Tomasz Stańko: September Night

Once one finds oneself sucked into the fervent undertow piloting the live, previously unreleased September Night it is too late: The boat has left shore.

Beginning with bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz's full throated rumble, "Hermento's Mood" spins off into fable somewhere around the one minute forty mark, when pianist Marcin Wasilewski begins his warm, welcoming symmetries and the band gathers steam..

Polish trumpeter/composer Tomasz Stańko (1942-2018) was a poet on his golden instrument. Metaphoric but never academic, his lines bearing melancholy and triumph. Folklore and dance. Countrymen all, Stańko mentors his young charges in the pursuit of restless magic, Fired up, Stańko flares and dive-bombs the high flying "Eurofilia." He ruminates blue and tranquil on "Elegant Piece."

A perfect foil, Wasilewski's sense of humor guides his hands as he solos. Recorded in Munich 2004, the rhythm section, average age twenty-nine and together since high school, poised a formidable challenge to any musical veteran. Stańko, at twice the average age, pursues his trio's penchant for inspired comping. Catches it and sets it free. The performance is pure thrill.

"Celina" sails on the active imagination of all involved—a snippet of salsa, a whole lot of swing and loose groove—rolling on a vibe one cannot resist. Speaking of vibe, "Theatrical" is no slouch either. Its cool head and heady breezes rebound through its casual yet concise course of action. Besides its deep blue moon setting, "Elegant Piece" cruises downtown heyday Kansas City with a swagger that is contagious.

In the same rich, rewarding vein as the quartet's best selling ECM first, 2002's Soul of Things, the still suspended-in-air Suspended Night (ECM, 2003) and the indelible Lontano (ECM, 2006), September Night highlights a quartet testing their tensility. Open to the moment at any given moment. A quartet at the possible height of their powers.