Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stańko was a major force in bringing European jazz, especially avant-garde and post-bop sounds to a wider global audience. A daring improviser with a brooding, cinematic style, Stańko often drew comparisons to Miles Davis, but his work was largely shaped by his musical contemporary, pianist/composer Krzysztof Komeda, with whom he recorded 1965's landmark Astigmatic. After Komeda's death in 1969, Stańko emerged as a leader, paying tribute to his friend with 1970's Music for K and releasing a string of influential albums, including 1976's Balladyna, 1982's Music 81, and 1994's Matka Joanna; the latter of which introduced his beloved quartet with pianist Marcin Wasilewski. From the '90s onwards, he enjoyed fruitful relationship with ECM, working with his quartet, as well as artists like pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Palle Danielsson, and drummer Jon Christensen, and releasing highly-acclaimed albums, including 1997's Litania: The Music of Krzysztof Komeda, 2004's Suspended Night, 2006's Lontano, 2009's Dark Eyes, and his final studio-album, 2017's December Avenue. An archival 2004 concert album, September Night, arrived in 2024 as a potent reminder of Stańko's lasting influence on European and modern creative jazz. Born in Rzeszów, Poland in 1942, Stańko fell in love with jazz as a teenager, discovering artists like Chet Baker and Miles Davis while listening to Willis Conover's Voice of America radio broadcasts. He attended his first live jazz concert in 1958, seeing Dave Brubeck who was on a State Department tour. The combination of jazz being aligned with a message of democratic freedom spoke to Stańko who would soon embrace the free-leaning, socially and politically progressive avant-garde jazz of players like Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane. It was while a student at the Krakow Music Academy in 1963 that he formed his first group, Jazz Darings with pianist Adam Makowicz and saxophonist Janusz Muniak. From 1963 to 1967 he played with famed Polish pianist and composer Krzysztof Komeda in a group that revolutionized European jazz with albums like 1966's Astigmatic, and made an impact across the Atlantic as well. Stańko also played with Andrzej Trzaskowski in the mid-'60s before launching his own group. Formed in 1968, The Tomasz Stańko Quintet, which included Muniak and Zbigniew Seifert, garnered considerable critical acclaim, especially for their 1970 debut, Music for K, a tribute to Komeda, who had died tragically the year prior at age 37 after suffering a brain injury. The early '70s also brought collaborations with a bevy of avant-garde and creative jazz luminaries, including the Globe Unity Orchestra, Michal Urbaniak, Cecil Taylor, and Gary Peacock. From 1974 to 1978, Stańko played in a quartet with Edward Vesala, releasing his own Balladyna on ECM and appearing on Vesala's Satu. He released a handful of small group dates into the '80s, including Music 81, Korozje with pianist Andrzej Kurylewicz, and Chameleon. These albums that found him exploring a mix of acoustic and electric jazz and fusion, sounds he brought to further fruiton with his group Freelectronic. There were also collaborations with Chico Freeman in Freeman's group Heavy Life, as well as work with James Spaulding, Jack DeJohnette, and Rufus Reid. He was also briefly part of Cecil Taylor's big band in 1984. The '90s brought Stańko a lasting alliance with the ECM label on which he issued many of his most acclaimed albums. It was during this period that he formed a quartet of younger up-and-coming Polish musicians, pianist Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz, and drummer Michal Miskiewicz. Together, they debuted their probing, yet deeply lyrical sound with 1994's Matka Joanna and would continue to work together for the rest of the trumpeter's career. Also for ECM, he released another lush, gorgeous tribute to Komeda, 1997's Litania, which featured a group with tenor saxophonists Bernt Rosengren and Joakim Milder, pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Palle Danielsson, drummer Jon Christensen, and guest guitarist Terje Rypdal. Dark and introspective, it featured interpretations of some of Komeda's most well-known compositions, including melodies written for three of director Roman Polanski's classic early films. A follow-up of on ECM, 2000's From the Green Hill, drew from many of the same emotional and historic sources as Komeda's work, but this time the compositions were Stańko's. In 2002, his contributions to European jazz were honored when he was issued the very first European Prize, which was intended to honor outstanding European jazz musicians. During the final round of voting from 21 critics from as many countries, Stańko won ten votes, narrowly topping the runner-up, Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg. That same year, Soul of Things was released on ECM, followed by Suspended Night in 2004, also on ECM. Too Pee appeared in 2006, as did Chameleon and Lontano. In 2007, Stańko led a session that became the widely acclaimed From the Green Hill. His collaborators on the session were all bandleaders: violinist Michelle Makarski, saxophonist John Surman, bandoneon master Dino Saluzzi, drummer Jon Christensen, and bassist Anders Jormin. In 2009, Stańko led a brand-new band for Dark Eyes, which included Danish guitarist Jakob Bro and bassist Anders Christensen, along with Finnish pianist Alex Tuomarila and drummer Olavi Louhivuori. All were new names to ECM's roster. Stańko stayed busy touring and playing between different ensembles for the next three years. In 2013, Wisława, a double live album with his New York Quartet (pianist David Virelles, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and bassist Thomas Morgan), appeared. The following year Stańko delivered Polin, an album recorded for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and featuring his composition "Polish Suite." Joining the trumpeter on the album were saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, Virelles, bassist Dezron Douglas, and drummer Kush Abadey. The trumpeter's New York Quartet then underwent a personnel change. Busy with other projects, Morgan left the group, replaced by Reuben Rogers, who had worked extensively with Charles Lloyd during the previous decade. After significant club and festival work, this incarnation of the ensemble made its debut with December Avenue for ECM in April 2017. Stańko died on July 29, 2018 in Warsaw, following a battle with lung cancer. An archival live date, September Night, arrived in 2024 and captured the trumpeter's quartet with pianist Marcin Wasilewski during a 2004 concert at Munich's Muffathalle. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi