It’s Not a Fake, It’s a Replica is the latest album by the Gdańsk-based quintet led by the charismatic violinist Tomasz Chyła. The album was born out of a need to move beyond a language that had ceased to be sufficient. It marks the moment when the Tomasz Chyła Quintet consciously abandons the safety of a jazz formula and turns toward music of greater weight, density, and direct impact. The riff—associated more with rock than with jazz—becomes the basic unit of narration and the building block of form, around which improvisation is organized.

Rock in this music does not function as a stylistic gesture or a quotation. It is a natural extension of the band’s identity and a response to a need for intensity and energy. The compositions unfold in layers: from hypnotic, trance-like structures to sudden ruptures and breakdowns of form. Improvisation remains an important element, but it does not dominate—it is subordinated to the overall architecture of the pieces.

The album title is a tongue-in-cheek commentary on comparisons of the band to progressive rock legends, including King Crimson, and at the same time a critical response to the obsession with originality. It is also a wink toward Frank Zappa and his ironic distance from reality. A “replica” does not mean a copy, but rather a re-creation of the ideas of courage, risk, and collective energy—without nostalgia and without a museum-like detachment.

A crucial element of this record is the stability of the lineup, which has remained unchanged for six years. Long-term collaboration, trust, and a shared pulse allow the band to make such decisive formal and sonic gestures. It’s Not a Fake, It’s a Replica sounds like a document of a band that consciously chooses its direction, even if that means stepping beyond the expectations of the scene and its audience.

This is not a one-off project, but a clear stage in the band’s development. An album that closes one way of thinking about jazz rock and opens a new one—more contemporary, heavier, and firmly rooted in the present. The musical world is more interesting because this record does not strive to be original at all costs, but instead remains consistent in its choices and ready to bear their consequences. 

Tomasz Chyła - violin 

Emil Miszk - trumpet 
Krzysztof Hadrych - guitar
Konrad Żołnierek - electric bass
Sławek Koryzno - drums, congas

Recorded by Ignacy Gruszecki at Monochrom Studio
Mixed and mastered by Piotr Taraszkiewicz, Dartagnan Studio
Produced by Piotr Taraszkiewicz and Tomasz Chyła Quintet

Design by Michał Dąbrowski

Released by Alpaka Records