Wolnosc w Sierpniu (Freedom in August) is an independent Polish release written for the Warsaw Rising Museum, which opened in August, 2004 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the fight for Warsaw. Stanko was commissioned to write a suite of music for use by the museum, working here with an augmented version of his current quartet with pianist Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz, and drummer Michal Miśkiewicz. Stanko’s characteristic openness imbues these six tracks totalling just under half an hour of music. However, the addition of the Polish Radio Orchestra’s string section, as well as synthesizer, percussion, and saxophone—the latter played by Tomasz Szukalski, a Stanko collaborator since the 1970s—creates a more broadly-textured work, a stronger blend of Stanko the composer with Stanko the improviser.
© John Kelman (AllAboutJazz.com)

TOMASZ STANKO
Wolnosc w Sierpniu / Freedom in August

FiRe 001, Poland, 2005

Audio Clip:

Freedom In August

Tomasz Stanko's Playlist- CLICK to listen

Tracks:

1. Wolnosc w Sierpniu / Freedom in August
2. Piesn Nadziei / Hope Song
3. Ballada Powstancza / Rising Ballad
4. Piesn Ruin / Crash Song
5. Dee
6. Piesn Kanalow / Song of The Sewers

all music by Tomasz Stanko

Personnel:

Tomasz Stanko - trumpet

Marcin Wasilewski - piano

Janusz Skowron - electronics, keyboards

Slawomir Kurkiewicz - bass

Michal Miskiewicz - drums

Antymos Apostolis - percussion

Tomasz Szukalski - tenor saxophone

Wojciech Karolak - orchestra's arrangements

String Orchestra of Polish Radio, Marcin Nalcz-Niesiolowski - conductor

Recorded:

September 12-15, 2005 at Studios S2, S4 of Polish Radio, Warsaw, Poland

About:

...while songs like the title track clearly have more detailed arrangements, there’s an airiness and a sense of freedom that perfectly embodies the spirit in which these pieces were composed. As Stanko has aged, like Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava, he has found a more centrist way of retaining the freedom that’s imbued his work since he first emerged in the 1960s with Polish composer Krzysztof Komeda and Alexander von Schlippenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra. Rather than confining, Stanko’s arrangements paradoxically seem to liberate him to the point where defined melodies and improvisations become almost one and the same. (John Kelman and AllAboutJazz) more

Manufacturer: N/A
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