JENNY SCHEINMAN

30 March 2013 | THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
Wisława
Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet (ECM)
by Stuart Broomer
Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko’s first recording
since 2009 is a two-CD set and it’s also a tale of two
cities. The Wisława of the title is the late Polish poet
Wisława Szymborska, who inspired Stanko’s
compositions here, both in his own reading and in a
2009 Krakow performance in which he improvised
accompaniments to her reciting new poems. The
second city is New York, where Stanko resides part of
the year and where he assembled the dynamic new
band heard here.
Stanko has a significant gift for putting together
excellent bands (or just finding them, in the case of the
Marcin Wasilewski Trio) and he’s done that here, with
the young Cuban pianist David Virelles, bassist
Thomas Morgan and distinctive drummer Gerald
Cleaver. There’s great rapport evident here among all
four musicians and it shows in the kinds of developed
dialogues that develop around Stanko’s often balladic
themes, like the ending of Stanko’s solo on “Tutaj -
Here”, in which Virelles and Morgan pick up the
conversation with the sustained echoing of Stanko’s
final note, or Cleaver‘s extended passage of leading the
conversation (it’s not a drum solo) on “Faces”.
The set opens and closes with Stanko’s pensive
title track, a piece that seems to begin almost as a
reflective dirge but which ultimately floods with light
in the final version, Stanko’s tautly introspective
trumpet phrases etched with complex emotions, then
framed and levitated by the delicacy of Virelles’ touch,
resonant high harmonics bursting from Morgan’s bass
and metallic shimmer and rattle of Cleaver’s brushed
cymbals and snare. Virelles’ occasional ominous bass
clusters seem to be receding into the past even as he
articulates them. The final version runs 13:13 and every
second of it is beautiful.
For more information, visit ecmrecords.com. This group is
at Birdland Mar. 28th-30th. See Calendar.
One
Jonathan Kreisberg (New For Now Music)
by Sharon Mizrahi
Jonathan Kreisberg clutches his guitar in a tight,
closed-eyed embrace on the cover of his solo debut.
This marks Kreisberg’s move from stage left to center
spotlight, giving a glimpse into his eclectic creativity
as he establishes his own voice.
Kreisberg storms into the opening second of
“Canto de Ossanha” with a gloomy chord - but the rest
of the sublime piece is smooth sailing. The title loosely
translates into “Song of the Spirits”, more specifically,
the spirits responsible for casting the spell of love.
Kreisberg breathes a mellow vibe into the AfroBrazilian
composition, though in this case mellow doesn’t just
translate into stagnant. This piece is a perfect sunset
soundtrack, echoing a sultry undertone beneath each
carefree, breezy refrain. On “Hallelujah”, Kreisberg’s
stripped-down style strongly resembles the late Jeff
Buckley version of the Leonard Cohen original. As
soon as the first few chords unfold, one half-expects
Buckley’s darkly evocative voice to emerge and take
the lead. Kreisberg, however, clears the fog to weave
his own melancholic yet subtly uplifting lullaby. The
result is equal parts nostalgia and intrigue.
Kreisberg takes a playful approach to Juan Tizol’s
“Caravan”. His billowing chords resonated from the
album all the way to his Jazz Standard release concert
last month. Kreisberg, perched on a corner of the stage,
radiated the quick versatility of a banjo player. A new
dimension of whimsy also bubbled to the surface,
infusing the denser album version with a light-hearted
sensibility.
Surprisingly, his solo performance was the outlier
of the evening, as saxophonist Will Vinson (featured on
Kreisberg’s quartet release Shadowless), bassist Rick
Rosato and drummer Colin Stranahan accompanied
him throughout the rest of set. Yet at times, Kreisberg
appeared to accompany Vinson, particularly in a synth
piece that resembled “Escape From Lower Formant
Shift” from the album. His guitar chords pounded in
hypnotic discord with Rosato and Stranahan’s speedy
rhythm - but all was overshadowed by a frenzy of
erratic sax slurs. Kreisberg made a dynamic comeback
in “Zeibekiko”, named for a genre of Greek
improvisational dance music. The lively guitar melody,
interwoven with edgy electronics, was irresistible and
made for dancing. And this time, Vinson offered warm
accentuation on the piano, perfectly complementing
Kreisberg’s hearty style.
For more information, visit jonathankreisberg.com