From February 4-5, 2015, the Copernicus Program in Polish Studies at the University of Michigan welcomes Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stańko to campus. The New Yorker has proclaimed Stańko as “one of the most original and creative jazz trumpet players in the world.” Inspired by early Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, he was 20 when he formed his first band in 1962 and has been a jazz hero in Europe ever since. He has made many superb recordings for ECM Records since the mid-1970s, when he was at the forefront of the free jazz scene. For most of the past decade, he has been ranked among the world’s top jazz trumpeters and composers.
On February 4, the 71-year-old will give the 2015 Copernicus lecture, an annual lecture at U-M that highlights the rich variety of Polish intellectual and cultural life. Stańko will be interviewed by Piotr Michałowski, George G. Cameron Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, U-M.
On February 5, the University Music Society will present The Tomasz Stańko New Balladyna Quartet performing Balladyna, based on the Polish tragedy written by Juliusz Slowacki in 1834 and published in 1839 in Paris. Balladyna is Stańko’s great first project for ECM Records. The quartet includes Tomasz Stańko, trumpet; Tim Berne, saxophones; John Hébert, bass; and Jim Black, drums.
Event sponsors: U-M’s Copernicus Program in Polish Studies, CREES, Center for World Performance Studies, University Music Society; Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
February 4, 2015, 5:30 PM
Annual Copernicus Lecture
Stern Auditorium, U-M Museum of Art
525 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
Info: www.ii.umich.edu
Free and open to the public
February 5, 2015, 7:30 PM
The Tomasz Stańko New Balladyna Quartet
Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
911 North University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Tickets & Information: UMS.org or 734.764.2538
[Sources: press release]