I am not a jazzman. However, as many jazzmen say, jazz is a kind of music to which you can add anything and it will still be jazz. I have a feeling that the opposite happens on this album: you can add jazz to anything else and it will sound like jazz, or shall I say jazzy. Guitar is a special instrument and so is its repertoire. It is often created by composers for whom jazz and world music represent a natural environment. Those composers are usually excellent, classically trained guitar players and know exactly what will sound great on the guitar. This allows them to write pieces which people want to listen to and play. The lack of wide, “serious” repertoire, which has been considered for many years as the greatest weakness of the guitar, became an impulse for creating music that connects various genres. On this album, I wanted to present the most important pieces to me, written on the the border of classic, jazz, Brazilian and Balkan music. All the pieces on this album have been written by great concert guitarists. The only exception is Jobim who was a better pianist than guitarist, however the arrangement from Dyens is extremely impressive and very guitaristic. The first piece is a Paulo Bellinati`s suite 'Contatos'. He cooperated with some of the most famous Brazilian stars such as Gal Costa, Chico Buarqe or the group Pau Brasil. Contatos means “connection” or “contact”. Bellinati's music connects within the grace of Brazilian folk, classical elegance and the freedom of jazz making it understandable to listeners regardless of their musical preferences. Roland Dyens` 'Hommage à Villa-Lobos' is the best example of how many inspirations can smartly coexist in a single work. The phenomenal French artist is inspired by the music of the great Brazilian to whom he pays tribute, as well as by jazz, classic, funk or the French chanson. I always have great pleasure finding new layers in this piece. It is like a never-ending game. Dyens` total mastery of the instrument results in creating great arrangements such as the Jobim`s Felicidade in which he uses the guitar to its maximum. 'Don`t know why' written by Jesse Harris is probably the best known piece on this album. It made Norah Jones famous worldwide and was recorded many times by various artists including Pat Metheny. I enjoy the simple and intimate atmosphere of this ballad and have an impression that the sound of the solo guitar brings out its unsophisticated beauty perfectly. The Jazz Sonata is a piece containing a few improvised parts and is quintessential for Dušans` Bogdanović relatively free approach towards written music. Everything here is steeped with Balkan music, its asymmetrical rhythms and contrasts between spontaneous happiness and poignant sorrow. The CD is concluded with a sweet Polish miniature, 'For You', recorded here for the first time. It was written by a young and talented guitarist from Wrocław – Leszek Zaleski. If you are a fan of “Beyond the Missouri Sky” from Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden, this final piece will sound familiar to your ears. It is just as simple and delicate as the music of these two giants of jazz. I hope that the sounds recorded on this album will give you plenty of acoustic pleasure. Jakub Kościuszko