They don’t often play together these days so the Dublin gig of the Tomasz Stańko ‘Polish’ quartet – Stańko with the Marcin Wasilewski trio once again, one of the great European small groups of the noughties – is stacked with significance.
The trumpeter in terms of albums most recently released studio album Polin back in the autumn, a Poland-only limited release accompanied by Ravi Coltrane and members of his band including David Virelles who doubles in the New York quartet.
With the Wasileswki trio for this Dublin gig, which is part of the Perspectives 2015 series, the trio, now solo artists of considerable clout in their own right, provide a reminder of the late period flowering of the ex-Krzysztof Komeda player and free-jazz icon that saw some sublime music-making on Soul of Things, Suspended Night, and Lontano released between 2002 and 2006. The latest Marcin Wasilewski album Spark of Life an extension of the pianist’s 20-year-old trio featuring double bassist Sławomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michał Miśkiewicz augmented by the presence of saxophonist Joakim Milder came out in October, an album that begins with what could be Wasilewski’s most significant composition to date, the tenderly elegiac ‘Austin.’
Wasilewski’s style is that of a bittersweet romantic to a certain extent with a strong melodic and modal approach that thrives on Stańko's poetic abstractions. A dream of a gig on 10 April for Dublin jazz fans and soon a reality.
Michał Miśkiewicz, above left, Stańko, Sławomir Kurkiewicz, and Marcin Wasilewski. Photo: ECM