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Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko dies at 76

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Topic: Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko dies at 76
Posted By: just_reich
Subject: Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko dies at 76
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2018 at 2:29pm
Described by the New York Times as “one of the most acclaimed improvising musicians in Europe”, Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko was born in 1942 and made his debut in Krakow in the late 1950s. In the 1960s he joined Krzysztof Komeda’s quintet, soon becoming its mainstay, and recorded a masterpiece of European jazz with it, the LP Astigmatic.

Though Miles Davis and Chet Baker were early influences, he was soon drawn to the free jazz of Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. As he told jazz writer Andrew Gilbert, speaking of jazz under communism, “I was interested in artistic freedom, because in person I didn't really have a big problem living in a communist country in this time. Maybe earlier musicians had some problems, they don't have the chance to play so often, but in 1963 it was beginning to be quite all right. I was much more interested in the freedom in Ornette's music."

In the early 1970s, at the helm of the Tomasz Stanko Quintet, he came to the forefront of the free jazz scene and was featured at major European festivals. His subsequent projects reinforced this stature: Unit with Polish pianist Adam Makowicz, and a quartet co-led with Finnish drummer Edward Vesala that in 1975 attracted attention of ECM’s Manfred Eicher. Stanko’s ECM debut, Balladyna, has become a legend on both sides of the Atlantic. In the 1980s Stanko was enlisted by Cecil Taylor in several of his line-ups.

The 1990s saw a renewal of Stanko’s relationship with ECM. A new quartet, featuring pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Tony Oxley, was widely hailed as one of the best jazz groups of the decade, and the album Leosia earned a rare top rating in the Penguin Jazz Guide. Released in 1997, Litania, a tribute to the music of Krzysztof Komeda, became his first global bestseller. Subsequent ECM releases, Soul of Things and Suspended Night, featuring a young Polish quartet at the beginning of the new century brought him to the attention of US jazz fans. 2013 brought a new double album, Wisława, with a new group: Thomas Morgan (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums) and David Virelles (piano). Jazz Journal’’s Michael Tucker hailed “essential music from one of Europe's most striking – and affecting – poets of his instrument”.

Taken from: https://www.ecmrecords.com/artists/1435045841/tomasz-stanko

In honor of Tomasz Stanko, I will be sharing two-hours of his music on my radio program "the blueshift" at 88.3 FM KUCR, streaming online at kucr.org.  It airs on Tuesday (7/31/18) from 11-1PM, pacific time.



Replies:
Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2018 at 3:05pm
sad news - Tomasz was with no doubt Polish jazz living legend and one of the leading European jazz trumpeter


saw him playing live 14 yrs ago in Budapest, he sounded like real jazz giant, there are not many around already 



RIP



Posted By: Steve Wyzard
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 10:18am
Sad, sad news...

I would rank his 2004 album Suspended Night in my personal Top 10 albums, with 2002's Soul of Things not too far behind.

While not everything he recorded was a masterpiece (or even close), and he was too esoteric for some, Stanko simply must be mentioned when discussing the great trumpeters of the late 20th century.


Posted By: snobb
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 11:13am
surprisingly enough, now when he passed away and there are lot of topics about him around, very often he's mentioned as avant-garde jazz artist

he played avant garde jazz at early stage of his career, but that was short period and he did his name later, partially when he started recording for ECM; his music for decades he was famous usually was much more accessible and quite far from any avant garde or any experimental




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