March 18, 2023 The Fused Works of Tomasz Stańko & Wisława Szymborska

Saint Louis Polonia, with the assistance of UPSTREAM THEATER and Nottelmann Music, presents

FACES OF JAZZ & POETRY!

The Fused Works of Tomasz Stańko & Wisława Szymborska

Saturday, March 18th, 2023, 4-6pm

High Low Listening Room, 3301 Washington, St. Louis, MO

PERFORMERS: Paul DeMarinis, tenor saxophone; Mike Parkinson, trumpet; Kim Portnoy, piano; Willem von Hombracht, bass, and Kevin Gianino, drums; with local Equity actors Eric J. Conners, Jeff Cummings, and Jane Paradise.

TICKETS: Admission is FREE. Reservations are encouraged due to limited space. To make reservations, please visit Eventbrite.

A suggested donation of $15/adults, $10/students & seniors underwrites this event and supports the 2023 International Summer Jazz Academy (ISJA),
July 23-30, Kraków, Poland. For more information, visit http://www.isja.jazz.krakow.pl/index.php/en/.

SAINT LOUIS POLONIA, a registered nonprofit 501 (c) 3, is the primary American ISJA sponsor.

To donate by Paypal, please click on the button below

To donate by check, please mail it to Saint Louis Polonia, Inc. 11469 Olive Blvd #1115 St. Louis, MO 63141

This event is presented with the support of the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Chicago, Ania Stańko, daughter of Tomasz Stańko, and Dominik Wania.

TOMASZ STAŃKO: Internationally recognized as Poland’s premiere jazz artist, Tomasz Stańko’s career as a composer, band leader, and trumpeter encompassed raw urban blues, poignant balladry, high-range feats, and open improvisation in his quest for artistic freedom.

WISŁAWA SZYMBORSKA

Nobel Prize® poet Wisława Szymborska’s works explore mundane daily life, love lost and found, historical figures and events, portrayed in alternatively pensive, acerbic, humorous, and penetrating settings, often with more questions than answers.

2023 marks the centennial of Wisława Szymborska’s birth and the fifth year of Tomasz Stańko’s passing. Szymborska and Stańko were close friends and collaborated on several poetry-jazz presentations. This event includes poetry by Szymborska set to music by Stańko from his 2013 ECM album “Wisława.”

For an introduction to Tomasz Stańko’s music and the album, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD-AXm18hX0.

Tomasz Stańko Quartet – video from Jazz Baltica, Salzau, Germany 2012
Tomasz Stańko: trumpet; David Virelles: piano; Slawomir Kurkiewicz: bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums

Music from “Wislawa”

April Story .26 – 6:53
Faces 7:06 – 16:30
Metafizyka 16:29 – 28:30
Tutaj/Here 28:48 – 37:08
Wisława 37:15 – 49:55
Assassins 50:02 – 58:18
Oni 1:00.05 – ending

The INTERNATIONAL SUMMER JAZZ ACADEMY (ISJA) celebrates its 27th anniversary in Krakow, Poland, July 23-30, with 115 students expected to attend. From its inception in 1994, the ISJA has included faculty from the United States, Poland, and other nations teaching over 2,000 students in an intense study of jazz (theory, history, improvisation, master classes, ensembles, jam sessions), culminating in gala concerts. ISJA alumni include Dominik Wania, ECM pianist/composer, 2021 Polish Jazz Artist of the Year; Pawel Kaczmarczyk, ACT pianist/composer; Tomasz Kudyk, trumpet/composer; Dawid Rudnicki, pianist/organist/composer; Przemek Jarosz, drums/recording engineer, Agata Pisko, vocalist/educator, Andrzej Danek, New York vocalist, Mark Tokar, Ukrainian bassist/composer, and DAGADANA, a renowned pop vocal group from Poland and Ukraine.

The ISJA was founded by Isidore Rudnick, Coordinator of Fine Arts for the Cincinnati Public Schools. Mike Parkinson, former Webster University music department chair, was an original ISJA instructor and Artistic Director from 1995-2005, assisted by colleagues and students, including Willem von Hombracht, Artistic Director from 2008-2015. Willem and Mike have been invited to return as Artistic Directors by Grzegorz Motyka, Krakow School of Jazz & Contemporary Music, the ISJA presenter.

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/