About AWA

This is Maciek’s take on each composition on AWA:

Kanikani Kiwi – I had the funky tune in my head for a long time but never a good enough reason to finish it. After seeing a documentary about kiwi birds, it felt a perfect visual match of this lovely flightless, jumping, dancing bird to the odd staccato theme of the tune. Carlos Pla guesting on bass.

Kawhia Hot Water – I was stunned when I went to the Kawhia ocean beach for the first time. The ocean waves on the one side and the mountains on the other, with a long sandy expanse, was breath-taking and really inspiring. So, I thought of a family day-trip to the beach starting early in the morning with walking across the dunes. Then an afternoon playing in the sand and waves and then a sad/wistful trip home after a glorious fun day. So, I tried to reflect those 3 moments in that extended composition.

Cath’s Song – It’s simply a love song to my lovely wife Cath.

Fantailia – Written in London with my wind-playing friend Andrew Blake (who also played the sax on it), originally for a documentary, but for some reasons it did not get included. It seems to describe beautifully the cheeky, confrontations with a New Zealand fantail bird we had on many walks in the bush.

Gdańsk – I have a lot of connections with the port city of Gdańsk in Poland. My late father lived there. It is also an estuary of the Vistula river, which also goes through Kraków 600 km further south, where I was born and grew up. Crucially this is the birth-place of Solidarity, a movement which ultimately ended the Soviet rule. The tune embodies the sense of tension and emotion I have when I think of Gdańsk. My London friend Rob Hughes contributed the lovely sax.

Pahiatua – A short Polish folk tune inspired jazzy theme. Pahiatua is the village where Polish refugees settled in 1944 after being warmly welcomed by the Kiwis disembarking off the ship from Iran.

Mink Hollow – This one is about the feeling I had when Cath and I walked in the bush just after we arrived in New Zealand. It was wet, dark and spookily unfamiliar.

Mr Ponsonby – A lovely Saturday afternoon walk in sunny Auckland district of Ponsonby watching people eating tasty salads and drinking soy lattes.

Blindside Flank – I really enjoy the sense of excitement the Kiwis feel about the game of rugby too. I do too, though I still don’t quite get the rules of the game. I tried to portray a sense of urgency and combative nature of the game. Featuring Artur Dutkiewicz on piano.