AC Records is the brainchild of jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer Adam Czerwiński. He's been performing in the jazz world as a leader and sideman for over forty years now, and has provided the rhythmic foundation from behind the drum kit for a myriad of famous and respected musicians. Among them, notable jazz artists from his native Poland, such as Zbigniew Namysłowski, Jan "Ptaszyn" Wróblewski, Wojciech Karolak and Janusz Muniak, and he's also played and recorded with American icons like Art Farmer, Garry Bartz, John Abercrombie, Eddie Henderson, Larry Goldings, John Scofield, Bennie Maupin and Karen Edwards. Czerwiński has a long association with concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, where he played with a diverse group of musicians including classical violinist Nigel Kennedy, jazz fusion legend Jean-Luc Ponty, and even Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant. His love of jazz music—and especially jazz on LPs—led him to start AC Records in Sulęczyno, Poland in 2005. In addition to new recordings, Adam Czerwiński also releases albums from classic sessions he produced and played on with a host of jazz greats over the years.
A few years ago, AC Records started pressing individually numbered, limited edition, premium One Step LP releases. One step pressings bypass the more conventional three-step, mother/father process to cut the lacquers used to press LPs. Eliminating those additional steps allows for LP pressings with improved levels of musical detail, along with increased clarity, enhanced dynamics, and a reduction of any surface and groove noise that might otherwise be present in the finished record. The one step process also provides for a greater level of consistency in limited quantity LP pressing runs. For example, in a limited pressing run of 1000 one step LPs, AC Records' lower-numbered LPs are pressed on clear vinyl (not at all unlike the "Clarity" vinyl used for premium pressings here in the US), and higher-numbered LPs are pressed on black vinyl. A lot of audiophiles (as well as premium LP labels) are of the opinion that clear vinyl that hasn't had a colorant added to it is sonically superior to black vinyl, and within my range of experience, I totally agree with them. In that pressing run of 1000 LPs, the first 400 would be pressed on clear vinyl, and the remaining 600 are pressed on black vinyl. Of course, there's a premium upcharge for the clear vinyl LPs, but at this level of the audiophile experience, the difference in cost is negligible and definitely worth it.
Adam Czerwiński reached out to his friend and Positive Feedback partner Wojciech Pacuła around the beginning of the new year, with the hopes of getting the magazine to possibly evaluate some of his recent LPs releases. Positive Feedback's David Robinson then forwarded Adam Czerwiński's email to me; after checking out AC Records website, I quickly identified a pair of albums that had great appeal to me. Including a jazz reworking of the music of J.S. Bach and one by trumpeter Art Farmer—but rather than specifying those titles, I chose to allow Czerwiński to decide what to send to me—he might have albums in mind that he was particularly keen on shining a brighter light on. Upon receiving the package from AC Records, I was completely stoked to find it contained LPs for both Art Farmer in Wroclaw and J.S. Bach: Music of the Heavens; both LP sets were supplied as the limited-edition, premium clear vinyl versions. Obviously, Adam Czerwiński received the mental messages I teleported to him across many thousands of miles regarding my album choices! And to double my surprise, each LP was accompanied by a matching compact disc, along with an additional CD for a third album, Wojtek Karolak 80th Birthday Concert. As I have separate systems for all-analog and digital sources, it was great to be able to rip the CDs and add the digital files to my music server for comparison to the LPs.
The LPs were remastered by Piotr Lukaszewski at Custom34 studio in Gdansk, Poland, using Studer A80 and A827 tape machines. Lacquers for the LPs were cut at Pauler Acoustics in Northeim, Germany by Günter Pauler (he's also responsible for the excellent LPs issued by Stockfisch Records). The LPs and CDs were both pressed by XDiSC in Warsaw, Poland, and it appears to me that all album packaging was done there as well. The one step LPs are encased in heavy, individually numbered, tip-on outer jackets with crisp album artwork; the jackets also feature a high-gloss coating that gives each LP set a very distinctive appearance. Each LP also sports a custom OBI strip with album-specific information that adds to their already stylish appearance and will definitely enhance their collectibility. Each 180 gram LP is inserted into a printed inner sleeve that's lined with rice paper, which helps protect the discs from scratching and keeps them free from paper dust and static buildup. The XDiSC LP packages are among the most beautiful and substantial audiophile releases I've come in contact with in recent years, and the CD digipaks featured the same high gloss coatings as the LP jackets. Both clear and black vinyl LPs, CDs, and even open reel tapes for select titles can be ordered from AC Records web store HERE. All shown prices are estimates based on the current exchange rates between the US and Poland.
Art Farmer, Art Farmer in Wroclaw. (2) 180 Gram, 45 rpm Clear Vinyl LPs, $85 MSRP
Art Farmer appears as a sideman on many classic LPs in my jazz collection, but I only have a single album that features him as a leader, Art Farmer Quintet Featuring Clifford Jordan, Live At Sweet Basil, which is one of my favorite more modern recordings of classic jazz. This 2-LP set, Art Farmer in Wroclaw, hearkens back to that excellent recording for me; every song spread across the pair of 45 rpm LPs is absolute ear candy (as is the Sweet Basil disc). The lineup assembled for this recording includes Art Farmer on the flugelhorn/trumpet morph he affectionately called the "flumpet," Piotr Baron is on tenor saxophone, Kuba Stankiewicz plays piano, Harvie S is on double bass, and Adam Czerwiński sits behind the drum kit. The album is a hard bop blowing session that mixes ballads and blues, but as usual, Art Farmer generously gives everyone on board plenty of room to stretch out for extensive solos. Of the three albums I received from AC Records, Art Farmer in Wroclaw is undeniably the most essential listening experience. If I could only pick one, this 2-LP set would definitely be my choice, but surprisingly, the converted-to-DSD files from the compact disc also sounded remarkably superb. Very highly recommended!
Track List
Side 1
1. What's New (Bob Haggart)
2. Hard Farmer (Piotr Baron)
Side 2
1. I Mean You (Thelonious Monk)
2. Deep in a Dream (Jimmy Van Heusen)
Side 3
1. Artificial Thing (Kuba Stankiewicz)
2. No Walls (Harvie S)
Side 4
1. My Shining Hour (Harold Arlen)
2. Alone Together (A. Schwartz)
J.S. Bach: Music of the Heavens. 180 Gram, 33 rpm Clear Vinyl LP, $75 MSRP
Music of the Heavens was beyond doubt the most surprising for me of the three albums I received, and its forward-thinking approach didn't at all align with my more traditional expectations for this kind of mish-mash of classical music with jazz. The album features Marcin Wądołowski on baritone guitar and classical guitar; Piotr Wyleżoł plays Hammond organ and Mini Moog; Alicja Śmietana is on violin; Dominik Bukowski plays vibraphone; Paul Rutschka is on bass guitar; Robert Majewski plays flugelhorn; Adam Czerwiński plays drums, tambourine, and orchestra bells; and the album also features guest artists John Medeski on keyboards and Yaron Gershovsky on piano. The highly improvisational performances are fantastical in nature, but very true to the composer's intent as well as exceptionally entertaining. Very highly recommended!
Track List
Side 1
- "Prelude" – From Cello Suite No.1 BWV 1007
- "Allemande" - From Lute Suite BWV 996
- "Andante" – From Violin Concerto in A minor BWV 1041
- "Air on a G String" – From Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068
- Chorale BWV 253 – From 436 Four-Part Chorales
- "Aria" – From Goldberg Variations BWV 988
Side 2
- "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" - From Cantata BWV 147
- "Have Mercy, Lord, On Me" – From "St. Matthew Passion" BWV 244
- Invention No.1 BWV 772– From "Two-part Inventions"
- "Sarabande" – From Violin Partita No. 1 BWV 1002
- "Arioso" – From Cantata BWV 156
Wojtek Karolak 80th Birthday Concert. Compact Disc, $15 MSRP
The CD for this album was included without an accompanying LP, but no complaints on this end, because it's a really marvelous recording in celebration of the 80th birthday of Polish jazz pianist Wojtek Karolak. The album features a lineup of notable Polish musicians, including of course, Wojtek Karolak on Hammond B3 organ, Marcin Wądołowski on guitar, Adam Czerwiński on drums, and Tomasz Grzegorsk and Przemek Dyakowski on tenor saxes. It's a wonderful mixture of blues, blowing sessions, and ballads, and despite the relatively low North American profile of any of the participants, it's an exceptionally well-recorded and entertaining album, and a real pleasure to hear, featuring tunes from the likes of Sonny Rollins, Duke Ellington, and Charlie Parker. Adam Czerwiński's "Blues Zajęczy" (Hare Blues) is definitely one of many highlights! Surprisingly for me (based simply on my first visual impression), this disc comes very highly recommended, the CD sounds incredible!
Track List
Side 1
- Doxy (Sonny Rollins)
- In A Sentimental Mood (Duke Ellington)
- Hare Blues (Adam Czerwiński)
- My Little Suede Shoes (Charlie Parker)
- Good Night It's Time To Sleep (Jeremi Przybora, Jerzy Wasowski)
Listening Tests
Clicking on my name in the header above will show the full complement of components that occupy my dual audio setups. For playback of both LPs, I used the all-analog system for my evaluation; it now features a pair of XSA Labs Vanguard compact monitor loudspeakers, which offer an updated homage to classic British monitor designs like the LS3/5A and are arranged in a nearfield listening pattern. They run in tandem with a pair of Caldera 10 subwoofers that add a couple of extra octaves to the overall bass response. The system also features PS Audio's superb Stellar phono preamplifier, and is powered by my PrimaLuna EVO 300 tube integrated amplifier. The EVO 300 features a complement of all new RAY Reserve and Select tubes which have elevated its performance to an astonishing level of analog goodness. My ProJect Classic turntable is mounted with an Ortofon Quintet Bronze moving coil cartridge; it tracked the XDiSC pressings perfectly, giving both Art Farmer in Wroclaw and J.S. Bach: Music of the Heavens the kind of elegantly nuanced analog sound one hopes for!
Although I do have to admit, I was a bit taken aback by my initial listen to the first LP I spun, which was Music of the Heavens. With the almost trippy, effects-laden, nearly lo-fi mix of the opening track, "Prelude" from the Cello Suite No.1 BWV 1007, my first impression was that the level of groove and surface noise on this pressing was far beyond what I was expecting for a premium LP. Not to mention that I'd also mentally prepared myself for something that was thematically more along the lines of the classic 1960's Jacques Loussier Trio recordings of jazz interpretations of the works of Bach—which Music of the Heavens is thankfully nothing at all like! The recording is a tour-de-force of improvisational explorations, taking the music of Bach down a heretofore unseen path that's perhaps a bit profane, but nonetheless exceptionally entertaining. The less effects-heavy tracks, like the grand piano improvisations on "Air on a G String" and "Chorale BWV 253" are replayed with the kind of noiseless clarity you expect at this price point of the analog LP experience. Of course, without having any kind of intentionally trippy mix to contend with, the 45 rpm LPs for the more straight-ahead Art Farmer in Wroclaw were quite nearly perfection incarnate!
I played the ripped compact discs on my digital source system, which features a server/streaming rig from Euphony Audio in Croatia; all digital files are converted to DSD and play through an SMSL VMV D2R DAC. Which streams into a new, French-designed Advance Paris Classic A12 integrated amplifier (review coming soon on Positive Feedback) that powers a pair of new production KLH Model Five loudspeakers; they're supplemented with dual Vera-Fi Audio Caldera 12 subwoofers. The converted-to-DSD sound of the digital files was quite nearly the match of the superb LPs. And the opening "Prelude" from Music of the Heavens really shook the walls with the bigger subs in the digital system, which totally elevated my already good impression of this disc! I'd read that the mastering of the compact discs gave them an impressively un-digital sound, and that was definitely the case with all three of the CDs I received and listened to, which all sounded simply glorious on the digital source system!
These AC Records' LPs and CDs will be a welcome addition to every collection!
Since gaining an awareness of AC Records, I've found most of their LPs and CDs listed for sale on Discogs (though with somewhat limited availability). I frequently browse a lot of online outlets for LPs and CDs, but prior to getting Adam Czerwiński's email, I'd never heard of AC Records, and I'd never seen a single one of his titles for sale on any site. Which is a real shame, because these albums are—plain and simple—textbook examples of magnificent performances that are spectacularly well recorded. XDiSC's 180 gram clear vinyl LPs were flawless, pristine, and razor-flat, with beautifully glossy, defect-free surfaces that yielded zero ticks or groove noise, providing a nearly perfect foundation for transmission of this music that was both exhilarating and intoxicating! And shockingly, the CD files played back converted-to-DSD weren't too far behind!
I have a lot of experience in recent years with "One Step" LPs, having reviewed them from the likes of Impex Records, Craft Recordings, Mobile Fidelity, and Acoustic Sounds, and these pressings from AC Records aren't embarrassed by those from any of the heavy hitters. The LPs are priced similarly to one step recordings from the big labels, and the CDs are pretty much an absolute steal! The performances of hard bop jazz (Art Farmer, Wojtek Karolak) and the often trip-hoppy jazz interpretations of the music of J.S. Bach were entertaining and engaging, and an absolute delight to listen to, whether in their analog or digital guises.
My only very minor quibble is with AC Records' web store, which doesn't show monetary conversions from Polish to American currency. I had to look up the exchange rates online to find the approximate MSRPs of the LPs and CDs to list here, but perhaps payment apps like PayPal might take care of that for you when ordering online. For the clear vinyl LPs, 2-LP sets were typically priced around $85, with single LPs going for $75; the black vinyl counterparts were about $25 less. CDs were between $15 and $17; no prices were listed for the open reel tapes, so interested parties would need to contact Adam Czerwiński for exact pricing.
Regardless of my lack of enthusiasm for the web store, these LPs and CDs are among the finest audiophile offerings I've recently come in contact with. Many thanks to Adam Czerwiński and AC Records recordings, and to Dr. David Robinson for passing the information along to me. I can't recommend these albums from AC Records highly enough!
AC Records
All images courtesy of AC Records and the author.
