Suspended Night

Artist: Tomasz Stanko Quartet
Label: Ecm Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 602498112441
EAN: 0602498112441
ASIN: B0000V765G

Release Date: 2004-05-11

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Tracks:

Song For Sarah
Suspended Variation I
Suspended Variation II
Suspended Variation III
Suspended Variation IV
Suspended Variation V
Suspended Variation VI
Suspended Variation VII
Suspended Variation VIII
Suspended Variation IX
Suspended Variation X

Similar Items:

Lontano
The Triangle
Soul Of Things
Changing Places
Trio

Customer Reviews:

Any Serious Jazz Fan Should Own This Album!.......2006-12-07

Tomasz Stanko has recorded a masterpiece with this recording. I'm not going to talk too much about the music, because it speaks for itself. All I can say is listen to the sound clips on Amazon and decide if this is something that you're going to like. Having said that, I love this kind of moody jazz. It's very accessible, but it's also dark and haunting, which are words that have descibed Tomasz Stanko's work on ECM for years now. This particular trio he's playing with are all astonishing. The pianist, Marcin Wasilewski, is truly a young master. He is fantastic in a supporting role and he's also a great soloist - very subtle and if you don't listen closely you'll miss those beautiful cascades of notes. I found myself listening to Marcin more than anybody else. As another reviewer has said, I think Wasilewski made this album. If you love piano like I do, then this is a good album. Having said about Wasilewski, I have tremendous respect for Stanko. For him to step aside and let these other musicians take the music to another level, says alot about Stanko and his character.

This is truly a classic jazz album in my opinion. Anyone who enjoys listening to jazz and is serious about it should own this album.

a pinnacle.......2006-02-28

superbly played and recorded, this is as intimate a sound as i've ever heard on ECM. this mix is perfect, and through headphones, you can almost imagine yourself sitting admist the musicians, their sounds enveloping you. playing "free" ballads is in immense challenge, and this is one of the finer examples i've come across. some have compared this to "kind of blue," but while stanko's trumpet has a melancholic timbre similar to the prince of darkness, he is his own man, a veteran, and should be respected a such. his young group is brilliant, especially the impressionistic wasielewski, who seems to calculate each note as if it could be his last. the music is incredibly free, yet everything is in it's place. the mood is nocturnal, but this is no background music. it's meant to be absorbed. it's a stunning follow up to the wonderful "soul of things," and is required listening for anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of improvised music. say, maybe in that sense, it is a bit like kind of blue.

Stankowicz on piano.......2005-10-01

This moody and slow cd of the trumpetplayer Tomasz Stanko is pretty good. Just not good enough for 5 stars, but that doesn't mean you should leave it be.
The album has the same atmosphere as (other) ECM piano-albums: melodic and free at the same time, with a lot of slow music on it. The music is subtle and very easy to listen to, but the occasional free-jazz elements restrain it from getting boring.
The bass and drum are often used in a percussion-like way, and not in a rhythmic way, just like other ECM-material.
Marcin Wasilewski pianoplaying is so present (and good) that I think it's almost more a piano-album than a trumpet-album. And that really is a compliment for Stanko, who leaves room enough for his band to play. Stanko's playing is moody and most of the time very accessible.
There's just one thing. When you own more work of the ECM label you can get bored with the same approach over and over again. It that way this album has nothing new to offer, but it's still pretty good.

simply marvelous.......2005-09-08

Tomasz Stanko totally suprised me with this and the previous "The Soul of Things" recordings. I am fascinated by his music of recent years. And I have not discovered him recently. I have known the sound of his trumpet since his recordings with Krzysztof Komeda in the 60s. He is a veteran on the Polish jazz scene. Yet, he is blowing a new wind into his horn. He has never been that good, so sensual, so meanigful. Is it the chemistry between him and the trio of youngsters that support him? I wondered quite often how was it possible for such young musicians to play like that. Don't they need to live longer to be able to say so much? As a side note, if you injoy this CD, the "Trio" recording is equally essential. This is a late night music. One of the best in ECM's catalogue.

Minimalism meets modality.......2005-05-28

Diversity is one great tool that jazz keeps handy. If you want something hard hitting, you can find almost any 1957or 1956 Blue Note recording and you are all set. If you want something soft, find some George Shearing plus String Choir recordings to satisfy that need. If you want something to dance to; Monk, Basie, and Ellington are among great choices.

Tomasz Stanko's music has always been `calm and meditative'. From his work on the soundtrack to Rosemary's Baby (that calm enough?) to Soul of Things, he has always worked in music that is `after 2am music'. Suspended Night is no exception to that rule.

Suspended Night is composed of 1 Song (Song for Sarah) and 10 Variations (Suspended Variations). The overall mood of this recording is meditative. The band plays with a united approach to thematic movement and a centric direction of harmony. One player will cast the harmonic progression for another all over this album. This is not hard bop, but minimalism meets modality.

Song for Sarah is a ballad full of longing and reverence. I get the impression someone in the band lost a loved one named Sarah, and they are musically looking back on the good times and the love they shared. A real treat.

Suspended Variations is a set of 10 variations groups together. After having this album for a while, I don't see the common thread in these pieces. Each one is Stanko (i.e.--- calm and meditative), but the buck stops there. Overall, they all are great and add perfectly to the atmosphere hinted at in Song For Sarah.

This is a great album. I don't see why any KOB (Kind of Blue) fan wouldn't like it or some of it. It would be best suited for a fan of Miles, for Tomasz has a very similar approach.

This album is a thirty-year later extension of the Second Great Quintet (E.S.P. and Sorcerer by Miles Davis) and I think it will do well in the years to come.

If you like Miles Davis Kind of Blue, ESP, Sorcerer; Ryan Kisor (when with Peter Zak on piano); you will love this album.

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