DIVER

The recording productions of Laboratorium did not finish with the ''Aquarium live No.1'' in 1977.In November of the same year the expanded line-up ended up with another release, recorded in just three days at the Rotunda Jazz club in Krakow.Originally the album was supposed to carry the title ''Nurek'' and the band members attempted to launch it via the Polskie Nagrania Muza label.Apparently this did never happen, so they were eventually supported by the Jazz-oriented company Helicon and their work was released in 1978 with the English title ''Diver'', while also all contained titles were written in English.

The style is pretty similar to the stylistical turn presented in ''Aquarium live No.1'', the Polish group played an exotic and airy Jazz Fusion, which will never win a prize in terms of originality, but it's well-played with some instant melodic parts and very good instrumental handling, balancing between smooth solos and decent semi-improvisations.''Soft flamenco'' is just a different version of ''Flamenco na miekko'', one of the best cuts ever written by the group, featuring some nice virtuosic executions and a tropical, Latin touch.At this point of their career they sound as close as it gets to RETURN TO FOREVER and WEATHER REPORT, their sincere Electric Fusion contained very atmospheric synth parts and lots of electric piano next to the omnipresent sax of Marek Stryszkowski.But, despite their undisputed jazzy attitude, they also seem to give emphasis on well-constructed themes and dramatic instrumental explorations, which are not very close to Prog Rock, but there are definitely shades of structured music here, far from the excessive technical nonsense often met in acts of the style.You should add the 10-min. ''Late-coming'' to the list of very good pieces performed by Laboratorium, a passionate mixture of funky aesthetics, Avant-Garde vocals, Latin Jazz and dramatic, guitar-based Fusion.

For fans of Latin-spiced, tropical Jazz Fusion, containing ethereal tunes, great solos and a heavy dose of jazzy freedom.Warmly recommended.CD reissue out with a couple of bonus tracks.