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June 9, Wednesday, Triple Door, Seattle, WA
June 10, Thursday, Yardbird Suite, Edmonton, Alb.
June 11, Friday, Blue Monk, Portland, OR
June 12, Saturday, SF Jazz Florence Gould Theater, SF, CA
June 13, Sunday, Athenaeum Music& Arts Library, La Jolla, CA
June 14, Monday, Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, CA
June 17, Thursday, Firefly, Ann Arbor, MI
June 19, Saturday, Slought Foundation, Philadelphia, PA
June 21, Monday, Blues Alley, Washington, DC
June 22, Tuesday, An Die Musik Live, Baltimore, MD
June 23, Wednesday, Merkin Hall – JVC Festival, New York, NY
US Release date: May 11, 2004
ECM CD: B0002292-02
Stanko evokes the spirits of the finest trumpeters dead and living
while creating a mood and a voice uniquely his own. Yes, you can hear
the influences of Miles Davis and Chet Baker at their most introspective
and profound, as well as hotter, more rasping traces of Lee Morgan and
Clifford Brown… ‘Soul of Things’ stands shoulder to
hiply-slumped shoulder with ‘Kind of Blue’, and has an even-better
sound – ECM’s deep and finely-burnished finest.
Thomas Conrad, Stereophile, Record to Die For
Tomasz Stanko has rightfully earned his place as one of Europe’s
best and most intense trumpeters… ‘Soul of Things’ finally
gives him the chance to record with his all Polish quartet and the result is
his best recording to date despite his magnificent track record… Stanko
has nurtured these players with love and care, giving them a once in a lifetime
grounding and a jazz education second to none. It has also meant that he has been
able to produce three soul mates to support and carry forward his musical vision.
What this album demonstrates is total synergy born out of hard work and devotion
by all concerned.
John Cratchley, Avant
In the two years since Tomasz Stanko’s much-loved Soul of Things, both the
trumpeter and his young band have continued to make their mark. Many miles of touring,
on both sides of the Atlantic, have honed their already exceptional group understanding.
Suspended Night builds upon the conceptual framework established by its predecessor
– the bulk of the album is devoted to a series of “Suspended Variations”
- but the improvisational quotient is expanded, as all participants take more solo space,
and more chances.
Pianist Marcin Wasilewski, and bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz were 18 and drummer Michal
Miskiewicz only 16 when Stanko took them under his wing in 1994. They quickly developed
into his band of choice for all Polish engagements, working with him on theatre and film
music initially. Pianist, bassist and drummer have also built up a reputation as a unit
in their own right, working under the name Simple Acoustic Trio, which has meanwhile
become one of Poland’s most popular bands. Their first commitment, however, is to
Stanko. “He is our country’s greatest jazz musician,“ says Marcin
Wasilewski. “He plays with us and helps us develop. He helped me find a voice.”
Now however trumpeter and pianist are singing together. As Alyn Shipton observed in The
Times: “Stanko’s rapport with Wasilewski is uncanny, with the two of them
sliding almost seamlessly between passages of intricately composed melody to free improvisation
over the modal vamps favoured in the writing.”
As for Stanko himself, there is universal agreement that he is playing at the peak of his
powers. His control has never been greater than it is today. One of the authentic figures
of European jazz, a great original, Stanko’s reputation has been secure for decades.
His ECM discs, beginning with Balladyna in 1975, have all been distinguished by a remarkably
sustained creative level. In the 1990s, however, Stanko’s work reached a new level
of public recognition through recordings such as Litania, his tribute to film music composer
Krzysztof Komeda, featuring a pan-Scandinavian band, and From the Green Hill – with
Dino Saluzzi, John Surman, Michelle Makarski, and Jon Christensen - which won the German
Critics Prize as Album Of The Year in 2000. In the wake of Soul of Things, Stanko won the
first European Jazz Prize, a major new award initiated by the Austrian Government and the
City of Vienna. From the jury’s citation: “While Stanko has obviously drawn on
American models, he has developed a unique sound and personal music that is instantly
ecognizable and unmistakably his own, rooted in his Slavic heritage, romantic upbringing
and classical education, which he received in Cracow before starting a jazz career in the
early ‘60s. His distinctive rough tone conveys a sense of drama, melancholy, sadness
and existential pain. A free-jazz pioneer, he went on to become one of the finest trumpeters,
a world-class player, a stylist, a charismatic performer and original composer, his music
now assuming simplicity of form and mellowness that comes with years of work, exploration
and experience. Tomasz Stanko – a true master and leader of European jazz.”
Concurrently with Suspended Night, ECM issues an anthology of Tomasz Stanko tracks as Volume
XVII of its :rarum/Selected Recordings series, which provides a useful overview of the pre-Soul
of Things years. In his liner note to the :rarum recording, Stanko talks of the unified nature
of his compositions, from the beginning until now, and their range of expression: “From
chaos to order, from fury to lyricism.” Lyricism has the upper hand in the pieces played
by the Suspended Night ensemble, but the musicians understand the importance of creative
tension, and Stanko’s darting phrasing always takes unexpected turns… .
In 2004, the Stanko Quartet will again spend most of the year on the road. Following a British
tour in February, the group has a series of concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in
March and April. In May they tour Spain. In June they return to the States (Stanko’s
first-ever US tour in 2002 met with extremely positive reactions and sold-out shows). Italian
concerts and festival appearances are currently being scheduled for the summer, and in
October/November the Quartet will tour their Polish homeland.
For further information, please contact Tina Pelikan by telephone: (212) 333-1405,
fax: (212) 445-3509 or e-mail: tina.pelikan@umusic.com
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