Tomasz Stanko: Dark Eyes (ECM/Ode)

 |   |  <1 min read

Tomasz Stanko Quintet: May Sun
Tomasz Stanko: Dark Eyes (ECM/Ode)

Polish trumpeter Stanko has been introduced previously at Elsewhere on the ocassion of his excellent Lontano album.

Here with yet another line-up he essays some slightly sombre territory (The Dark Eyes of Martha Hirsch, Krzysztof Komeda's Dirge For Europe) with a kind of European stateliness which isn't quite as emotionally gripping as some of his previous work. That said, these pieces also have a haunting (and haunted) quality and when married to his early Sixties-Miles Davis tone they can shimmer with great beauty.

The playing is excellent and you long to hear guitarist Jakob Bro out on his own, he sits neatly in that area of John Abercrombie.

But artistic though this may be, it generally fails to ignite in the way Stanko usually does. One for his followers certainly, but it isn't the best place to start on this fine trumpeter, or the groups he helms. 

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Jazz at Elsewhere articles index

Gabor Szabo: Jazz Raga (Light in the Attic)

Gabor Szabo: Jazz Raga (Light in the Attic)

Originally released in 1967 -- the Beatles' Norwegian Wood which used sitar was on Rubber Soul, released late '65, and folk guitarist Davy Graham employed Indian tunings prior to that -- this album... > Read more

Mathias Eick: Skala (ECM/Ode)

Mathias Eick: Skala (ECM/Ode)

As mentioned in a review of one his earlier albums, The Door (here), Norwegian trumpeter Eick has an inclusive approach to his art and has played in many different contexts, from big bands to... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

KINGMAKER by SONIA PURNELL

KINGMAKER by SONIA PURNELL

Pamela Digby did not marry well but she did, in a way, marry wisely. Everyone warned her off Randolph whom she had only been with a few times before she agreed to his proposal. Both wanted... > Read more

Lauren Thomson: Our Love is Due (Pure)

Lauren Thomson: Our Love is Due (Pure)

True story: I received this five-song EP before Christmas, played it a bit then put on the "get to" pile -- which meant it was ignored in the Christmas shuffle. The other day I pulled... > Read more