Early years Tomasz Stańko was born in
Rzeszów, Poland, on 11 July 1942. His first encounters with jazz were through
Voice of America radio programs and tours initiated by the
U.S. State Department. Coming of age in
Communist Poland, Stańko was impressed by the correlation jazz had with a message of freedom. In 1958 he saw his first jazz concert given by
Dave Brubeck. Along with the pianist
Adam Makowicz and with the saxophonist
Janusz Muniak, the group took inspiration from the music of musicians such as
Ornette Coleman,
George Russell and
Miles Davis and was considered by many critics to be the first group in Europe to perform in the
free jazz idiom. In 1963 Stańko joined the
Krzysztof Komeda quintet, where he learned much about harmony,
musical structure and
asymmetry. During his career with Komeda, which concluded in 1967, Stańko did five tours with the pianist and recorded eleven albums with him. In 1968 Stańko formed a quintet that met critical acclaim—one that included
Zbigniew Seifert on violin and
alto saxophone. In 1970, he joined the
Globe Unity Orchestra, and in 1971 he collaborated with
Krzysztof Penderecki and
Don Cherry. Not long after he formed a quartet that included himself, saxophonist
Tomasz Szukalski and Finnish drummer
Edward Vesala. His performances with Vesala are often considered to be some of his most important work. In the mid-1980s, he began doing extensive work with
Cecil Taylor, performing in his
big bands and also led various groups of his own, including COCX (with
Vitold Rek and
Apostolis Anthimos). Then, before returning to
ECM Records, Stańko also worked in a
trio that included himself,
Arild Andersen and
Jon Christensen. That same year he also formed an international quartet that included
Bobo Stenson,
Tony Oxley and
Anders Jormin.
2000s 2007 The early 2000s was a time of extensive international touring. This experience led to a second album of Stańko's Polish quartet
Suspended Night.
Billboard magazine noted that this album was one of the bestselling jazz albums of 2004 in the United States. Together with
Suspended Night ECM released a collection of Stańko's recording in its Rarum/ Selected Recordings series. In 2005 the quartet recorded the last joint album
Lontano, again for ECM. Having an established position on the world jazz stage, each album of the quartet as celebrated across Europe and the United States. In 2005 the band also made its first tour around Asia and Australia. In 2005 Stańko also created music for the
Warsaw Uprising Museum titled
Freedom in August. The second half of the first decade 2000 saw a new resurgence in Stańko's career: a chapter of experiments, creating projects, searching for new sounds. As a result of these experiences, in 2007 a new band, a Scandinavian quintet composed of
Alexi Tuomarila,
Jakob Bro, Anders Christensen and
Olavi Louhivuori, was formed, with which Stańko recorded the 2009 album
Dark Eyes for ECM.
Later years The end of the first decade of the 21st century marked the beginning of the New York period in Stańko's life. His move to
Manhattan saw him give regular concerts in New York venues and clubs, such as
Birdland,
Jazz Standard and
Merkin Hall. Stańko used the opportunity to meet with local musicians and absorbed new ideas and richness of sounds. New projects were spontaneously created, including those with
Lee Konitz,
Craig Taborn,
Thomas Morgan,
Gerald Cleaver,
Chris Potter and others. The idea of the New York Quartet was forming which, after various combinations, eventually formed in 2012. Stańko's autobiography
Desperado was published in Poland in 2010, a multi-part interview conducted by
Rafał Księżyk. In November 2010 he took part in the "Dzień Szakala" (The Day of the Jackal) charity concert, in Warsaw, in aid of saxophonist
Tomasz Szukalski. In 2011 the
Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum and education and research complex, published the six-disc compilation
Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology, which closes with "Suspended Night Variation VIII" by Stańko. The second decade of the 21st century saw the emergence of Stańko's new poetry-based project. Its beginnings date back to 2009 when
Jerzy Ilg, editor-in-chief of
Znak Publishing House, invited the trumpeter to one of the last poetry nights of
Wisława Szymborska. During the meeting at the
Kraków Opera, the poet read her poems, with Stańko accompanying her on the trumpet. The CD recording from this concert was incorporated with
Here, the next volume of poems published by Szymborska. Meeting the poet became the key to a new stage in Stańko's career and some of her poems provided the inspiration for new compositions and titles. He dedicated to her his album
Wisława, recorded with a new New York quartet featuring
Thomas Morgan,
Gerald Cleaver and
David Virelles, and released by
ECM in 2013. in 2014 Stańko was invited to compose a suite on the occasion of the opening of the core exhibition of the
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. It was released as the album
POLIN, recorded in New York with
Ravi Coltrane,
David Virelles, Dezron Douglas and Kush Abadey. Stańko last studio album
December Avenue was released on 31 March 2017. Reviewing the album
The Guardian jazz critic
John Fordham wrote: "Nobody holds a single, long-blown trumpet note like the Polish pioneer Tomasz Stańko – a wearily exhaled, soberly ironic, yet oddly awestruck sound that is unique in jazz." On 15 January 2014, he received one of the three honorary
Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (PdSK) awards, granted by an independent association of over 140 music journalists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Stańko was the organizer and director of the Jazzowa Jesień festival in
Bielsko-Biała, Poland. He also became a member of the honorary committee supporting
Bronisław Komorowski before the presidential elections in Poland in 2015. In March 2018, due to suspected
pneumonia, his April concerts were cancelled. Stańko died of
lung cancer, in the oncological hospital in
Warsaw on 29 July 2018. The following day
ECM Records published a video tribute to Stańko, on its
YouTube channel, entitled "Remembering Tomasz Stanko". Fellow musician
Dave Holland praised him as "a unique musician with deep feelings and a gentle soul". ==Critical appreciation==