Soul Of Things

Soul Of Things

• New Store Stock

Some new releases come with the word "classic" stamped invisibly on every note or phrase. <I>Soul of Things</I> is just such a recording. Featuring 60-year-old Polish trumpet maestro Stanko in the company of a new, young, yet already well-honed trio of compatriots, this 75-minute, 13-part suite extends and distills the qualities of mellow swing, lyrical introspection, and flaring assertion that distinguish Stanko's previous two ECM releases, the excellent <I>Litania</I> and <I>From the Green Hill</I>. If "Part 3" contains some of the most directly swinging, finger-clicking group music to be released on ECM for many a month, the concluding "Part 13" commences with Stanko solo, in ultra-poetic rubato mode. In between these thematically integrated extremes lie all manner of delights, with the level of interaction between Stanko and Marcin Wasilewski (piano), Slawomir Kurkiewicz (double-bass), and Michal Miskiewicz (drums) at times reminiscent of some of the finest moments of <I>Belonging</I>, the ECM classic of the 1970s with Jarrett, Garbarek, Danielsson, and Christensen. This album shouldn't be missed. <I>--Michael Tucker</I>