Think about Poland. What comes to mind? Kielbasa ... Pierogi ... Gołąmki ... Polka ... Jazz.

Jazz?

Yes, jazz. There's quite a vibrant jazz scene throughout Europe and Tomasz Stanko heads up the Polish contingent.

Stanko's music has visited many jazz sub-genres, from free jazz to film-ish music to more straight ahead fare. By "straight ahead" I don't mean to imply plain 'ole bop. No, none of that head-solos-head stuff. Instead, Stanko's trademark has come to be something like subtle variations on a theme: the catch is that the theme is slowly but constantly changing as well.

Following the pretty and lyrical "Song For Sarah", Suspended Night embarks on a journey labeled "Suspended Variations". Ten selections in which a theme is constructed (a short set of changes, a melody, riff or motif) and then modified, improvised upon & perhaps modified again. It strikes me as a kind of collective improvisation that's closer to "group comping" than free play.

Stanko's trumpet tone instantly brought Miles to mind. There's also some extra romanticism and melancholy present with a note of Chet Baker. This is not to say that all is "cool". During the very first Suspended Variation, Stanko channels some of his avant garde past with an intense chromatic run and smear of notes that'll make your ears do a "What the...?!"

A few words need to be said about Stanko's fine all-Polish group: Marcin Wasilewki on piano, Slawomir Kurkiewicz on double-bass and Michal Miskiewicz on drums (Note: for safety's sake, please do not attempt to pronounce these names. Injuries may occur. The mostly-Polish neighborhood I grew up in in central Connecticut was full of names like Kubiszewski and Szymaszek, so I'm immune to this problem.) What an ensemble! The interplay is tight and just about telepathic. Stanko used the very same set of players on the previous release Soul Of Things. A few more years together and these guys are gonna be scary.

Kudos must also be tossed to ECM for having the guts (and brains) to bring relatively unknown groups like this to the States. See folks, jazz does not end with Kind of Blue. Check it out.

(First posted on Mark Is Cranky)