Some pieces on the album were written during the young musician’s scholarship in Odense. Thanks to the level of freedom offered by the curriculum of the Danish university, Mączyński managed to create material that defies classification and cannot be pigeonholed. Originally, the album was supposed to have electronic and pop dimensions as well, but under the influence of the band members – especially drummer Wiktoria Jakubowska – the concept evolved and took on a more improvisational character. The diversity of the instrumentalists’ experience resulted in inter-genre and rule-free music which continually surprises listeners, but also requires them to be open-minded. As Mączyński himself puts it, the Pelican in the title of the album should be interpreted as an adjective describing the way he composes his songs. The ‘Pelican System’ is a structure characterised primarily by absurdity – it is no coincidence that Jerry & The Pelican System is often mentioned next to the legendary yass band Miłość or musicians from the Lado ABC label.
The intriguing album closes with the song Naya Rang, recorded together with violinist Apoorva Krishna, who specialises in one of the oldest improvisation systems in the world – Carnatic music. Their cooperation began during Jerry’s studies in Valencia, and it undoubtedly still has a significant impact on his inspirations and works. At the end of 2019, the violinist invited Jerzy to India. He spent several weeks there, performing with Krishna and Iranian pianist Hami Keivan, among others at the NCPA International Jazz Festival in Mumbai. Indian inspirations will also be noticeable on the next album by Jerry & The Pelican System, which, as the artist himself says, is already finished and will be released at a later date.
His achievements to date include performances at such festivals as Jazz Jantar, Dwa Brzegi Festival, Habitat Center in New Delhi, Lublin Jazz, Jazz Jamboree. He has also cooperated with, among others, Thomas de Perquery and Nitin Sawhney. The album Jerry & The Pelican System undoubtedly drew the audience’s attention. At the beginning of 2020, Jerry and his band were featured in three categories of the Jazz Forum magazine Jazz Top 2019 readers’ survey (tenor saxophone, new hope – band, new hope – musician). The musicians intended to go on a tour to the US in the second half of 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic interfered with their plans. However, the band did not give up and, with the support of the National Centre for Culture Poland, prepared the Jerzy Mączyński Jerry & The Pelican System Virtual Tour, which consists of a series of music programmes to be broadcast on the Internet from June to September 2020.
Jerzy Mączyński’s official website: https://jerzymaczynski.com
Originally written in Polish by Marcin Gozdanek, June 2020.
