A unique tribute to the jazz god for the 10th anniversary of Plays John Coltrane, “Rogiński’s masterpiece” (Pitchfork)

In his youth, Polish musician Raphael Rogiński (PL) wanted to become a sculptor – until he crossed paths with the guitar. He practiced obsessively, and once told the Polish magazine Polityka that he played his guitar “like wild meat, shamelessly and greedily till blood was pouring from my fingers”.

Things are rather different nowadays. The guitar on his latest albums Talán (an ode to the Black Sea) and Žaltys sounds graceful and meditative, evoking American primitivism. Pitchfork: “Over the past decade and a half, Rogiński has developed a singular and unmistakable style of solo electric guitar. His playing is spare, yet his fingerpicking can make it sound like there are four hands working in tandem; it can be hard to believe that there are no overdubs”.

His cult following was awakened this year by the reissue of his 2015 album Plays John Coltrane and Langston Hughes. Pitchfork described it as “Rogiński’s masterpiece”. Anyone who expects to recognise Coltrane classics like Naima, Mr. PC, Countdown – all from Giant Steps, Coltrane’s first album of his own compositions - or Blue Train, is in for a rude awakening.

Pitchfork: “It would take an Olympic leap of imagination” and “In some cases, even the tonal connection is as tenuous as spider’s silk” – lending even more uniqueness to Rogiński’s interpretations. For the tenth anniversary of this album, Rogiński will once again take an esoteric dive into Coltrane’s work on Sunday 6 April.