Trio

Album Review

Jazz fans the world over have become familiar with pianist Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz, and drummer Michal Miskiewicz because they make up three quarters of the Tomasz Stanko Quartet. Working with Stanko live since 1993 when they were in their teens, they are now his studio band as well, and perform on his two recent, widely acclaimed ECM outings, The Soul of Things (2002) and Suspended Night (2004). This rhythm section is a prime reason for the success of those stellar recordings. Trio marks the debut of Wasilewski, Kurkiewicz, and Miskiewicz apart from their leader. The deep, unhurried lyricism that lies at the heart of the group's interplay is everywhere present in this set. There are four originals by Wasilewski, some cover versions including beautiful readings of Björk's "Hyberballad," Stanko's classic "Green Eyes," and a fine acoustic version of Wayne Shorter's "Plaza Real" (originally performed by Weather Report), and the deeply moving "Roxana's Song," by Karol Szymanowski. To round out the package, there are four collective improvisations. In other words, the many facets of this enterprising, adventurous band are showcased here in abundance over 13 tunes. The Shorter tune and Wasilewski's "Shine" are real standouts; they showcase the deep listening these cats do to one another in different ways. The former takes the tune's inherent melody and gently, softly stretches it in chromatic shadows, gradually painting the lyric into the foreground. The latter uses rhythm — in this case a lovely Latin-tinged backbeat — to engage in harmonic interplay. While none of these men are flashy as soloists, they are seriously accomplished jazzmen with advanced ability to hang with anyone. They have the goods, the ideas, and the method. When playing together, they can literally astonish because they make it all sound so easy. It's been a few years since a piano trio's debut has literally sung, but this one does so unceasingly. It has color and space and drama and beauty in spades.