As a trumpeter, Tomasz Stanko clearly owes a debt to Miles Davis; yet, after four decades making some of the most arresting small ensemble jazz music in Europe, the Polish veteran perhaps deserves to be considered in the same category as the iconic legend. As a trumpeter, composer and leader, Stanko has few peers, past or present. Dark Eyes introduces Stanko's exciting new band after three wonderful recordings with pianist Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Slavomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskiewicz, and signals another chapter in the evolution of one of jazz's most significant voices.
It would have been easy to continue to ride the success of the old quartet but, like Davis, Stanko reaches a kind of perfection and then moves on. From the early sixties, when Stanko was one of the first to immerse himself in free jazz, to solo trumpet recordings in India like Music from the Taj Mahal and Karla Caves (Leo Records, 1980), Stanko has never played it safe. Another facet of the creative spirit he shares with Davis is Stanko's ability to recognize and nurture new talent, and the chemistry in this new line-up suggests another great ensemble in the making.
The music is not such a seismic shift from Lontano (ECM, 2006)—the same blue tonality, elegance and melodic beauty runs through Dark Eyes. Drummer Olavi Louhivuori does, however, bring slightly more rhythmic urgency to the mix on tracks like "Terminal 7"—a soundtrack to a psychological thriller—"Samba Nova," and "Grand Central," though his brushes flutter like bird's wings on the balladic opener, "So Nice." Electric bassist Anders Christensen brings further textural changes to Stanko's music, with his drone-like thrum and moody ruminations bringing a noirish, urbane feel to the music. The sparing use of emerging guitarist Jacob Bro adds an extra dimension, and his subtle, atmospheric phrasing recalls John McLaughlin on Davis' In a Silent Way (Columbia, 1969).
There is great cohesion in the quintet's sound, though inevitably, perhaps, it is Stanko's personality which dominates. There is, at times, tremendous delicacy in his playing, as on "So Nice," or explosive exclamations like an elephant war cry on the striking "The Dark Eyes of Martha Hirsch," the highly impressionistic centerpiece of the CD, and a tune possessed of smoldering intensity; the quintet's sound building gradually and powerfully, as though the initial contemplation of the Oskar Kokoschka picture, which inspired the composition, were giving way to complete absorption.
A subdued minimalism infuses most of the tracks, particularly the melancholic "Dirge for Europe," and gently hypnotic "May Sun," which features the new hires minus the leader, on a beautiful miniature that captures the essence of a spring dawn unfolding. Stanko has an uncanny knack of producing simple yet seductive melodies and, although Dark Eyes may be a touch too subdued and uniformly understated to really stand out from his considerable oeuvre, there is no doubting the stark beauty of the music present here. - Ian Patterson
Dark places can be foreboding, and also comforting or beautiful if put into proper context. Trumpeter Tomasz Stanko has always used introspection as a means for making his music, but on this recording he's all but snuffed out the candlelight, inspired by the wispy smoke that trails to the ceiling. During the 2000s he retained a regular working band of very young musicians, and for Dark Eyes he's formed a new band of promising up-and-coming players from Northern Europe, with instrumentation modified from the piano/bass/drums backup trio. The very subtle Danish guitarist Jakob Bro (from Paul Motian's band), multiple competition prize-winner Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila, Danish electric bass guitarist Anders Christensen (ex-Ravonettes and Motian), and drummer Olavi Louhivuori (also an accomplished pianist, violinist, and cellist) from Finland are all new names to the ECM family, playing with extraordinary reserve and even a bit of reticence. That subtle sense of territorial division between the band and Stanko marks a new, still toned-down chapter for the Polish trumpeter, beyond his previous suspended night-shaded productions. "So Nice" is certainly all that, a pristine, slow, piano-lined piece with a solemn viewpoint. Inspired by the expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka, "The Dark Eyes of Martha Hirsch" evokes strong amounts of sunken sadness in a unison piano/guitar/trumpet line, while "Last Song" exudes a finality within the same type of democratic instrumental structure. Departing from feelings of gloom, the ambience remains, replaced with more joy during the pretty three-minute piece "May Sun" sans Stanko with Tuomarila's repeat piano lines tumbling down the stairs, while "Terminal 7" and "Grand Central," with a pedal point base, both ruminate with the flowing and always active, upbeat but never anxious metropolitan feel Stanko experiences in his second home, New York City. Two compositions by Krzysztof Komeda are included: the pitch-black "Dirge for Europe," similar to a Miles Davis construct with Bro's guitar as a mirrored observer in the background, and "Etuida Baletowa #3," the most pleasant piece of the date, nicely drawn in an authentic jazz ballad form. As Stanko's music is very consistent, it also is for listeners who are used to his style at the outset. With the late-night aspect emphasized and the ECM precept fully realized, Dark Eyes represents yet another triumph for this extraordinary artist, who always pulls back and digs deep into the wellspring of emotion with every passing moment. - Michael G. Nastos
Tracks
01. So Nice
02. Terminal 7
03. The Dark Eyes Of Martha Hirsch
04. Grand Central
05. Amsterdam Avenue
06. Samba Nova
07. Dirge For Europe
08. May Sun
09. Last Song
10. Etuida Baletowa No.3
ANDERS CHRISTENSEN bass
OLAVI LOUHIVUORI drums
JAKOB BRO guitar
ALEXI TUOMARILA piano
TOMASZ STANKO trumpet
All music composed by Tomasz Stanko, excep "Dirge for Europe" and "Etiuda Baletowa No.3" by Krystof Komeda
Recorded April 2009 at Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines
ECM Records - ECM 2115 ECM Records 271 1266