“ An ensemble with an utterly symbiotic
creative flow”—The Los Angeles Times

Marcin Wasilewski belongs to a long line of exceptional pianists curated by the legendary german ECM label, including Keith Jarrett, Carla Bley, and Bobo Stenson. Wasilewski first gained attention in the U.S. on trumpeter Tomasz Stanko’s 2001 release, Soul Of Things. It was the first of three remarkable Stanko albums featuring Wasilewski’s band with Slawomir Kurkiewicz and Michal Miskiewicz. In recent years, the astonishing trio has established its own identity with two richly melodic sessions (Trio and January) focusing on Wasilewski’s elegant, impressionistic tunes and a choice selection of pop covers.

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Marcin Wasilewski belongs to a long line of exceptional pianists associated with the legendary German label ECM, a list that includes Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea and Bobo Stenson. Wasilewski initially gained attention in the U.S. with trumpeter Tomasz Stanko’s 2001 ECM release, Soul Of Things. It was the first of three remarkable Stanko albums featuring Wasilewski’s band with Slawomir Kurkiewicz and Michal Miskiewicz. In recent years, the astonishing ensemble has established its own identity with two richly melodic sessions (Trio and January) focusing on Wasilewski’s elegant, impressionistic tunes and a choice selection of pop covers.

A leading force in European jazz since the early 1960s, Stanko first hired the 18-year-old wunderkind Wasilewski in 1993. At that point, the pianist and Kurkiewicz had been playing jazz together for three years, since meeting at the Koszalin High School of Music. Drummer Miskiewicz joined the group a few years later, and the trio has performed as a unit ever since. Originally known as the Simple Acoustic Trio, the band released five albums on a local label, winning numerous awards in Poland. By the time the group made its international debut on ECM with 2005’s Trio, Wasilewski and his collaborators were recognized on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most fluent and compelling piano trios on the scene. As mentor trumpeter Tomasz Stanko says, “In the entire history of Polish jazz we’ve never had a band like this one. They just keep getting better and better.”

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