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Tomasz Stańko 1942 - 2018

Jazz lost a fiercely individual and charismatic voice with the passing of Polish trumpeter and leader Tomasz Stańko. The epitome of cool, with an invariably stylish choice of hats and glasses, Tomasz was one of a generation of game-changers who took the inspiration of the African-American tradition and created something intensely personal from his own roots in Eastern Europe during a period in the 1960s that saw jazz in Europe evolve as a creative force in its own right. His ground-breaking collaboration with Krzytzof Komeda in the 60s included Komeda’s seminal 1966 album, Astigmatic. Tomasz’s own music was wide-ranging, leading a series of terrific small bands, the most recent being the New York Quartet which played to a packed Cadogan Hall at last year’s EFG London Jazz Festival. Serious worked with Tomasz frequently over the years, with many great memories of an artist whose own warmth and commitment was matched by his riveting onstage performances – highlights included an evocative journey into his association with Komeda at the Barbican, and multiple concerts with the brilliant quartet he formed around the trio of pianist Marcin Wasilewski. In recent years, he recorded prolifically for ECM – and his recording career over the decades reflects the sheer breadth of his music and a questing spirit that took him to sometimes surprising places – his 1980 solo recordings in the Taj Mahal and the Buddhist Karla Caves in India is just one, extraordinary, example

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