Soaring With The Souls

In one of the more unique groupings of musicians from the ECM stable, Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko assembled his fellow countryman Tomasz Szukalski on tenor and soprano saxes, British bassist Dave Holland, and Finnish drummer/percussionist Edward Vesala to play contemporary jazz with a distinct Euro-classical chamber feel. Those who are familiar with the music of Kenny Wheeler will hear an immediate connection, as Stanko and this ensemble employ techniques of free-floating moods and lightly soaring sounds, with Holland's anchoring bass prodding the slight rhythms forward. The beauty of this concept is in how the quartet plays from an inward direction, with few direct jazz references save improvisation. It's also not an entire program of ballads or terpsichore, as the title suggests…

With a career spanning more than three decades, composer and multi-instrumentalist Arjen Lucassen has firmly established himself worldwide as driving force in progressive rock. While best known for his rock opera project Ayreon, the multi-talented Dutchman also regularly embarks on musical side projects such as Ambeon, Guilt Machine and Star One. Arjen’s side projects all explore different aspects of his musical personality, with each new release being a creative reaction to the style of its predecessor. Star One is no exception.
The first Star One album, Space Metal (2002) was Arjen’s reaction to his previous project, the relatively soft Ambeon. After releasing the first few Ayreon albums, Arjen had noticed that many others were following in his footsteps and releasing their own rock operas…