Tomasz Stańko - 2006 - Lontano
# Release Date: August 29, 2006
# Label: ECM
1. Lontano, Part 1 12:50
2. Cyrhla 7:04
3. Song For Ania 7:39
4. Kattorna 6:29
5. Lontano, Part 2 14:56
6. Sweet Thing 6:50
7. Trista 4:39
8. Lontano, Part 3 12:01
9. Tale 3:55
A lot has already been written about this quartet and their previous recording, Suspended Night. In the past few years I've been as interested in the compositional and arrangement elements of jazz as in the performance aspects. On this record, the band plays very freely, from what seem to be minimally sketched compositions, and yet the results are complex and deep.
Lontano is moody, shadowy, often slow and very spacious; some people might talk about a streak of melancholy running through it. They allow silence to play its role. This is heartbeakingly beautiful, sophisticated, intelligent, elegant and passionate music. When it swings, it really swings, and it's full of surprises.
Tomasz Stanko's trumpet has the world-weary sound of a mature jazz master, and his young trio is as inventive and interesting as anyone out there. Marcin Wasilewski has a unique voice on piano and I think we'll be hearing him for a long time.
I've never understood why "free" jazz playing so often gravitates toward the same disjointed, dissonant place. These guys are free players who discover a path to delicate beauty and subtle interplay while playing very spontaneously.
I've never written a review for a web site, and I may never do it again. But this music is very inspiring and I wanted to recommend it to anyone who ends up on this page. Order Suspended Night, too, while you're at it, and also the trio's album, simply called "Trio", also on ECM. These guys are creating music that's going to last.
