Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Tomasz Stańko: September Night

Tomasz Stańko: September Night

By Mike Jurkovic
May 29, 2024
View read count

Once one finds oneself sucked into the fervent undertow piloting the live, previously unreleased September Night it is too late: The boat has left shore.

Beginning with bassist

Slawomir Kurkiewicz

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Slawomir Kurkiewicz's full throated rumble, "Hermento's Mood" spins off into fable somewhere around the one minute forty mark, when pianist

Marcin Wasilewski

piano
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Marcin Wasilewski begins his warm, welcoming symmetries and the band gathers steam..

Polish trumpeter/composer

" data-original-title="" title="">Tomasz Stańko (1942-2018) was a poet on his golden instrument. Metaphoric but never academic, his lines bearing melancholy and triumph. Folklore and dance. Countrymen all, Stańko mentors his young charges in the pursuit of restless magic, Fired up, Stańko flares and dive-bombs the high flying "Eurofilia." He ruminates blue and tranquil on "Elegant Piece."

A perfect foil, Wasilewski's sense of humor guides his hands as he solos. Recorded in Munich 2004, the rhythm section, average age twenty-nine and together since high school, poised a formidable challenge to any musical veteran. Stańko, at twice the average age, pursues his trio's penchant for inspired comping. Catches it and sets it free. The performance is pure thrill.

"Celina" sails on the active imagination of all involved—a snippet of salsa, a whole lot of swing and loose groove—rolling on a vibe one cannot resist. Speaking of vibe, "Theatrical" is no slouch either. Its cool head and heady breezes rebound through its casual yet concise course of action. Besides its deep blue moon setting, "Elegant Piece" cruises downtown heyday Kansas City with a swagger that is contagious.

In the same rich, rewarding vein as the quartet's best selling ECM first, 2002's Soul of Things, the still suspended-in-air Suspended Night (ECM, 2003) and the indelible Lontano (ECM, 2006), September Night highlights a quartet testing their tensility. Open to the moment at any given moment. A quartet at the possible height of their powers.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Hermento’s Mood; Song For Sarah; Euforila; Elegant Piece; Kaetano; Celina; Theatrical.

Personnel

Tomasz Stańko

trumpet

Marcin Wasilewski

piano

Slawomir Kurkiewicz

bass, acoustic

Michal Miskiewicz

drums

Album information

Title: September Night | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: ECM Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Speakers Corner Quartet At Barbican ...
< Previous

A Different Light
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.