Jazz Articles about Tomasz Stańko

Tomasz Stanko At Birdland: A Subtext Of Sadness And Suspended Sounds

by Dan Bilawsky
April 22, 2010

Tomasz Stanko Quintet Birdland New York, NY April 13, 2010

A mixture of eager anticipation and horrible sadness surrounded trumpeter Tomasz Stanko's early April arrival at Birdland. After creating a string of critically acclaimed albums in an acoustic quartet format, Stanko went in a different direction for 2010's Dark Eyes--which features a quintet including electric bass and electric guitar--and this string of shows was to be the first opportunity for New Yorkers to ...

Tomasz Stanko Quintet at Dazzle in Denver

by Geoff Anderson
April 22, 2010

Tomasz Stanko Quintet Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge Denver, CO April 10, 2010

The ECM record label has been issuing innovative music since 1969. Although it has released over 1,000 albums by now, most share an aesthetic that makes their sound instantly recognizable. While usually lumped into the jazz camp, most ECM artists don't “swing" in the traditional jazz sense. However, the music is generally instrumental, improvisational and almost always, quite cerebral. A significant ...

Tomasz Stanko: Dark Eyes

by David Adler
April 12, 2010

Much of trumpeter Tomasz Stanko's output in the '00s featured the piano trio of countrymen Marcin Wasilewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz and Michal Miskiewicz. Dark Eyes is a departure--the first recording to feature the Polish icon's new quintet with pianist Alexi Tuomarila, guitarist Jakob Bro, bassist Anders Christensen and drummer Olavi Louhivuori. Bit by bit, the band's seductive rapport and cagey dynamics are revealed: first the rubato portent and spaciousness of “So Nice," then a marked shift to a ...

Tomasz Stanko: Dark Eyes

by Warren Allen
March 29, 2010

Since he first caught listeners' ears in pianist and composer Krzysztof Komeda's Polish quintets of the 1960s, Tomasz Stanko has grown to be recognized as one of the most sophisticated and distinctive trumpet players in the world. His dark-hued sound and brassy screams hearken to the souls of Miles Davis and Chet Baker, while the context of his playing and his own modal compositions are especially personal. This approach has graced settings ranging from blasting electro-funk fusion bands to large-scale ...

Tomasz Stanko: Dark Eyes

by AAJ Italy Staff
January 25, 2010

Chiuso il capitolo col quartetto, il trombettista polacco torna a collaborare con musicisti scandinavi disegnando nuove trame notturne e riproponendo l'essenza profonda della sua musica. Lo spettro timbrico è ampliato con l'ingresso del chitarrista elettrico Jakob Bro mentre quello ritmico assume nuova pregnanza grazie alle frammentazioni del batterista Olavi Louhivuori. Ancora una volta l'arte di Stanko lascia ammirati. In questo disco ritroviamo l'astratta e arcana bellezza di una musica che non è mai superficialmente evocativa e sa continuamente rinnovarsi. Alle ...

Tomasz Stanko Quintet at RNCM Theatre, Manchester

by David McLean
December 4, 2009

Tomasz Stanko Quintet RNCM Theatre Manchester, England October 11, 2009

The fire hinted at in Tomasz Stanko's most recent album, Dark Eyes (2009, ECM), has become the focal point of his new quintet's live operations. Whereas the trumpeter's latest ECM disc ferments with economical restraint and brooding atmosphere, the live incarnation of this material takes the looser and fierier elements of Dark Eyes and brings them to the foreground, creating a new panoramic view of the original source. ...

Tomasz Stanko Quintet: Dark Eyes

by David McLean
November 5, 2009

Tomasz Stanko Quintet Dark Eyes ECM Records 2009

It has been a regular event at the ECM label for artists to change line-ups after three albums. After a trio of releases with the prodigiously talented pianist Marcin Wasilewski--(Soul of Things (ECM, 2002), Suspended Night (ECM, 2003) and Lontano (ECM, 2006)--Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko debuts a new and exciting quintet. Dark Eyes is a collection of smoky compositions that evidence Stanko's continuing interest ...