Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Marcin Wasilewski Trio & Joe Lovano: Arctic Riff

Marcin Wasilewski Trio & Joe Lovano: Arctic Riff

By Mike Jurkovic
June 22, 2020
View read count

Marcin Wasilewski Trio & Joe Lovano: Arctic Riff

Like standing before a frozen lake as it becomes a palette for the morning sun, "Glimmer of Hope" ripens swiftly, deftly into an illuminating, direly-needed respite from the mourning that has besieged listeners. Ecstatically, it is just the preface to Arctic Riff's expansive beauty.

As if conjured from mist, pianist

Marcin Wasilewski

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcin Wasilewski's contented, yet curious rubato, ellipses through a few random tonalities, its sole purpose being to create an active space for his long trusted rhythm section—bassist

Slawomir Kurkiewicz

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Slawomir Kurkiewicz and drummer

Michal Miskiewicz

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Michal Miskiewicz—along with guest/co-leader, saxophonist

Joe Lovano

drums
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Lovano, to create without hindrance, but with restraint. And it is that cultured reserve wherein each player is entrusted to reveal, in the shimmer of a thousand diamonds at your feet, that all our potential is well within our grasp.

Recorded in August 2019, Arctic Riff evinces pure proof that poets and artists imagine and interpret the future because their chosen manner of expression is so rooted to the voice of humanity's past. A gifted joint effort, Arctic Riff speaks in the glorious language of ECM piano trios long cherished and too numerous to list here. "Glimmer of Hope" displays a traditionally agile soulfulness as Lovano's profound, reverberant voice rises above the trio's inventive grace. Both versions of

Carla Bley

piano
1938 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Carla Bley's "Vashikar" finds the whole ensemble probing Bley's subversively thematic implications as well as their own interior dialogues.

The spontaneous "Cadenza" swells from a wealth of scampering whispers—Miskiewicz, Kurkiewicz, and Lovano—into a solid union of spectral designs which Wasilewski melodically takes command of. "Fading Sorrow" is an evocatively atmospheric thumbnail of the music the trio has created since its high school inception in 1993. Its many gorgeous tonal textures become an exquisite playground for Lovano to play in. "Arco" emanating from Kurkiewicz, of course, conjures darkness and light, with Lovano responding to both with vibrant empathy.Two miniature visitations, the bluesy "Stray Cat Waltz" and shape-shifting "A Glimpse" display how focused and open the four can be. Lovano's "On the Other Side" posits a vigorous exchange of ideas between various trio formats and somehow wonderfully sets up "Old Hat," Wasilewski's closing old-school ballad referencing Lovano's love of vintage headgear.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Glimmer Of Hope; Vashkar; Cadenza; Fading Sorrow; Arco; Stray Cat Walk; Lamour Fou; A Glimpse; Vashkar (var.); On The Other Side; Old Hat.

Personnel

Marcin Wasilewski

piano

Slawomir Kurkiewicz

bass, acoustic

Michal Miskiewicz

drums

Joe Lovano

drums

Album information

Title: Arctic Riff | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: ECM Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Tides
< Previous

Raul Midon: Flamenco��s Fire Into T...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.