The airy warm tones of “Francoise Truffaut” constitute an apt commencement for Czech double bassist Jaromír Honzák and his newest release Hard To Understand. Recorded and mixed by Milan Cimfe and subsequently mastered by Pavel Karlík (all at Sono Records Studio), these plush recordings reveal detail in the compositions mirrored in the quartet’s empathetic musicianship. On tracks like “Just Thinking,” there’s no sense of a leader/follower hierarchy but rather a mutual sensitivity in and to the moment. The band always sounds like it knows right where it’s going during a cut such as “Rain Cloud” and thus radiates a solidarity that also echoes through even the quietest numbers like “Simple Truth;” the collective awareness of surroundings makes for listening no doubt as engrossing as was the experience of playing. None of the nine tracks, including two parts of “Tamquam,” go on for an inordinate length of time, but the cumulative effect of the record is nonetheless deep and abiding.

Jaromír Honzák — Hard To Understand
Animal Music
2020

Doug Collette – All About Jazz

Review link: https://www.allaboutjazz.com/spring-2020-jaromir-honzak