Out of the Question

A recording by the band of guitarist Jarek Śmietana, one of the defining figures of Polish jazz‑rock and mainstream jazz guitar from the 1970s onward, this 2001 release captures the guitarist in the full breadth of his mature style. A fixture of the Kraków scene and one of the most widely recorded Polish bandleaders of his generation, Śmietana moves through the program with the ease and authority that made his voice instantly recognizable—balancing jazz‑rock drive, blues inflection, and ethno‑tinged color in a way few European guitarists of his era could match.

The album’s nine tracks form a wide‑ranging portrait of Śmietana’s musical language. Śmietana surrounds himself with a formidable ensemble: John Purcell on saxello, Paul Zauner on trombone and vocals, Piotr Wyleżoł on Fender piano, Adam Kowalewski on bass, Adam Czerwiński on drums, and Thomas Celis Sanchez on percussion. Their interplay gives the music breadth and color, expanding Śmietana’s guitar‑centered vision into a full ensemble sound that moves easily between groove, lyricism, and open improvisation.

Heard alongside other early Not Two guitar releases—most notably Bogdan Lizoń’s “Moonlight Walk,” which followed shortly after—Śmietana’s album underscores the contrast between an established master and a lesser‑known contemporary working within overlapping idioms. Where Lizoń offered a thoughtful, personal take shaped by late‑1990s fusion influences, Śmietana stands here as the fully formed reference point: a guitarist whose stylistic range, compositional voice, and command of jazz‑rock language had already shaped several decades of Polish jazz.

“Out of the Question” remains a vivid document of Śmietana’s artistry at the turn of the millennium—expansive, confident, and unmistakably his own.