The group Hera consists of Waclaw Zimple/cl-harm, Pawel Postaremczak/sax-harm, Maciek Cierlinski/hurdy-gurdy, Raphael Roginski/g, Ksawery Wojcinski/b, and drummers Pawel Szpura and Hamid Drake.Together, the perform at the Krakow Jazz Autumn Festival at a 2012 show, and emphasize music from Central Asia (what else would musicians from Poland do?). Except for the 3+ minute “Recalling Russia,” the tunes stretch out from 15-18 minutes, with each artist getting a chance in the spotlight. “Sounds of Balochistan” melds thick and plodding rhythms and reeds that eventually reach an avalanche of sounds, leading to some long toned reeds on “Roofs of Kyoto” that veer in and out of mournful percussion. Clarinet and saxophones float over a percussion groove that seque into some guitar excursions on “Aftrimages” which follow some dark reeds and vocals on “Temples of Tibet.” Fascinating sounds and harmonies, but with many of these more free concerts, being there is half of the experience.
MPI Records