The first-time teaming of Poland’s dynamic Marcin Wasilewski Trio and big-toned US tenorist Joe Lovano brings forth special music of concentrated, deep feeling, in which lyricism and strength seem ideally balanced. The alliance plays four new tunes by Marcin and one by Joe, as well as Carla Bley’s classic “Vashkar” (in two variations), plus collective improvisations with strong input from all four players; Slawomir Kurkiewicz’s bass skills are particularly well-deployed in the spontaneous piece “Arco”. Joe will be joining the Polish trio for a number of selected concerts in the autumn. Arctic Riff was recorded at France’s Studio La Buissonne in August 2019, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

“There’s a galaxy of piano trios in today’s jazz universe,” the BBC Music Magazine has noted, “but few shine as bright as Marcin Wasilewski’s”. On its seventh ECM album the multifaceted Polish group illuminates a characteristically wide span of music. On En attendant, collectively created pieces are juxtaposed with Wasilewski’s malleable “Glimmer of Hope”, Carla Bley’s timeless “Vashkar”, The Doors’ hypnotic “Riders On The Storm” and a selection from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Fluidity is the hallmark , allied to the deep listening made possible by more than a quarter-century of collaborative music-making by pianist Wasilewski, bassist Kurkiewicz and drummer Miskiewicz. En attendant was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in the South of France in August 2019, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

The story of Simple Acoustic Trio goes back to the beginning of ‘90s. Still being students of the Music High School S.A.Trio. made their debut in 1991. They won the third prize at the Polish jazz contest-Jazz Juniors ’91. In the same year, a sixteen-year old band leader - Marcin Wasilewski won the fourth prize at the International Jazz Pianist festival in Kalisz, Poland. Two years later the band won the first prize at the 7th International Festival of Jazz Bands “Chorus ‘93” during Jazzin’ Sorgues Festival in France. In 1996 the band participated in two jazz competitions. In Getxo, Spain, the band won the first prize and Marcin Wasilewski was chosen the best soloist of the festival. In the same year the band became a prizewinner of the Leverkusen Jazz Festival, and again Marcin Wasilewski was considered the best soloist.