ECM Festival 2024: Maciej Obara Quartet

Both are already present in the very personal sound of Maciej Obara's alto saxophone: a kind of cool cautiousness, a groping lyricism; and on the other hand an outrageously exuberant joy of playing [...] Obara writes wonderful compositions, partly realized impressions of nature on the edge of neo-impressionism, but all open enough to be further developed, charged, deepened or liquefied in the course of the interplay, the intensive exchange in the collective, but never dissolved. In particular, the brilliant free confrontations between him and pianist Wania, which are repeatedly consolidated in agreed unison passages, are captivating, inspired by the extremely elastic and alert rhythm section integrated into the sound. The sound of surprise!
Peter Rüedi, Weltwoche