Release Date: May 15, 2026

Polish Trumpeter's 1976 Album on Vinyl LP
ECM Audiophile Vinyl Series: Luminessence

An essential document of European jazz in the 1970s, and a recording that still sounds magnificent today,Balladynaexerted an enduring influence on successive generations of improvising musicians in Poland and Finland above all, though it also cast its spell more widely. As Tomasz Stanko once said, 'My international name was built onBalladyna.' On the record, the Polish trumpeter is joined by his close collaborator Edward Vesala on drums ('We were like brothers,' Stanko later said), saxophonist Tomasz Szukalski and master bassist Dave Holland, brought to the session by Manfred Eicher. Even though it was only the trumpeter's debut for the label, it presented Stanko's unique melodic voice in an already fleshed-out framework, with his earlier freer influences still looming in the band's explosive undercurrent. The quartet explores the seven originals on the album with a strong sense of rhythmic propulsion and melodic curiosity throughout. Recorded at Tonstudio Bauer in 1975,Balladynawas produced by Manfred Eicher.

Reissued as part of ECM's Luminessence series,Balladynaarrives in a tip-on gatefold jacket with new liner notes and photos from the archive.

Features

• Luminessence Series
• Vinyl LP
• Recorded December 1975, Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg
• Tip-On Gatefold Jacket
• New Liner Notes & Photos from the Archive

Musicians

Selections

Side A:

1. First Song
2. Tale
3. Num
4. Duet

Side B:

1. Balladyna
2. Last Song
3. Nenaliina

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