MARCIN WASILEWSKI TRIO - Live
ECM 673 8486
Marcin Wasliewski: piano; Slowomir Kurkiewicz: double bass; Michal Miskiewicz: drums
Recorded August 12th, 2016
Polish pianist Marcin Wasilewski’s trio with Slawomir Kurkiewicz on bass and drummer Michal Miskiewicz has been one of the sturdiest jazz piano trios since it’s inception in 1993, not only being one of the best in the genre but in Europe. What’s displayed on the long awaited Live, documenting a 2016 performance at the Jazz Middelheim festival in Antwerp, Belgium is a telepathy and intimacy of three musicians so comfortable with the music they can take it anywhere, whether it’s floating as gracefully as a night mist or with pulsating drive. For first time listeners of the trio, the recording is a treat and entry into a polished mode of operation and for long time fans, they can sink into the extended readings.
Wasilewski, Kurzkiewicz and Miskiewicz first joined forces together on the late trumpeter Tomasz Stanko’s ECM release The Soul Of Things in 2001 and starting in 2007 released three trio albums with Spark Of Life in 2013 adding Joakim Milder’s tenor saxophone to make it a quartet. Most of the music on Live is culled from the latter album with two well chosen covers from The Police and Herbie Hancock. The ease at which all three players gel and communicate by feeding each other, bouncing back and expanding on ideas jumps out right on the outset on the nocturnal medley of “Spark Of Life” leading into “Sudovian Dance”. The moody, gorgeous, chord progression of “Sudovian Dance” is a springboard for the pianist’s powerful improvisation. The Police’s “Message In A Bottle” provides intriguing pop material from the 80’s for exploration and is a forum for Miskiewicz’s drums, equal parts sensitive in color and shading, packed with a Jack DeJohnette like explosiveness. Bass and drums are marvels on the gentle “Three Reflections”, as Kurkiewicz’s rich solo carves a pathway for Wasilewski. Miskiewicz perfectly subdivides, shades and interacts with the pianist in a compelling inner dialogue and on the propulsive “Night Train To You” explodes with brightly colored energy. The set closer offers a fresh take on Herbie Hancock’s “Actual Proof” how interesting it is to hear how the trio navigates the harmonic richness of the tune, sliding oblique references to the source material while creating something wholly their own.
Live is a satisfying, magisterial performance from the Marcin Wasilewski Trio. The pianist flows forward with twinkling streams of ideas that move in and out of the excellent accompaniment of his band mates that allow the tunes to expand, contract, and adopt intriguing contours.
Reviewed by C J Shearn
ECM 673 8486
Marcin Wasliewski: piano; Slowomir Kurkiewicz: double bass; Michal Miskiewicz: drums
Recorded August 12th, 2016
Polish pianist Marcin Wasilewski’s trio with Slawomir Kurkiewicz on bass and drummer Michal Miskiewicz has been one of the sturdiest jazz piano trios since it’s inception in 1993, not only being one of the best in the genre but in Europe. What’s displayed on the long awaited Live, documenting a 2016 performance at the Jazz Middelheim festival in Antwerp, Belgium is a telepathy and intimacy of three musicians so comfortable with the music they can take it anywhere, whether it’s floating as gracefully as a night mist or with pulsating drive. For first time listeners of the trio, the recording is a treat and entry into a polished mode of operation and for long time fans, they can sink into the extended readings.
Wasilewski, Kurzkiewicz and Miskiewicz first joined forces together on the late trumpeter Tomasz Stanko’s ECM release The Soul Of Things in 2001 and starting in 2007 released three trio albums with Spark Of Life in 2013 adding Joakim Milder’s tenor saxophone to make it a quartet. Most of the music on Live is culled from the latter album with two well chosen covers from The Police and Herbie Hancock. The ease at which all three players gel and communicate by feeding each other, bouncing back and expanding on ideas jumps out right on the outset on the nocturnal medley of “Spark Of Life” leading into “Sudovian Dance”. The moody, gorgeous, chord progression of “Sudovian Dance” is a springboard for the pianist’s powerful improvisation. The Police’s “Message In A Bottle” provides intriguing pop material from the 80’s for exploration and is a forum for Miskiewicz’s drums, equal parts sensitive in color and shading, packed with a Jack DeJohnette like explosiveness. Bass and drums are marvels on the gentle “Three Reflections”, as Kurkiewicz’s rich solo carves a pathway for Wasilewski. Miskiewicz perfectly subdivides, shades and interacts with the pianist in a compelling inner dialogue and on the propulsive “Night Train To You” explodes with brightly colored energy. The set closer offers a fresh take on Herbie Hancock’s “Actual Proof” how interesting it is to hear how the trio navigates the harmonic richness of the tune, sliding oblique references to the source material while creating something wholly their own.
Live is a satisfying, magisterial performance from the Marcin Wasilewski Trio. The pianist flows forward with twinkling streams of ideas that move in and out of the excellent accompaniment of his band mates that allow the tunes to expand, contract, and adopt intriguing contours.
Reviewed by C J Shearn
