# Reviews: René De Smaele, Alain Cupper, Mateusz Pałka and Szymon Mika at our European Jazz Blues Festival 2025: Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2025/08/01/reviews-rene-de-smaele-alain-cupper-mateusz-palka-and-szymon-mika-at-our-european-jazz-blues-festival-2025-photos/
- Published: 2025-08-01T21:24:53+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**The EU welcomed some very interesting musicians: two concerts each day, the first
featuring local musicians on relatively small stages.**

Below, we take a look at the very unique and interesting musicians René De Smaele
and Alain Cupper, Mateusz Pałka and Szymon Mika who graced the stages on July 29
and 30 as part of our European Jazz Blues Festival 2025 in Brussels, Belgium, and
Krakow, Poland.

![](https://i0.wp.com/www.jazzhalo.be/media/16360/6-ren%C3%A9-desmaele.jpg?w=640&
ssl=1)

**René De Smaele on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Alain Cupper on baritone saxophone,
bring Hard Bop Swing to the fore with compositions by Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie,
Charlie Parker and Tadd Dameron, among others.**

This energetic quintet, in the pure jazz tradition of the 50s and 60s, is completed
by top-level sidemen Vincent Bruyninckx on piano, Sal La Rocca on double bass and
Jan De Haas on drums.

![Alain Cupper Latin Quartet – The Music Village](https://i0.wp.com/themusicvillage.
com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/23.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

**The title of the debut album from the Polish quartet co-led by Mateusz Pałka and
Szymon Mika translates as “demand,” reflecting the group’s belief that greater melodic
expression is what the modern jazz fan pines for. **

It follows that the six originals—and a cover of Sonny Rollins’ “Airegin”—are above
all tuneful, with the extended soloing, that is one of the album’s strengths, following
sharply defined melodic contours. Stylistically, the music is subtly diverse from
one track to another and the shifting quartet dynamics and strong musicianship make
for a rewarding listening experience.

The mid-tempo “Opening”—one of two tracks penned by Mika—is indicative of the unhurried
and elegant yet always engaging approach of the quartet, and features solos from
the leaders, double bassist Alan Wykpisz and drummer Grzegorz Maslowski. Mika gained
international recognition after winning the inaugural Jarek Smietana International
Guitar Competition in 2015 and on his other composition, the breezy “Zakaz Smutku”
it’s easy to see how a judging panel that included John Abercrombie, Mike Stern 
and Ed Cherry were persuaded by his lyrical improvisational narratives.

![Szymon Mika International – Love Polish Jazz Festival, 17.09.2021 -  Muzyczna 
Hiperprzestrzeń](https://i0.wp.com/muzycznahiperprzestrzen.pl/wp-content/uploads/
2021/09/Szymon_Mika_3830_ms.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

Palka, who also impresses as a refined soloist, contributes four contemporary sounding
compositions, of which the slow-burning, powerfully emotive “This is Not the Time
for a Barber” is arguably the pick of the bunch. Pianist and guitarist join in slow-
shuffle tandem on the lovely, brushes-led ballad “Nóż w Maśle,” both stretching 
out in turn with quietly compelling authority. The straight-ahead, up-tempo rendition
of Rollins’ “Airegin” almost inevitably recalls the Wes Montgomery/Tommy Flanagan
version from 1960, with Wykpisz playing Percy Heath to Maslowski’s Albert ‘Tootie’
Heath; within the wider context of the quartet’s impressive originals, this cleanly
articulated nod to the tradition adds little to the quartet’s personal identity,
coming across as a lively first-set closer.

![Mateusz Pałka & Szymon Mika Quartet - Popyt | SJRecords](https://i0.wp.com/www.
sjrecords.eu/sites/default/files/mateusz_palka_szymon_mika_quartet_-_popyt_3.jpg?
w=640&ssl=1)

Palka strikes a fine balance between form and freedom on the episodic “Popyt no 
monke,” which commands the attention for the full fourteen minutes. The pianist’s
meandering right hand leads the quartet from bluesy stroll into increasingly denser
territory bordering on the ecstatic before exiting on the back of a vamp-buoyed 
drum feature. By way of contrast, Palka’s classically-infused minimalism colors “
Spring is Coming.” Mika sits out this ruminative, largely pulseless number where
spare bass notes alternate with crying arco over rumbling mallets and washing cymbals.
It’s the pianist’s impressionist, gently lyrical caress, however, that really stands
out on this delicate closing statement.

With the mature, artfully constructed Popyt, the Mateusz Palka/Szymon Quartet has
crafted an impressive initial calling card whose musical guile and measured passions
leave you wanting more.

**By Olivia Peevas**

Video: One of the best and most atmospheric concerts at Piwnica thanks to the Mateusz
Pałka quartet!

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