Tomasz Stanko
Encyclopedia
Tomasz Stańko is a Polish trumpeter, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and improviser. Often recording for ECM
ECM (record label)
ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...

, Stańko is strongly associated with free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...

 and the avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....

.

Coming to prominence in the early 1960s alongside pianist Adam Makowicz
Adam Makowicz
Adam Makowicz born Adam Matyszkowicz is a Polish-Canadian pianist and composer living in Toronto. He performs jazz and classical piano pieces, as well as his own compositions...

 in the Jazz Darings, Stańko later collaborated with pianist Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best-known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s films Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water and Cul-de-sac...

, notably on Komeda's pivotal 1966 album Astigmatic. In 1968, Stańko formed an acclaimed quintet that included Zbigniew Seifert
Zbigniew Seifert
Zbigniew Seifert was a Polish jazz violinist.Seifert was born in Kraków, Poland in 1946. He played alto saxophone early in his career and was strongly influenced by John Coltrane...

 on violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 and alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...

, and in 1975 he formed the Tomasz Stańko-Adam Makowicz Unit. Stańko has since established a reputation as a leading figure not only in Polish jazz, but on the world stage as well, working with many notable musicians, including Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...

, Dave Holland
Dave Holland
Dave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....

, Reggie Workman
Reggie Workman
Reginald "Reggie" Workman is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey....

, Rufus Reid
Rufus Reid
Rufus Reid is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.-Personal history:...

, Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...

, David Murray
David Murray (jazz musician)
David Murray is an American jazz musician. Murray plays mainly tenor saxophone and sometimes bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s.-Biography:...

, Manu Katche
Manu Katché
Manu Katché is a French musician of Ivorian origin, born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés on 27 October 1958. He is a drummer and songwriter.-Career:Session musician...

 and Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman...

. In 1984 he was a member of Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...

's big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

.

Stańko lost his natural teeth in the 1990s, though over time he developed a new embouchure
Embouchure
The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of woodwind instruments or the mouthpiece of the brass instruments.The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche , 'mouth'....

 with the help of a skilled dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...

 and monotonous practice. He would spend long hours playing what he deemed to be "boring" long tones which helped to strengthen his lip, in spite of playing with the disadvantage of false teeth.

Biography

Tomasz Stańko was born in Rzeszów
Rzeszów
Rzeszów is a city in southeastern Poland with a population of 179,455 in 2010. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River, in the heartland of the Sandomierska Valley...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 on July 11, 1942. His first encounters with jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 were through Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...

 radio programs and tours initiated by the U.S. State Department. Coming of age in Communist Poland, Stanko was impressed by the correlation jazz had with a message of freedom. In 1958 he saw his first jazz concert given by Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...

. While attending the Cracow Music Academy he formed his first group in 1962, the Jazz Darings, along with the pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 Adam Makowicz
Adam Makowicz
Adam Makowicz born Adam Matyszkowicz is a Polish-Canadian pianist and composer living in Toronto. He performs jazz and classical piano pieces, as well as his own compositions...

; the group took inspiration from the music of musicians such as Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s....

, George Russell and Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

 and is considered by many critics to be the first group in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 to perform in the free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...

 medium.

In 1963 Stanko joined the Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best-known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s films Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water and Cul-de-sac...

 quintet
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....

, where he learned much of what he now knows of harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

, musical structure and asymmetry
Asymmetry
Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry.-In organisms:Due to how cells divide in organisms, asymmetry in organisms is fairly usual in at least one dimension, with biological symmetry also being common in at least one dimension....

. During his career with Komeda, which concluded in 1967, Stanko did five tours with the pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 and recorded eleven albums with him. In 1968 Stanko formed a quintet
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....

 that met critical acclaim—one that included Zbigniew Seifert
Zbigniew Seifert
Zbigniew Seifert was a Polish jazz violinist.Seifert was born in Kraków, Poland in 1946. He played alto saxophone early in his career and was strongly influenced by John Coltrane...

 on violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 and alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...

. In 1970 he joined the Globe Unity Orchestra
Globe Unity Orchestra
The Globe Unity Orchestra is a free jazz ensemble.Globe Unity was formed in autumn 1966 with a commission received by Alexander von Schlippenbach from the Berlin Jazz Festival...

, and in 1971 he did collaborations with Krysztof Penderecki and Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)
Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...

. Not long after he formed a quartet
Quartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...

 that included himself and the drummer Edward Vesala
Edward Vesala
Edward Vesala , born Martti Vesala, was a Finnish avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader and drummer....

. His performances with Vesala are often considered to be some of his most important work. In 1975 he formed the Tomasz Stańko-Adam Makowicz
Adam Makowicz
Adam Makowicz born Adam Matyszkowicz is a Polish-Canadian pianist and composer living in Toronto. He performs jazz and classical piano pieces, as well as his own compositions...

 Unit.

During the 1980s he traveled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and recorded solo work in the Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...

, and also worked with Vesala in groups led by Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman
Chico Freeman is a modern jazz tenor saxophonist and trumpeter and son of jazz saxophonist Von Freeman...

 and Howard Johnson
Howard Johnson (jazz musician)
Howard Lewis Johnson in Montgomery, Alabama, is an American jazz musician known mainly for his work on tuba and baritone saxophone, although he also plays the bass clarinet, trumpet and other reed instruments....

. In the mid-1980s he began doing extensive work with Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor
Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...

, performing in his big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

s and also led various groups of his own, including COCX (with Vitold Rek
Vitold Rek
Vitold Rek is a double bassist, composer and educator. He studied classical double bass at the Academy of Music in Kraków when Krzysztof Penderecki was rector there...

). Then, before returning to ECM Records, Stanko also worked in a trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...

 that included himself, Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player.Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet , with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen...

 and Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen is a Norwegian jazz percussionist.In the late 1960s he played alongside Jan Garbarek on several recordings by the composer George Russell....

. In 1993 Stanko formed a new quartet composed of the then 16 year-old drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Michal Miskiewicz, along with Miskiewicz's two friends pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 Marcin Wasilewski and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

 Slawomir Kurkiewicz. That same year he also formed an international quartet that included Bobo Stenson
Bobo Stenson
Bo Gustav Stenson is a Swedish jazz pianist. Stenson was noted as early as 1963, when he stepped up from the local scene in Västerås to start playing frequently in Stockholm, where he accompanied a long line of visiting American players including Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary Burton...

, Tony Oxley
Tony Oxley
Tony Oxley is an English free-jazz drummer and one of the founders of Incus Records.-Biography:Tony Oxley was born in Sheffield, England. A self-taught pianist by age eight, he first began playing the drums at seventeen. While in the Black Watch military band from 1957 to 1960 he studied music...

 and Anders Jormin.; in 1994 the quartet released their first ECM recording titled Matka Joanna. In 1997 Stanko formed a group which performed the songs of pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best-known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s films Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water and Cul-de-sac...

, touring London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

 and appearing at jazz festivals like those in Nancy and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. The idea for the project came from ECM president Manfred Eicher
Manfred Eicher
Manfred Eicher is a German record producer and the founder of ECM Records and its subsidiaries.Eicher studied music at the Academy of Music in Berlin. He is a record producer and a double-bass player. In 1969 he founded a record label in Munich called ECM - Edition of Contemporary Music...

. Stańko is currently represented by Addeo Music International (AMI)
Addeo Music International (AMI)
Addeo Music International is an international jazz booking agency established in 2008 that works with a number of internationally acclaimed artists. AMI develops its artists through focused touring initiatives and management of international performances through a network of AMI-affiliated...

.

Critical appreciation

Derk Richardson has written for the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...

 that, "Tomasz Stanko is not the first jazz musician to negotiate a rapprochement between gorgeous melodies and free improvisation. But he is one of the most eloquent proponents of extemporaneous lyricism working today." Author Brian Morton
Brian Morton (Scottish writer)
Brian Morton is a Scottish writer, journalist and broadcaster, mainly specialising in jazz and modern literature. Born in Paisley, near Glasgow and raised in Dunoon, Morton was educated at Edinburgh University and taught in the late 1970s at the University of East Anglia and the University of...

 has compared Stanko's lyricism to that of Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...

, calling it a "direct but individual offshoot."

As leader

  • Balladyna
    Balladyna (album)
    Balladyna is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko recorded in 1975 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G...

    (ECM, 1976)
  • Matka Joanna
    Matka Joanna
    Matka Joanna is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko recorded in 1994 and released on the ECM label. The music was inspired by Jerzy Kawalerowicz's 1961 movie Matka Joanna od Aniołów.-Reception:...

    (ECM, 1994)
  • Leosia
    Leosia (album)
    Leosia is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko recorded in 1996 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 3½ stars stating "As ECM recordings go, Leosia is one of the label's, and certainly trumpeter Tomasz Stanko's,...

    (ECM, 1996)
  • Litania: Music of Krzysztof Komeda
    Litania: Music of Krzysztof Komeda
    Litania: Music of Krzysztof Komeda is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko featuring compositions by Krzysztof Komeda recorded in 1997 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...

    (ECM, 1997)
  • From the Green Hill
    From the Green Hill
    From the Green Hill is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko recorded in 1998 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...

    (ECM, 1998)
  • Soul of Things
    Soul of Things
    Soul of Things is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko recorded in 2001 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 4 stars.-Track listing:# "Soul of Things I" - 5:39...

    (ECM, 2002)
  • Suspended Night
    Suspended Night
    Suspended Night is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko recorded in 2003 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...

    (ECM, 2004)}}
  • Lontano
    Lontano (album)
    Lontano is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko recorded in 2005 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "Lontano showcases a band confident enough after playing for five years to find real space for free...

    (ECM, 2005)
  • Dark Eyes
    Dark Eyes (album)
    Dark Eyes is an album by Polish jazz trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stańko recorded in 2005 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G...

    (ECM, 2009)

As collaborator

}}
  • Edward Vesala
    Edward Vesala
    Edward Vesala , born Martti Vesala, was a Finnish avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader and drummer....

     - Satu
    Satu
    Satu is an album by Finnish avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader and drummer Edward Vesala recorded in 1976 and released on the ECM label in 1977.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 2 stars.-Track listing:# "Satu" - 14:37...

    (ECM, 1977)}}
  • Gary Peacock
    Gary Peacock
    Gary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...

     - Voice from the Past - Paradigm
    Voice from the Past - Paradigm
    Voice from the Past - Paradigm is an album by American jazz bassist Gary Peacock recorded in 1981 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...

    (ECM, 1981)}}
  • Cecil Taylor
    Cecil Taylor
    Cecil Percival Taylor is an American pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an extremely energetic, physical approach, producing complex improvised sounds, frequently involving tone clusters and...

     - Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants)
    Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants)
    Winged Serpent is an album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Milan, Italy on October 22–24, 1984 and released on the Soul Note label...

    }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
  • Anna Maria Jopek
    Anna Maria Jopek
    Anna Maria Jopek is a Polish musician and singer. She represented her country in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Ale jestem" and finished 11th out of 25 participating acts; and in 2002, she collaborated on an album with jazz guitarist Pat Metheny...

    , Szeptem (1998)
  • Anna Maria Jopek - Bosa (2000)}}
  • Anna Maria Jopek
    Anna Maria Jopek
    Anna Maria Jopek is a Polish musician and singer. She represented her country in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Ale jestem" and finished 11th out of 25 participating acts; and in 2002, she collaborated on an album with jazz guitarist Pat Metheny...

    , Barefoot (2002)}}}}

External links

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