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Soul of Things |  | Artist: Tomasz Stanko Quartet
Label: Ecm Records
Category: Music
List Price: $17.98
Buy New: $10.25
as of 8/1/2010 02:59 MDT details
You Save: $7.73 (43%)
Rating:  reviews
Sales Rank: 30952
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 044001637421
EAN: 0044001637421
Release Date: March 26, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Some new releases come with the word "classic" stamped invisibly on every note or phrase. Soul of Things is just such a recording. Featuring 60-year-old Polish trumpet maestro Stanko in the company of a new, young, yet already well-honed trio of compatriots, this 75-minute, 13-part suite extends and distills the qualities of mellow swing, lyrical introspection, and flaring assertion that distinguish Stanko's previous two ECM releases, the excellent Litania and From the Green Hill. If "Part 3" contains some of the most directly swinging, finger-clicking group music to be released on ECM for many a month, the concluding "Part 13" commences with Stanko solo, in ultra-poetic rubato mode. In between these thematically integrated extremes lie all manner of delights, with the level of interaction between Stanko and Marcin Wasilewski (piano), Slawomir Kurkiewicz (double-bass), and Michal Miskiewicz (drums) at times reminiscent of some of the finest moments of Belonging, the ECM classic of the 1970s with Jarrett, Garbarek, Danielsson, and Christensen. This album shouldn't be missed. --Michael Tucker
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| Customer Reviews:
 Thoroughly Engaging August 8, 2009
Karl W. Nehring (Ostrander, OH USA)
If you are one of those audiophiles who enjoys listening to Miles Davis's Kind of Blue but does not have any other jazz trumpet CDs, here is a chance to double your collection and double your fun. Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko has made several recordings for ECM; Soul of Things, his latest release, is the most accessible and the most likely to have immediate--but lasting--appeal to both the casual jazz fan and the dedicated jazz fan with conservative taste.
On this outing, Stanko is supported by three fellow Poles, Marcin Wasilewski (piano), Slawomir Kurkiewicz (bass), and Michal Miskiewicz (drums). The music is all written by Stanko, and yes, it is all quite soulful. There are no virtuosic displays, no flashy solos, just four musicians listening to each other and playing to support each other and make the music grow. There is a timeless quality to this music, which is rooted in the past but still sounds fresh and new. Throw in the superb engineering of Jan Erik Kongshaug and you have a thoroughly engaging recording that should make a lot of jazz fans smile, be they casual or dedicated.
Keeps you coming back for more April 11, 2008
Craig LeHoullier (Raleigh, NC USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've had this CD for several years - along with Suspended Night and Lontano (and Leosia...yes, pretty much all of Stanko's music that I can find). It has taken awhile for Soul of Things to reveal all of its treasures to me, but reveal it has. Beautifully recorded (naturally - it is an ECM production), patient to unfold, this is jazz to curl up to. Though the tracks are not named and the intent appears to be to look at a set of themes from different points of view, each has its own distinct personality and plenty of tuneful hooks. This is not blowing jazz, but a perfect melding of the talents of a youngsters with a jazz legend. All contributors shine on this one and it cannot be recommended more highly. To me, it stands just slightly above Suspended Night, which itself edges out Lontano - but I really wouldn't want to be without any of them.
thirteen variations of exquisite melody November 26, 2006
A.J.H. Woodcount
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
With this ECM-album Stanko has decided to feature the young Polish rhythm section with whom he has played since 1994 - Marcin Wasilewski on piano, Slawomir Kurkiewicz on bass and Michal Miskiewicz on drums. The result is just anmazing.
Even now the band members are still only in their early thirties, but they play together with an ease and understanding of each other that make age irrelevant. They know Stanko's music intimately and their understated playing provides a sympathetic setting for him.
This band's music has a beautiful simplicity and economy about it. When one isolates the contributions of individuals, they can sound sparse and overly impressionistic; when one listens to the totality, all the pieces fit together and it makes perfect sense, with the whole being far greater than the sum of the parts.
The album takes the form of an extended composition in thirteen separate parts ("variations"), the longest lasting only just over eight minutes. The pieces have a consistency of tempo, sound and mood that gives the album an overarching unity. To be fully appreciated, the album needs to be heard in its entirety (but if you need to sample one piece, try "Variation VII"). Stanko's writing throughout is exquisite - full of melody, soul and allusions to past work.
Highly recommended.
FJB/O!-music 2006
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