Dark Forecast Piotr Schmidt Quartet

• 1 Ballad (From Knife in the Water) 05:58
• 2 Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone) 04:50
• 3 A Melancholy Time 06:38
• 4 Dark Forecast 05:54
• 5 Floating in the Wind 06:22
• 6 Little Leo 06:34
• 7 Psychokinetic Time 05:04
• 8 Sharks, Fat Cats & Other Whales 05:01
• 9 Shadows of Darkness 05:43
• 10 Ballad for Bernt 05:44
• 11 A Place of Hope 05:07
• Total Runtime 01:02:55

Info for Dark Forecast

Polish trumpeter and composer Piotr Schmidt returns, undeterred by the pandemic that is changing the face of our globe, to share with us some joyful moments inspired by the music we love so much.

Supported by his regular quartet, which includes top Polish Jazz musicians: pianist Wojciech Niedziela, bassist Maciej Garbowski and drummer Krzysztof Gradziuk, Schmidt presents a set of nine wonderful original compositions and two arrangements of compositions by the Godfather of Polish Jazz, Krzysztof Komeda, which offers a highly aesthetic Jazz experience, superbly amalgamating the mainstream Jazz tradition and more open European attitudes. Two North American players, Canadian guitarist Matthew Stevens and US saxophonist Walter Smith III, guest on six of the tracks, transforming the quartet into a quintet and spicing the proceedings with an enhanced instrumental variety.

Although the majority of the music is firmly based on the beautifully weaved melodic themes, there is also plenty of space for more freely improvised playing, which characterizes contemporary Polish Jazz tendencies, clearly proving that the quartet is able to operate brilliantly in both idioms with the same ease and elegance.

Attentive listening will reveal the incredible level of musicality and creativity displayed by these seasoned musicians. The quartet is by far more than just a trumpeter accompanied by a piano trio; it is an organic body performing music as one, which fully shares the responsibility for the final result. Just close your eyes and listen…

The album closes with a tune called "A Place Of Hope…" which clearly reflects the universal human sentiment we all share today. Hope for times when the dark forecast will change into brightness and this and every other kind of music can be shared by thousands of people attending live concerts again…

Piotr Schmidt, trumpet
Walter Smith III, tenor saxophone (4, 5, 10)
Matthew Stevens, guitar (2, 6, 8)
Wojciech Niedziela, grand piano
Maciej Garbowski, double bass
Krzysztof Gradziuk, drums

Produced by Piotr Schmidt

Piotr Schmidt
(b.1985) – jazz trumpeter, band leader, music producer and publisher, lecturer at the Jazz Institutes of the University of Applied Sciences in Nysa and the Katowice Academy of Music, where in 2016 he gained a doctoral degree in Music. In 2006 he won a scholarship to University of Louisville, Kentucky and early in his career (2006-2010) he won many individual awards and Grand Prix’s now being one of the most important jazz figures in Poland and middle Europe.

To date, Piotr has produced and published eleven own albums, including three with Schmidt Electric. For the past seven years Piotr has ranked among the best three jazz trumpeters in the annual Jazz Top poll of the Jazz Forum European magazine. He’s former project: Piotr Schmidt Quartet – Tribute to Tomasz Stańko is considered by Wolf Mueller (Sony Music Germany) as one of the best 10 albums from 2018 in the World!

Among Piotr’s many collaborators are: Walter Smith III, Alex Hutchings, Matthew Stevens, Ernesto Simpson, Ed Partyka, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Grzegorz Nagórski, Dante Luciani, Francesco Angiuli, Maciej Sikała, Wiesław Pieregorólka, Grzech Piotrowski, Wojciech Karolak, Wojciech Niedziela, Jacek Niedziela-Meira, Wojciech Myrczek, Apostolis Anthimos, Marek Napiórkowski, Dominik Wania, Paweł Kaczmarczyk and Paweł Tomaszewski. Piotr has also worked with such popularly acclaimed artists in Poland as Krystyna Prońko, Ewa Bem, Kuba Badach, Ten Typ Mes (Piotr Szmidt) and Miuosh.

This album contains no booklet.