Wooden Tomasz Stańko Quintet

Exceptional balladesque album by the great darktoned trumpeter and his excellent young Polish quartet. There is a timeless feel to 'Soul of Things' that relates to Stanko's roots as a player. The forward-looking musician is also looking back here, and re-connecting with early influences. He triggers memories of his first heroes - memories of Miles, memories of Chet Baker - in his lonesome, soulful soliloquies.

C.O.C.X. That word not necessary conjures up images of relaxation, stress-relief or healthy living with no drugs nor booze - especially when you consider the date when this album was recorded (1983), which is probably somewhere around 'the darkest' period in Stanko's body of work. But - surprise surprise - the main promise of C.O.C.X. is just that - relaxation and stress-relief. Stanko's romantically rocking trumpet, Apostolis' guitar solos on their way from Greece to Jamaica, J.A Torress' Latin congas, Rek's swinging bass - all those integrands create an experience which tend to be everybody's favorite, even among the folks who are not especially keen on post-electric Miles grooves. For those times when you just want to be noncommittal about you music selection, that would be a perfect record to choose, especially in company of well chilled bottle of Pino Grigio or New Zeeland's Sauvignon Blanc.

Stanko remains idolized in his native Poland, and he makes no bones about his debt to Komeda. Throughout his forty-year career there have been but two constants: an intensity in which every note is important, and an immediately identifiable trumpet sound, which, while starting from Miles Davis and Chet Baker, is distinctly his own and Northern European, if not Polish.

This abstract quartet recording by bassist Gary Peacock features Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano saxes, Tomasz Stanko on trumpet, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. The interplay between Peacock and DeJohnette, captured roughly two years before the release of the first Keith Jarrett standards record, is especially interesting. One only wishes the horns weren't so tinny. Highlights include the freebopping "Moor" (a piece that dates back to the early '60s), the lyrical "Ode for Tomten," and the chill-inducing "Voice From the Past."