Kilkenny Arts Festival has this week announced the Tomasz Stanko Nordic Quintet as a new act to perform in this year’s programme.
They replace the highly anticipated concert by EST (Esbjorn Svensson Trio ), which had to be cancelled due to the untimely tragic death of Esbjorn Svesson in a diving accident last month.
Trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, now entering his sixth decade, is enjoying the level of recognition stimulated by his recent output for ECM, for whom he has recorded seven titles as leader.
His work readily acknowledges the influence of Miles Davis, both in practice and in spirit, and 2002’s ‘Soul of Things’ drew unanimous praise for its evocation of the landmark ‘A Kind Of Blue’, a comparison not made lightly among jazz aficionados.
He describes his own musical journey as one ‘from chaos to order, from fury to lyricism’ and like Miles Davis he has a gift for mentoring.
The last year has seen him fostering a new quintet of stunning young European players in Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila, Swedish drummer Jon Falt and Danes Jacob Bro (guitar ) and Jonas Westergaard (bass ).
Between them, these five musicians span the generations and articulate the notion of a European jazz aesthetic with an irresistible clarity. For Stanko, one of its most independent spirits, it is just reward for a lifetime’s commitment to jazz and its governing principles, the primacy of the individual, freedom borne of discipline and the beauty of discovery.
The Tomasz Stanko Nordic Quintet will perform at Hotel Kilkenny on Sunday, August 10, with tickets from €21. For more information contact the box office at the St Francis Abbey Brewery, Parliament Street, telephone (056 ) 7752175.
