Tomasz Stanko

Last night’s gig had little of that underground passion or the heart-warming subversive romanticism of Stanko’s best work

The former happens when craft recedes and the music seems to be happening by itself the latter when virtuosos make the difficult look effortless.

For much of his intensely creative life, the Polish trumpeter and composer Tomasz Stanko has been a key presence in the European jazz renaissance. But at 70, Stanko has gone to New York for renewal, forming a young downtown band with a consummate balance of eastern European influences and cutting-edge jazz wi

Tomasz Stanko is the quintessential European jazz star in his pork-pie hat, snazzy suit and elevated shoes. With a radio mic on the bell of his trumpet, he's free to stalk the stage of a captivated, sold-out QEH. He has a sure touch when it comes to recruiting young talent, too. His all-Polish quartet was o

Nefertiti, Gothenburg, Sweden

Jazz master Stanko and his talented, tight quintet took to the stage and to a backdrop of Polanski film clips (mixed in with closeups of the band) played a set of well-known and less familiar compositions from the Komeda film music canon.