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Please join us on Saturday, June 19, 2004 from 8-10pm at Slought Foundation for a live concert with the Tomasz Stanko Quartet and the record release celebration of "Suspended Night" (ECM
Records). The Quartet includes Tomasz Stanko (trumpet), Marcin Wasilewski (keyboard), Slawomir Kurkiewicz (double-bass), and Michal Miskiewicz (drums).
In the two years since Tomasz Stanko's much-loved 'Soul of Things', both the trumpeter and his young Polish 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 haunting and soulful '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 Polandıs 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 juryıs citation: 'While Stanko has obviously drawn
on American models, he has developed a unique sound and personal music that is instantly recognizable 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.'
This program is made possible in part through the generous sponsorship or support of ECM Records and ars nova workshop
 
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