Artist: Tomasz Stanko

Tomasz Stanko was a Polish trumpeter and  composer. Stańko was associated with free jazz and the avant-garde. 

Tomasz Stańko was born in Rzeszów, Poland, in 1942. His first encounters with jazz were through  Voice of America radio programs and tours initiated by the U.S. State Department. Coming of age in Communist Poland, Stańko was impressed by the correlation jazz had with a message of freedom. In 1958 he saw his first jazz concert given by Dave Brubeck. Along with the pianist Adam Makowicz and with the saxophonist Janusz Muniak, the group took inspiration from the music of musicians such as  Ornette Coleman, George Russell and Miles Davis and was considered by many critics to be the first group in Europe to perform in the free jazz idiom. 

In 1962, Stańko formed his first band, the Jazz Darings, with saxophonist Janusz Muniak, pianist  Adam Makowicz, bassist Jacek Ostaszewski, drummer Wiktor Perelmuter. Inspired by Ornette Coleman and the innovations of John Coltrane, Miles Davis and George Russell, the group is often cited by music historians as the first European group to play free jazz. In his later years, he collaborated with pianist Krzysztof Komeda on Komeda's album  Astigmatic, recorded in late 1965. In 1968, Stańko formed a quintet whose members were Janusz Muniak (tenor and soprano saxophones, flute),  Zbigniew Seifert (alto sax and violin), Bronisław Suchanek (bass), Janusz Stefański (drums, percussion). In 1975, he formed the Tomasz Stańko-Adam Makowicz Unit. 

Stańko established a reputation as a leading figure not only in Polish jazz, but internationally as well, working with musicians including Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, Reggie Workman, Rufus Reid, Lester Bowie, David Murray, Manu Katché and Chico Freeman. From 1984, he was a member of Cecil Taylor's big band. 

The early 2000s was a time of extensive international touring. This experience led to a second album of Stańko's Polish quartet Suspended Night. Billboard  magazine noted that this album was one of the bestselling jazz albums of 2004 in the United States. Together with Suspended Night ECM released a collection of Stańko's recording in its Rarum/ Selected Recordings series. 

In 2005 the quartet recorded the last joint album Lontano, again for ECM. Having an established position on the world jazz stage, each album of the quartet as celebrated across Europe and the United States. In 2005 the band also made its first tour around Asia and Australia. In 2005 Stańko also created music for the Warsaw Uprising Museum titled Freedom in August.