FunkFreak75 Recorded at Rosebud Studios, New York, in June of 1978.

A1. "Body Rub" (4:42) group vocals over funk R&B music conjoins this song with music by funk R&B bands like The OHIO PLAYERS, PARLIAMENT, CAMEO, THE BROTHERS JOHNSON, SLY & THE FAMILY STONE,THE COMMODORES, The GAP BAND, KOOL & THE GANG, DAZZ BAND, GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION, EARTH WIND & FIRE, The ISLEY BROTHERS, and The AVERAGE WHITE BAND. (9/10)

A2. "Free" (4:45) I have to admit to being quite shocked that Michał didn't enlist his superhuman wife to attempt to cover the vocals of this iconic Deniece Williams song--on her own. The credits say she's there but I have to admit that I cannot distinguish her voice from those of the men around her. Still, it's a pretty good rendition: very funky and soulful in the same vein as the above funk R&B artists. (8.875/10)

A3. "Ecstasy" (3:02) this one sounds very much like EARTH, WIND & FIRE or The BROTHERS JOHNSON. (It may be a cover of one of their songs. It's definitely not a cover of The Ohio Players song of the same name.) It may be an original. Great song--with some awesome musicianship across the board (especially from the bass)--and some very creative and spirited electric violin play from Michał. Should've been a radio hit! (9.125/10)

A4. "Just A Funky Feeling" (5:22) stanky funk-blues that sounds like The O'Jays, War, Rufus, Kool & The Gang and many other Funk R&B bands. Great contributions from the percussionists, vocal team, bass player, and saxes. Another absolutely outstanding funk R&B song. You'd be hard-pressed to admit that the band leader and composer was a European white guy! (9.333/10)

B1. "Want's Ta Make You Feel Good" (5:41) this song definitely brings one deep into the fold of the KOOL & THE GANG/BROTHERS JOHNSON/EARTH, WIND & FIRE pocket of smooth, sexy/sultry Funk R&B. Again, I'm pinching myself: Michał Urbaniak! Who knew?! There's even some RICK JAMES in this one. If you love the funk of the late 1970s, you're gonna LOVE this! Awesome! You could not ask for better band and musicianship! (9.5/10)

B2. "A Day In The Park" (4:04) down to the beautiful Smooth Jazz that Michal also excels at--this one serving as a perfect vehicle for some of his wife Urszula's most beautiful vocals--this one worded! Ulla's work here reminds me very much of the work of Patricia Kaas and Deniece Williams--though not so much when she starts her bird like scatting in the third minute--but it's short-lived: she returns to worded singing, mirrored by the nice gentle male voice of either James Crab Robinson, Keith Keyboy Rose, or Rickie Byars-Boger. Lovely. (8.875/10)

B3. "French Kiss" (5:17) now settling into the Smooth Jazz territory pioneered by BOB JAMES and FREDDIE HUBBARD--only with Michał's sexy sax in the lead position. Nice! Nice slap bass play from Pee Wee Ford over Anthony Jackson's far-smoother mellow note play. The slightly-scattered ramped up "chorus" motifs detract a little from the flow and success of the song due to the instrumentalists' inability to stay synchronized with one another (unless it's intentional). It's just a little off-putting. (8.75/10)

B4. "Creation" (6:21) another smoother return to the Jazz-Rock Fusion foundations of Michał's past, here with some nice smooth funk bass and Fender Rhodes support from Anthony Jackson and Kenny Kirkland, respectively. Even Ulla seems at ease and fully on board with this one. (I'm suspecting that the heavier Funk R&B is neither in her interest or comfort zones.) Nice, steady, superior quality and caliber Jazz-Rock Fusion that is, perhaps, lacking a little energy or enthusiasm. (8.75/10)

Urszula's participation here is so minimal--and so muted--that it may have been an indication of A) her displeasure with the direction Michał was taking with their music, B) her dissatisfaction with their marriage, and/or C) her longing to go back to her homeland (Poland).

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion that contains five songs (our of eight) that represent some of the Seventies' highest quality Funk R&B--some of the greatest songs that you will ever hear (but probably haven't). A must hear album! Especially if you like Funk R&B!

FunkFreak75 Recorded in Stuttgart at Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik in July and August of 1977 while the band was touring Europe, Michał and Ulla have an absolutely killer band with them.

1. "Heritage" (7:02) a slow introduction takes a minute to come together. When it does it is in the form of a traditional folk reel with a Celtic-sounding melody. But then things shift at the two-minute mark, with Michał using his plaintive violin to bridge us into a motif that uses two chords played with percussion on Tony Bunn's bass, which then sets up a long passage for some of Ulla's wordless vocalese: these some of the more slowed-down and wordlike riffs I've ever heard from her. The music slows in the fifth minute, giving Michał plenty of space to play his solo while slowly building his melodies and riffs. (13.375/15)

2. "Prayer" (3:20) feels like a Chopin étude with some vocal and percussive frivolity and tempo-shifting fun. The violin is Ponty-like, but the sound play is more Zappa like. I really like it--though it probably should have been a minute or half-minute shorter! (8.875/10)

3. "Vio-lines" (2:33) Michał playing his electric violin solo in a big echo chamber. He does a really outstanding job of "playing with" (or "off of") his echoed doppleganger. It's really nice to hear Michał with some passion back in his violin playing. (4.375/5)

4. "Stick it in" (7:58) a more up-tempo song, like the old days, with some funk and jazz and some of Michał's most dynamic violin playing in a long time. A sound palette and musical style very similar to that which Jean-Luc Ponty is developing at the same time (minus the presence of Ulla). A second high-speed motif with Ulla's fast-scatting matching Michał's violin is used three times or four times as a kind of chorus (or extended bridge). Kenny's Fender Rhodes solo in the seventh minute is a little more his own and less a Chick Corea imitation. (13.5/15)

5. "Cucu's Nest" (8:17) a very pleasant and melodic smooth jazz-funk tune in which Kenny Kirkland's Chick Corea-like Moog sounds a lot like Ulla's scat vocalizations. (17.75/20)

6. "Gaby's Mood" (3:21) this one opens up sounding just like one of Ulla's solo voce pieces that we've heard before: almost exactly like "Funk Rings" from her own 1975 solo album, Urszula--but then, about halfway through, she shifts into some more ethereal ambient vocal tactics. Nice. And smart. (8.875/10)

7. "Storks" (8:30) opening with emotive bass and drums supporting Kenny, Michał, and Ulla's gentle melody line turns into a violin solo with some pretty awesome bass and Fender Rhodes support--which shifts into double time around 1:20 and then a frenetic funk passage at 1:35 which persists in the form of a two-chord vamp shuffle for Ulla's exquisite vocal scat solo. Man! are Tony Bunn and Lurenda Featherstone in synch! And Tony's fretless bass play is makin' me wanna get up and dance! After another brief frenzy bridge Michał takes a turn up front--this time over the most recent up-tempo Latin motif. Ulla joins in during the sixth minute, playing off of Michał, but then Tony steps up and starts to play off of Ulla's funk staccato scats! So cool. Next up is Kenny Kirkland with a wonderful prolonged solo on the Rhodes. This is as powerful a Jazz-Rock Fusion as anything Chick Corea did in the 1970s. (18.5/20)

I have to say that this album shows Michał Urbaniak at his most showy, dynamic, and skillful in a long time. While there is a little Smooth Jazz being expressed here, it's far more filled with sophisticated, dynamic, top-tiered Second Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion than the smooth stuff--sounding like Jean-Luc Ponty circa 1979 and 1980 with far more sophistication and complexity in both the construction and performances of the songs (especially the long songs).

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of super high quality Jazz-Rock Fusion. I guess Michał's not quite ready to submit to the pressure of conforming to the Smooth Jazz rage; he's still very committed to making high-quality power J-R Fusion!

FunkFreak75 Apparently the husband-wife team either didn't make any money for the Arista company or else they were too much to handle because suddenly they are back in Europe recording this album for the legendary German label MPS (the first of two albums they would release in 1977 for Joachim Berendt's pro-Polish company) recorded at the famous Zuckerfabrik studio in Stuttgart, Germany in November of 1976.

1. "Smiles Ahead" (10:55) (17.25/20) : - a) "Smiles Ahead" (4:00) more of that feeling of band fatigue (standard bass play, very boring keys) while the engineering department continues to over-compress the high ends. - b) "From Smiles to Smiles" (2:07) Ula playing within an echo chamber--like a little kid in a big room. (4/5) - c) "More Smiles Forever" (4:48) Ula leads the band into a carnival madhouse. It's a little more lively and enthusiastic but still less "invested" than anything Michal's composed before. (Maybe here are the signs that the couple's marriage is on the decline: the collaborative fires are dwindling.)

2. "Hymn of the Uranian Sequels" (7:03) Unfortunately this Jean-Luc Ponty-like groove song suffers a bit from a compressed feeling: it's as if all of the high ends of the sound spectrum have been dampened/muted. Also, this is just too loose and underdeveloped to stand up to the extremely high standard of the amazingly full and sophisticated compositions that Michal had been penning up to this point (except for the other scrap heap from his previous German record label, Inactin). Everybody just sounds tired and uninspired (except perhaps the ever-energetic Ula). But even Ula and Michal's melodies feel tired and practically dialed in. (13.125/15)

3. "Piece for 15 Strings" (4:35) a duet between Michal's 5-string electric violin and Emmett Chapman's treated ChapmanStick (the other 10 strings). Definitely previewing the spacey violin sound that will become Jean-Luc Ponty's standard about this time but more this song demonstrates far more of the sonic potential and versatility of the ChapmanStick than expected. It also demonstrates, once again, Michal's affinity for exploring the latest innovations in technology. (8.875/10)

4. "In the Wake of Awakening" (6:37) tom-tom-heavy drums with heavily "warped" fretless bass and odd ChapmanStick-like chords coming from the keyboard (an oddly-destabilized [chorused] clavinet?). Lyricon, Ula- scatting, and perform most of the soloing over the top of the underwater rhythm section. Kind of cool, interesting, but not my favorite sound palette. Plus, it has a weird little coda tagged onto the end that seems like more of a "loose end." (8.75/10)

5. "Aflatus" (5:10) Gentle GILLI SMYTH-like Ula vocalese accompanied by slowly played, slow-to--decay heavily-echoed and -reverbed electric violin for the first 2:20 before Ula's vocalese turns to her African/Santería-style percussive scatting--only with a heavily-processed sound product. Meanwhile, Michal's violin must've turned off an effect or two as it starts sounding more present, more defined. Again, interesting, but not a very pleasant or danceable song. (8.6667/10)

6. "Schwarzwald Vibes" (2:55) synths and synth washes with synthetic and treated percussion sounds dispersed throughout. Very cinematic and creepy. (4.33333/5)

7. "Sunday Melody" (1:19) rapid fire Ula-scatting. Reminds me of Cos's Pascale Son. Entertaining and joyful. (4.375/5)

8. "Autobahn" (4:45) a song that was left over from the previous album (Body English) starts out as a steady one-and-a- half chord first 3:25 over which Ula gets free reign to perform her magic--this time with little or no sound-warping effects on her voice. (8.75/10)

Total Time 43:19

Unfortunately, this album feels more like another attempt to grab a bunch of underdeveloped or unfinished pieces of sound experimentation (many of which feature Urszula performing her unique vocal craft)

B-/3.5 stars; an interesting representation of Michal and Urszula's experimentalism but not one of their most engaging or inspired song collections.

FunkFreak75 Recorded at Powerplay Studios, Zurich, Switzerland, and Secret Sound Studios, New York City in August 1977, this is the second of the two albums Michal and Urzula would make for Joachim Berendt, the famous advocate of Polish jazz music. A1. "Tie Breaker" (7:03) it might be Smooth Jazz but it's definitely back to Michal's sophisticated, well-composed, multi- layered tapestry-making. (Thank god!) (13.375/15)

A2. "Strife" (6:13) a little more smooth, simple, and straightforward than I'd like to hear (sounding more like something from Joe Sample or his [Jazz] Crusaders or some of Jean-Luc Ponty's simple stuff from 1979-82) at least the sound isn't overly compressed and the musicians can be clearly, cleanly distinguished. Weird to hear Urszula singing out of time with the other melody makers (especially Zbigniew Namysłowski's saxophone). That's a first! Nice drumming and keyboard play. (8.875/10)

A3. "Mountaineers" (4:00) another unusually less-sophisticated, more-spacious weave from Michal that hits all of the radio-friendly buttons but falls short of anything propelling Jazz-Rock Fusion into anything that a future conveyance of background/elevator music. A lot of similarities to the music coming from STEELY DAN at around the same time (Aja and even previewing 1980's Gaucho). (8.75/10)

A4. "Weird Creatures" (7:03) another very simple funk-lite weave that seems like such a watered down version of Michal's former compositional skill and genius. Nice performance from drummer Lurenda Featherstone. Interesting to hear Michal's Lyricon mixed between a real live sax, a sax-like synth, and Ula's treated vocalese. (13.25/15)

B1. "Jasmine Lady" (8:22) Ula's gentle vocalizations here predate some of Bobby McFerrin's stylings from the 1980s-- here presented within a gentle Caribbean-lite JAY BECKENSTEIN/ SPYRO GYRA-like smooth jazz weave--even moving toward choral presentation of the song title using words! How Bob James-like! Zbigniew Namysłowski's smooth DAVE SANBORN-like sax seems to get most of the spotlight on this one--which is okay cuz he's rather good. Michal's murky electric violin gets its first really distinctive solo spot in the fifth and sixth minutes as the rhythm section soothes and lulls us with its JEAN-LUC PONTY "I Only Feel Good With You"-like motif from below. As corny as parts of this are (which was all the rage at the time and for some time thereafter) this is the best, most complete and satisfying song on the album. I just noticed the attempt to incorporate something into the main melody that might sound Asian/Oriental: cringe-worthy--big fail! (18/20)

B2. "Always Ready" (7:08) Michal's soaring electric violin over richly-chorused Fender Rhodes electric piano opens this one for the first 1:40 before poorly plucked electric bass tries to initiate and introduce the main motif for the rest of the song. I don't really like the cheesy electric percussion sounds Ula is playing but am glad to hear her African-style scatting take the lead in the fourth minute. Michal is next up for the spotlight, playing his electric violin with the note- bending melodic sensibilities of both Jean-Luc Ponty and Hugh Marsh. The best lines in the song seem to be coming from Kenny Kirkland's Fender Rhodes. (13/15)

B3. "Stray Sheep" (5:08) an odd four-part suite that opens with another simplified smooth jazz piece that actually sounds more like something created for a television theme song or as an advertising jingle. After a minute of this motif, the band switches gear and puts their head down to try to create a solid cruising groove over which Zbigniew Namysłowski's sax gets some significant time to solo. The problem is that this rhythm track is quite lame--thin and almost aggravating. At 3:20 we switch again, this time quite radically, into a nice little syncopated jazz swing, over which Michal solos on his violin with beautiful charm and smoothosity. The song then ends with some kind of weird attempt at the employment/usurpation of some kind of Scottish drinking melody and sound palette. Weird. Some parts are embarrassing, some actually kind of nice. (8.666667/10)

Total time: 45:10

B/four stars; a step up from their other 1977 release, Smiles Ahead, but still a step down from the masterful music and compositions Michal was creating in the first six years of the decade. Recommended but more for fans of Jazz- Rock Fusion who can tolerate the movement's degraded descent into Easy Listening/Smooth Jazz.

FunkFreak75 A name whose presence in the musicians' credits of so many pop and jazz albums of the 1970s seems rather ubiquitous yet he also remains quite mysterious for the fact that one never hears his name mentioned along side the other violin virtuosi of the era (e.g. Jean-Luc Ponty, Jerry Goodman, Darryl Way, PFM's Maruo Pagani, Arti e Mestieri's Giovanni Vigliar, David Cross, Ray Shulman, Dave Swarbrick, Robbie Steinhardt, and, of course, Eddie Jobson). Also, one must remember he is also a Montreux Jazz Festival award-winning saxophone player! Listening to this I cannot help but wonder why. This is Michal's first album made without his core of native Polish musicians, incorporating a full complement of American jazz-rock musicians--a veritable Who's Who of the Jazz-Rock Fusion movement.

A1. "Chinatown [part 1]" (5:24) opening with a keyboard riff that conjures up memories of many Jean-Luc Ponty songs, it quickly turns Mahavishnu as the blazing guitar of John Abercrombie takes us out of the intro and into the somewhat sparse-yet-funky motif the rest of the band establishes over the next minute. Man! is John flying! And man! is this band in synch! The syncopation coming from Steve Gadd's concise drumming is met and accented by everyone else with concise perfection. Urszula and Michal;s doubled up lead melody takes us through a section of even more Mahavishnu-like complexities, which only continues and intensifies as Michal's wailing electric violin blazes on and the rhythm team below handles some incredibly difficult Cobham-like funk from beneath--and this never lets up for the entirety of the song! Astonishing! Amazing realization of the great violinist's compositional skills. (9.75/10)

A2. "Kujaviak Goes Funky" (6:12) Michal and Ula lead us through a slowed down RTF/J-LP-like opening of step-by-step unfolding and unstable music that has us on the edge of our seats, expecting tangents or changes in direction in each and every minute while Michal's violin and then Wlodek Gulgowski's Moog and, later, John Abercrombie's guitar, solo at the god-like levels of the greats of their ilk, like Jean-Luc Ponty, Jan Hammer and Chick Corea, and John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola, respectively. The whole band playing at an incredible level of technical wizardry that I thought only occupied by the likes of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever., but no! Michal Urbaniak's Fusion is every bit as good--maybe even smoother and better engineered than the afore-mentioned superstars. (9.5/10)

A3. "Roksana" (5:42) here employing guests "Gerald" Gerry Brown for drums, Joe Caro for the guitars, and featuring scat vocalizations of percussionist Urszula Dudziak, the band cruises along with admirable skill, speed, and solo performances from Michal, percussionist Urszula Dudziak creating some rather unusual yet-highly-skilled wordless scat vocalization, and excellent electric piano work from Wlodek Gulgowski. Quite simiilar to The Mad Hatter-era Chick Corea. I just love the mood of joy and ease projected by this song. (9.25/10)

A4. "Crazy Kid" (2:35) another heavily-processed single track of percussive pre-Bobby McFerrin vocalese scatting from Ula in the same vein as previous a cappella tracks like "Kama Ula" from the band's previous album for Columbia, Atma. (8.875/10)

A5. "Prehistoric Bird" (5:19) another slightly-more-angular RETURN TO FOREVER-like funk tune that includes some very innovative sound from bassist Anthony Jackson's electric bass--especially the full chord play (the kind of which RTF bassist Stanley Clarke would make great use of on next year's Romantic Warrior album). The lead instrumentalists all seem to be travelling at those breakneck speeds first championed by the first incarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, including Ula's scatting voice, Michal's violin, John Abercrombie's extraordinary electric guitar, Wlodek Gulgowski's Moog, and, of course, Anthony Jackson's amazing bass. With its title and angular rhythmic and melody lines I find myself falling into almost constant comparisons to Japanese band BONDAGE FRUIT's first two amazing albums. Almost too amazing to process! (Are we sure that this isn't a song on which the great Larry Coryell is also collaborating? I swear in that last minute that the screaming lead guitar belongs to none other than The Godfather of Fusion! If it's not then even greater kudos need to be offered to the sadly under-acknowledged other-worldly skills of Mr. Abercrombie.) Also, the opportunity should never go unpassed with which to acknowledge the incredible gift and skill that Urszula Dudziak possesses: to be able to keep up with those machine-gun-fast melody lines, matching the other soloists note for note with such flawless timing is nothing short of miraculous--especially in this pre-digitized era where every thing had to be synched up live! (9.333333/10)

B1. "Bloody Kishka" (4:21) the other song on the album on which Gerry Brown sits at the drum kit in place of Steve Gadd also features peak fusion-era Larry Coryell on guitar. As much as I've always loved the drumming of Steve Gadd (he is definitely the most impressive drummer I've ever seen in a live concert setting), I have been feeling an increasing appreciation and love for the smooth, super-filled funk playing of Gerry Brown. I've come to cherish his play as the only drummer on a par with Lenny White and Billy Cobham. (Jack DeJohnette may be in a category all to himself.) BTW: this is a charming song with cute, catchy, excellent melodies and flawless whole-band funk support. I'm so tuned in to the amazing work of Gerry and bassist Anthony Jackson that I almost forget to pay attention to Michal and Wlodek Gulgowski's main melodies much less Larry's excellent "underwater" guitar solo. Great performances from Wlodek Gulgowski and Urszula Dudziak as well (first and foremost for her percussion work but also for more of those wonderful main-melody-duplicating wordless vocals). Definitely a top three song. (9.25/10)

B2. "Cameo" (4:41) gorgeous melodies over a J-L Ponty-like slow-funk support--I mean, it sounds almost exactly like something off of Aurora or Imaginary Voyage.which is weird since both of these albums were released after this album. Maybe it was Michal's work that pushed Jean-Luc into his string of albums on which he really began exploring his increasingly-highly-processed electric violin sounds!? Whatever. Michal is definitely in the same category of haunting melody-making as Ponty and Vigliar. (9/10)

B3. "Stretch" (6:20) more great funky jazz-rock of the Third Wave style and sound production stupendously cohesive performances from Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, and his Polish compatriots (Wlodek and Urszula). Such a solid, mature song. (9.33333/10)

B4. "Metroliner" (4:44) another GREAT Jean-Luc-like jazz-funk song with great melodies throughout as well as stupendous work from the rhythm section that also features a breath-takingly amazing guitar solo from John Abercrombie. (9.5/10)

B5. "Chinatown [Part II]" (3:56) a loosy-goosy chance for each of theband members to let loose (great way to end an album cutting session!) Not the most pleasant listen but an awesome display of skill and fun. (8.875/10)

Total time: 49:14

Overall I don't hear a lot of distinctive sound or melody play from Michal on his electric violin; it all sounds very similar to the sound and amazing sense of melody-delivery that Jean-Luc Ponty and Giovanni Vigliar possess. It's a good thing I love the sound, work, and albums of Jean-Luc Ponty so much since it allows me easy access to the genius of this composer/violinist. Also, high commendations should be awarded to Michal for the genius decision of employing this particular team of support musicians: they can really deliver the funk; they're definitely one of the most skilled, cohesive ensembles I've ever heard. Now that I've heard one of Michal's solo albums, I feel quite compelled to go back and listen to the rest of his discography--which is a problem in that he has a dozen solo studio album releases from the Seventies alone!

A/five stars; one of the most impressively consistent displays of excessively high skill and compositional and performance perfection ever put to vinyl (or tape). And I'm not just talking about a couple of the songs, I'm including the whole album, start to finish. You'll come away blown away by not only the music here but the skills on display from every single member of this band! Visionary and ahead of his time, when you listen to any album by Michal Urbaniak you MUST take into consideration that the songs you are listening to were recorded and released BEFORE any of the references your brain wants to compare them to!

P.S. Now, after listening intimately and with great rapture to Michal's first seven albums over and over during the past week, I have to say that I think he has supplanted all of my other heroes of the Jazz-Rock Fusion movement at the top of the hierarchy: the most consistently best compositions, the most consistently interesting, innovative, and high-quality sound production, he attracted/chose the absolute highest caliber of musicians to collaborate with (many of whom are still woefully unsung), and the albums that he created have all felt absolutely incredible start to finish--and remain albums that not only keep me coming back but eliciting pure joy and excitement with every thought of doing so.