Michal Urbaniak

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   Virtuoso violinist, award-winning saxophonist, band-leader and composer who was born in Poland but moved to New York City in 1973 (where he became an American citizen) with his one-of-a-kind vocalist wife Urszula "Ula" Dudziak is a recent discovery of mine. Over the past 18 months I have been researching, listening to, and reviewing Jazz-Rock Fusion almost exclusively. Over that time I have stumbled upon a wonderful number of European artists that have astonished me with their talent and creativity, but I do not think anyone that I've heard compares to Mr. Urbaniak in terms of 1) consistency in producing high-level quality music/albums, 2) the innovative and pioneering experimentation in equipment, uses of technology, and blazing the trail for new sound and stylistic innovations, 3) consistently bringing about the highest quality performances from the musicians he was surrounding by though his own compositions, and 4) quality of compositions. This last point is what I really want to start a discussion thread about: 
I have not heard an artist composer from 1967-1979 whose compositional skills and creative innovations have pushed the Jazz-Rock Fusion envelope as much as Michal's have. Period. Not John McLaughlin or Miles Davis (who both hogged compositional credit even though credit was often due to other collaborators); not Chick Corea or Herbie Hancock; not Larry Coryell or Al Di Meola; not Keith Jarrett or Terje Rypdal; not Toto Blanke or Jan Akkerman; not Tony Williams, Billy Cobham or Lenny White. Michal composed over 95% of the material on all of his albums (i.e. did not fall back onto covers of jazz standards or pop hits).  In fact, in my limited knowledge of the sub-genre, only Pat Metheny's post-1970s production can stand up in comparison to that of Michal's 1970s.

Let me in on some of your favorite Jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion composers from the 1970s. And I HIGHLY recommend that you get to know the 12-plus albums Michal Urbaniak released (not to mention his wife's Arista album or his 1980s collaborations with Larry Coryell) during this daring, fast-changing decade.