While most of the songs were composed by the leader either alone or with the band, the four covers here reveal a confident, relaxed handling of other people's songs. It also hints at the wide breadth of the material that these cats listen to.

Like the prior Trio, a cover is culled from the stock of contemporary pop artists. Last time it was Bjork's "Hyperballad;" for this go around, it's Prince's "Diamonds And Pearls." This soul ballad is re-imagined with the song stripped down to it's descending five-note chords melodic core stated both separately by Kurkiewicz and Wasilewski, and stretched out effectively without going beyond the song's elastic limits.

Wasilewski's version of Gary Peacock's lovely "Vingette" is close to the original in approach, but bests it because to the interaction between these young Poles is superior (which is saying a lot, considering that the original featured Peacock, Jarrett and Jack deJohnette).

The old Carla Bley tune "King Korn" switches into quick-paced free for all after the familiar motif is introduced, and dispels any doubts as to whether this trio can turn on the afterburners when the need arises.

The album's highest point occurs seven tracks in, with Wasilweski's own mid-tempo "The Cat." Kurkiewicz introduces an ostinato that varies slightly at each turn after he's soon joined by Wasilweski. The bridge is an interestingly complex chord progression that presages Wasilewski's thoughtful right-hand ad libs. Meantime, Kurkiewicz and Miskewicz are playing telepathically with the leader, inserting small fills and excursions just outside the melodic line that bolster the leader. Both take low-key solo turns that are effectual without disturbing the groove. The tempo quickens unnoticed somewhere in the middle of the song, adjusting the pace of the song with smooth precision.

The teenagers that Tomasz Stanko took under his wing and nurtured have increasingly come into their own; more than a decade and a half of playing and woodshedding together has produced fruit in music that's gentle but elaborate; free but lyrical; simple but complex. Jazz that's deceptively simple but packed with intriguing subtleties just underneath the surface is the kind of jazz that makes for some of the most rewarding listening. Marcin Wasilewski's January offers many rewards in that regard.

January hits the stores and internet retail outlets today.