FACES OF JAZZ & POETRY!
The Fused Works of Tomasz Stańko & Wisława Szymborska
Saturday, March 18th, 2023, 4-6 pm
High Low Listening Room, 3301 Washington, St. Louis, MO
ABOUT THE EVENT: 2023 marks the centennial of Wisława Szymborska’s birth and the fifth year of Tomasz Stańko’s passing. Saint Louis Polonia, in partnership with Nottelman Music and Upstream Theater, invites you to celebrate the works of two great individuals who shaped Polish avantgarde culture.
PERFORMERS: Paul DeMarinis, tenor saxophone; Mike Parkinson, trumpet; Kim Portnoy, piano; Willem von Hombracht, bass; and Kevin Gianino, drums; with actors from UPSTREAM THEATER.
TICKETS: Admission is FREE. Due to limited space, early reservations are recommended via Eventbrite.
Donations to cover the costs of the event are kindly requested. They will also support the 2023 International Summer Jazz Academy, July 23-30, in Kraków, Poland. For more information about the ISJA, visit http://www.isja.jazz.krakow.pl/index.php/en/.
Tomasz Stańko (11 July 1942 – 29 July 2018) was a Polish trumpeter and composer associated with free jazz and the avant-garde. Stańko was internationally recognized as Poland’s premiere jazz artist. Tomasz Stańko’s career as a composer, band leader, and trumpeter encompassed the raw blues of Rex Stewart, the poignant balladry style of Miles Davis, the high-range feats of Dizzy Gillespie, to free emotional expression in his quest for artistic vision.
TOMASZ STAŃKO (1942 – 2018) & WISŁAWA SZYMBORSKA (1923 – 2012)
Wisława Szymborska( 2 July 1923 – 1 February 2012) was a Polish poet, essayist, translator, and recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. Her poems deal with explorations of mundane daily life, love found and lost, important historical figures and events, portrayed in alternatively pensive, acerbic, humorous, and penetrating settings, sometimes asking more questions than giving answers.
Szymborska and Stańko were close friends and collaborated on several acclaimed poetry-jazz presentations. The concert is focused on poetry by Szymborska as set to music by Stańko from his 2013 ECM tribute album “Wisława” For an introduction to Tomasz Stańko and the album, visit this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD-AXm18hX0.
2023 marks the centennial of Wisława Szymborska’s birth and the fifth year of Tomasz Stańko’s passing.
ORGANIZERS:
Saint Louis Polonia Inc. 11469 Olive Blvd #1115, Creve Coeur, MO 6314 https://stl-pl.org/
Upstream Theater PO Box 300006, St. Louis, MO 63130 https://upstreamtheater.org
Nottelmann Music, 1590 Lemay Ferry Rd, St. Louis, MO 63125 https://nottelmannmusic.com/
MAJOR SUPPORT:
Ania Stańko – Tomasz Stańko Archives https://archive.tomaszstanko.com/en/about/
Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago: https://www.gov.pl/web/usa-en/consulate-chicago
Dominik Wania – https://dominikwania.com/en/