From the Green Hill (Reis)

Tomasz Stanko | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ecm Records
• ASIN: B00002DDZK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,769 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #11 in Music > World Music > Europe > Eastern Europe > Poland

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich, fresh and beautiful, August 6, 2001

By 

suspectre "murphytune" (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Green Hill (Reis) (Audio CD)

I played this disk for a friend and fellow jazz fan - we both lament the backward-looking nature of contemporary American jazz - and he turned to me, after a moment of awe following Stone Ridge, and wondered aloud if Wynton Marsalis has heard this music. And if he has, what does he think? We both concluded that Marsalis ought to be thinking, "Stanko is kicking my butt." Not that Stanko is a better trumpeter, Marsalis is a brilliant player, but it's just that Stanko is forging ahead creatively, mining the available techniques, music and talent to make astonishing art. Meanwhile, Marsalis and other American talents like Joshua Redman, Wallace Roney etc. seem to be wishing it were 1958 all over again. Just go to the list of latest Jazz releases and you'll find half or more are retrospectives. And if they're not looking back in time they're riding the coattails of hip-hop. Stanko's "From the Green Hill" proves to me that Jazz isn't an antique; there's still quality work to be done that's fresh and interesting.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An elegant fusion, September 8, 2000

By 

N. Dorward "obsessive reviewer" (Toronto, ON Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From the Green Hill (Reis) (Audio CD)

This disc follows the pattern of much of ECM's recent output in deploying a carefully assembled band in a highly democratic manner, often breaking it down to smaller groupings for a series of short tracks; the album features the leader, the Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, only slightly more prominently than the other musicians. Stanko is about as far from ECM's other favourite trumpeter, Kenny Wheeler, as you can get--he has a passionate, vocalized, rough sound that is like no one else's in the music except perhaps occasionally Dave Douglas. He's in the past managed to fit into contexts running from straightahead jazz to folk musics to electronica to the band of Cecil Taylor (the superlative _Winged Serpent, Sliding Quadrants_).

On this album he's joined by John Surman on baritone & bass clarinet, Dino Saluzzi on bandoneon, Michelle Makarski on violin (an excellent player I've never heard before, though sadly she only appears on a few tracks), & the expert European rhythm section of Anders Jormin on bass & Jon Christensen on drums. The music is lively & atmospheric--Surman is in ebullient mood (much more so than on some of his own albums like _The Road to St. Ives_), & the bassist & drummer are endlessly inventive. The dynamic range here is exceedingly wide, which I wasn't expecting for an ECM disc--the bandoneon will let things settle into a melancholy & reflective mood, & then Stanko will let 'er rip or Christensen will boot things along.

This disc manages to be both beautiful & sharply intelligent. One might especially point fans of Dave Douglas's forays into European folk & classical musics in the direction of this disc, but I'd imagine that anyone interested in good contemporary jazz will enjoy it. Listeners might also check out some of Stanko's work with Bobo Stenson, Jormin & the British drummer Tony Oxley--they've released a number of discs on GOWI & ECM.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Guitar Magazine Review:, June 16, 2000

By 

VG (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From the Green Hill (Reis) (Audio CD)

This new release by Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko will likely be stocked in the Jazz section of most record shops, but that categorization does not begin to describe the majestic music on this astonishing album. Stanko has joined forces with a who's-who of international avant garde jazz and classical musicians to create this sonic painting. His co-conspirators include master Argentine bandoneonist Dino Saluzzi, violinist Michelle Makarski from Detroit, Swedish double-bassist Anders Jormin, Norwegian drummer Jon Christensen, and Englishman John Surman on baritone sax and bass clairnet. Who could have ever dreamed up such an eclectic assemblage of instrumentation? Listen to the opening bars of the first song, Surman's "Domino," however, and you will swear that these instruments were made for each other. The tones and timbre of violin, bandoneon, and bass clarinet are ideally suited to each other, allowing Stanko's trumpet to wind its way in and out of the other sounds with serpentine fluidity. The sextet moves from mournful to joyous at the drop of a hat, evoking colors and moods and emotions with their fine interplay. This is modern jazz at its finest---a blend of traditional jazz, folk music, and classic sounds that breathes with a new life.