Bronislaw Suchanek and Domnik Wania
Sketch in Blue

Tracks:

1. Sketch in Blue
2. Later
3. Reminiscence
4. A Sweet Thrill
5. Asparagus
5. Lonesome Dancer
7. Catch up Ketchup
8. Free from What
9. Triptych

Performed by:
Bronislaw Suchanek - bass
Dominik Wania - piano

Recorded:
May 2008

About:

Bronislaw (Bronek) Suchanek is an established double bass jazz player and composer and one of the most important bass players in history of Polish Jazz. He studied music at the State College of Music, Katowice, Poland with a Master of Fine Arts in Double Bass Performance. He also attended the National College of Music, Stockholm, Sweden for the year long Teacher’s Course for Jazz Musicians.

Suchanek started professional career as a bass player in the early '70s he, initially at the Silesian Jazz Quartet; later on becoming a member of legendary pianist Mieczyslaw Kosz trio (1971).

Around the same time Suchanek joined trumpeter Tomasz Stanko Quintet. Beside Stanko the line-up of the Quintet included Zbigniew Seifert on alto saxophone and violin, Janusz Muniak on the saxophones and flute, Jan Gonciarczyk / Bronislaw Suchanek on the bass and Janusz Stefanski on the drums. The Quintet made three records: "Music for K" (1970), "Jazz Message from Poland" (1972) and "Purple Sun" (1973) but the albums could not compare to the magic of Quintet's life performances. The music of Quintet escaped easy definitions. Sophisticated, collective improvisations and breath taking instrumental solos were bands' trademarks; hypnotic cosmic-like interactions between members of the band, and between the band and the life public, complemented the whole experience. Stanko Quintet disbanded in 1973 on the pick of its creative potential and after achieving cult-like following in Europe.

After that Suchanek continued advancing his career on Polish Jazz field; during that time especially important was his collaboration with the Jazz Studio of Polish Radio with Jan “Ptaszyn” Wroblewski at the helmet . The Studio was a unique blend: part venue for free expression by virtuosos and soloists and part workshop for musicians and composers. It would be virtually impossible to find any important Polish Jazz composer or soloist who at one time or another in their career had not been involved with the Studio. In Studio’s environment musicians, composers and soloists like Suchanek had a chance to test their own ideas and have them confronted and discussed in a peer-group setting.

In 1976 Bronislaw Suchanek moved to Scandinavia, where he became part of the jazz scene, by 1976 recording with the tenor saxophonist Urban Hansson as well as Swedish-radio jazz groups under the direction of George Russell. In the early '80s, Suchanek participated in projects based out of Austria, including the 1983 G.A.P. band.

In 1980s Suchanek become a member of in the Polski Jazz Ensemble – an unique assembly of Polish Jazz expatriates (Leszek Zadlo, Wladyslaw Sendecki, Bronislaw Suchanke and Janusz Stefanski), which in 1985 released a self-titled album (Polski Jazz Ensemble).

Suchanek has performed and recorded in 26 recordings in Europe, and the United States with such notables as Michael Urbaniak, Adam Makowicz, Art Farmer, George Russell and the Swedish Radio Jazz Group, Don Cherry, Benny Bailey, Thad Jones, Pepper Adams, Roland Hannah, Mal Waldrom, Mel Lewis, Kenny Hadley Big Band, Rick Stepton Sextet, Artie Shaw Orchestra, Rebecca Paris, James Williams, Alan Dawson, Jerry Bergonzi, Bill Brown, Mark Templeton, Jon Almark Big Band, Chris Neville, Amanda Carr and Pat Mitchell.

In the early '90s, Bronislaw Suchanek joined faculty of the University of Southern Maine (USA) where he teaches master classes in double bass in classical and improvised music. His musical odyssey continues - his latest release (2008) is a duet with Polish pianist and Dominik Wania called “Sketch in Blue” with 9 songs all originally composed by Bronek and Dominik.

Review:

This beautiful bass / piano duo album presents a meeting between two generations of great Polish Jazz players. Veteran bassist Bronislaw Suchanek was one of the most prominent players on the Polish modern Jazz scene, playing with top names, like Tomasz Stanko (see the groundbreaking legendary Music For K album). He left Poland during the turbulent years of Socialist regime, first to Sweden and later to USA, where he lives now. He played with other Polish expatriates (Leszek Zadlo, Wladyslaw Sendecki and Janusz Stefanski) in the Polski Jazz Ensemble, which also visited Israel by my invitation. Dominik Wania is a Polish pianist, with an impressive list of musical achievements in spite of his young age. Wania traveled to Boston, to get his Masters degree in music and there he met Suchanek. This album is a result of their musical cooperation. Both players are virtuoso performers on their respective instruments and their cooperation is in perfect sync, creating great exchange of ideas and interplay. Both musicians contribute equally to the compositional content, each of them by writing four compositions and one composition being co-authored. There are some superb melodies here and of course great performances from start to finish, full of sensitivity and intelligence, typical European Jazz at its best. Wholeheartedly recommended! (Adam Baruch)