Wislawa

Jazz trumpeter Tomasz Stanko began his tenure as a major force in European free jazz in the early '60s with the formation of the quartet Jazz Darins in 1962 with Adam Makowicz. From 1963 to 1967 he played with Krzysztof Komeda in a group that revolutionized European jazz and made an impact across the Atlantic as well. Stanko also put in time with Andrzej Trzaskowski in the mid-'60s before leading his own quintet from 1968 to 1973. The Tomasz Stanko Quintet, which included Muniak and Zbigniew Seifert, garnered considerable critical acclaim, especially for their tribute to Komeda entitled Music for K. The early '70s brought collaborations with a number of avant-garde and creative jazz artists, including the Globe Unity Orchestra, Michal Urbaniak, Cecil Taylor, and Gary Peacock. From 1974 to 1978, Stanko played in a quartet with Edward Vesala, then returned to performing as a leader and soloist. The '80s brought Stanko collaborations with Chico Freeman in Freeman's group Heavy Life, as well as work with James Spaulding, Jack DeJohnette, and Rufus Reid. He was also briefly part of Cecil Taylor's big band in 1984. Shortly afterward, he formed another ensemble, Freelectronic. The '90s brought an alliance with ECM, which issued some of Stanko's most acclaimed work, including another lush, gorgeous tribute to Komeda, 1997's Litania, which was heavy with that composer's film work. The follow-up on ECM, 2000's From the Green Hill, drew from many of the same emotional and historic sources as Komeda's work, but this time the compositions were Stanko's. In 2002, Stanko's contributions to European jazz were honored when he was issued the very first European Prize, which was intended to honor outstanding European jazz musicians. During the final round of voting from 21 critics from as many countries, Stanko won ten votes, narrowly topping the runner-up, Dutch piano player Misha Mengelberg. That same year Soul of Things was released on ECM, followed by Suspended Night in 2004, also on ECM. Too Pee appeared in 2006, as did Chameleon and Lontano.

— Stacia Proefrock

Since relocating to America from his native Europe, Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko has assembled a crack band to articulate his ever fluctuating, often experimental musical ideas. His New York Quartet, consisting of pianist David Virelles, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Gerald Cleaver is a study in contrasts. The septuagenarian trumpeter proves as wily as ever on Wislawa, a double-disc titled for the late poet and Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska, who passed away in 2012, and whose work and persona proved influential in composing the material for this set. Several of these pieces bear the titles of her poems. Stanko's signature brooding, cranky, tone-altering phrasing and disconsolate spirit of tenderness are apparent throughout, but they don't necessarily dictate the album's flow. Two versions of the title track bookend the album and showcase those qualities in balladic form, as do others such as "April Song"; there is also plenty of fire here, evidenced by the aggressive interplay of the rhythm section on tracks such as "Assassins" and "Metafizyka." "Mikrokosmos" is a Stanko showcase, offering at its opening all manner of squeals, skronks, sputters, and sharply angled tones before Virelles adds a Latin touch and the quartet settles into a groove. Likewise in the "Dernier "Cri," where the spirit of Miles Davis' second quintet is evoked. The second disc opens with "Oni," led by Morgan's bass walk. It commences impressionistically, yet develops into an easy grooving post-bop thanks to the bassist and Cleaver's shimmering cymbal work. "Tutaj - Here" offers scintillating -- though often subtle -- interplay between Virelles and the trumpeter, while "Faces" presents the pianist's forceful, canny, harmonic assertions that the rhythm section responds to with near glee. Stanko is at his most fiery in this driven post-bop number that also recalls the Davis quintet's fearless sense of exploration. Throughout this set, Stanko leads this band as he has many others: by example. His democratic sensibilities allow his players to be fully themselves through his compositions, in turn adding depth and heft to them. Wislawa deftly celebrates in a deliberate way, not only the memory of an honored person in Stanko's life, but also the profound inspiration of her life's work upon his own.

—Thom Jurek