Tomasz Stanko Quartet

Lontano

by Shaun Brady

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Published: Oct 18, 2006

Tomasz Stanko is possessed of an admirable patience. It's not just the way his elegiac tone keens from the trumpet, waiting for each breath to fully explore the contours of his horn and slowly expire. Or the way he luxuriates in silence, letting the atmosphere of a room envelop his pieces until they threaten to evaporate. In more practical terms, Stanko's patient long-term investment in a trio of teenaged musicians has come to full fruition a little over a decade later with the quartet's third CD, Lontano (ECM). As gorgeous as their first two efforts were, this latest places all four on equal footing in a delicate, airy landscape. "Telepathy" is a term used too often to describe attuned improvisers, and the Stanko Quartet seem to prefer the apprehension of what might happen over the anticipation of what will. Each adds his contribution to the house of cards with deliberation, creating a compellingly fragile tension.

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