous Cryptogramophone label brings a deserving artist to a broader public."-John Kelman, All About Jazz