Tomasz Stanko is not a household word among North American Jazz fans but I'm sure he'll become better known through his various concert appearances at this summer's Jazz festival season with his new band. Stanko is Poland's best known Jazz musician and he has played every kind of Jazz imaginable. He was born in Rzeszow Poland on July 11,1942 into a musical family playing piano and violin but began trumpet studies in 1959 after being inspired by Miles Davis. Stanko has carved a place for himself in Jazz history and now resides in New York. I'm sure he will become more well known to North American audiences. The album that is tonight's Jazz feature is his latest for the ECM label and is called "Dark Eyes". It presents Stanko's new band made up of himself on trumpet, Alexi Tuomarila on piano, Jakob Bro on guitar, Anders Christensen on bass and Olavi Louhivuori on drums. Of the ten compositions, eight are by Tomasz and two are by his former mentor Krzysztof Komeda. The compositions range from introspective and dark to hypnotic and declarative. The music is fascinating and very riveting and grabs one's attention. Tomasz Stanko is a true original and "Dark Eyes" is worthy of your attention.

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