Anna Maria Jopek & Friends with Pat Metheny
Upojenie

THE REVIEW

Acquiring this CD had an almost symbolic flavor: that of collecting. It's not as fun to browse the internet, order it, and have it delivered to your home. No. There's more thrill in discovering that the edition is Polish, the distribution limited, and that acquiring it will require a stroke of luck (and I'm lucky to have connections in Eastern Europe). Upojenie was created in 2002 for the international market, supported by the Warner giant, but the product ends up being dedicated only to the local market. The texts and titles are all in Polish.

The singer, Maria Jopek, is a small star in her country. She has a soft and delicate voice. She passionately dedicated herself to writing "stories" and sensations, following the melodies of old Pat Metheny songs. The result is an intimate and refined CD, which allows listeners to discover an unexpected musicality, almost Brazilian-like, of the Polish language.

The CD is rich in nuances and arrangements, Pat is in a state of grace, delivering excellent performances on acoustic and electric guitars and leading the group strongly. The album opens with the heavenly sounds of the Pikasso 42-string. Maria Jopek's voice and the lyrics add depth and atmosphere to completely rearranged pieces like "Tell Her You Saw Me" from Secret Story, or "Follow Me" from Imaginary Day. A handful of musicians and choirs, surrounding the duo, excellently complete the sound. Various percussion, sax, piano, electric bass, keyboards, all Polish performers. The new arrangements sung by Maria flow on the notes of historical tracks like "Are You Going With Me?" and "Letter From Home". Rides of Roland Synth may be a bit heavy, yet they do not distort the color and richness of the whole. It revisits past tracks like "So May It Secretly Begin" up to the more modern "Another Life" from Speaking of Now. A complete temporal journey in fusion and jazz.

I won't bore you with the Polish titles, I’ll just say that Upojenie is not easily translated into Italian. Despite the melancholic atmospheres, this is a word that means harmony, cheerfulness, positivity. It's truly a curious experiment. Pat's music is essentially instrumental, and in this very particular exception, one faces 14 magically interpreted tracks, even more expressive, "translated" into an emotional journey, caressed by a voice that has put soul and personal essences. Filtering the sensations propelled by Metheny's melodies, Maria dedicated herself to realizing all the texts convincing Pat, who was initially doubtful about the venture's success.

Upojenie will be presented live in Warsaw, December 2002, and it will be a great event. Three concerts, with great public success, and finally, after the publication, the album will achieve gold record status.