Balladyna
On this strong 1976 date, Tomasz Stanko's rich, forlorn trumpet sound is placed in a more rhythmic jazz setting than usual. Joined by the forceful, Dewey Redman-styled tenor sax of Tomasz Szukalski, solidly supported by the propulsive rhythm section of bassist Dave Holland and drummer Edward Vesala, Stanko plays with unusual urgency and fire on a number of original pieces. The Ornette Coleman influence is pervasive, especially in the melodic contours of the tunes, and in the interplay of Stanko and Szukalski. Stanko's fat, pliable tone and abstract ideas are as perfectly suited to these midtempo excursions as they are to his more somber reflections, which take up most of the last piece, "Nenaliina." The brooding melancholy of this piece exemplifies, perhaps, the more stereotypical "ECM sound" that would later become the label's trademark, but on this earlier date,Balladynacaptures the qualities and strengths of  thoughtful, hard-swinging European jazz for which the label is also renowned.--Wally Shoup