Tomasz Stańko is dead. "A great timeless artist"

• Tomasz Stańko, one of the most important Polish jazz musicians, died Sunday at the age of 76
• – He was a great timeless artist. We need time to understand the greatness of his art – notes the pianist Włodek Pawlik
• – He always asked us with astonishment, how come we know his music? I answered: we all grew up on this music, we know it well – underlines the drummer Krzysztof Gradziuk
• – We were bound by a deep friendship, even if we did not see each other every day. Włodzimierz Nahorny

Krzysztof Gradziuk, drummer of the trio RGG, who has been in concert with Stańko recently mentioned in a conversation with Onet, adds the saxophonist and one of the pioneers of jazz in Poland. – As a boy, you have your dreams. For me, one of those dreams was to meet Tomasz Stańko, to talk to him. Not to mention playing with him. It turned out that I had the privilege of playing with him for two years. Play with him, carry his trumpet, dine together, laugh, and commune with the greatest art. It was something so wonderful that it is hard to realize that it does not exist anymore and that you will not feel all that from this man anymore. This will no longer be the case

– The most important thing remains in the heart: the great art, the good music and the words that it could say. Tomasz was not effusive. He always said that he was playing the musicians for the first and last time, after which he does not continue his cooperation, or simply plays. He never told us what to do on stage. He said that he responds to what we do. It was also amazing for us … Tomasz Stańko approves what we play, he accepts our music – he added.

– He always asked us with amazement, how come we know his music and we can play it? I then told him: Mr Tomasz, we all grew up on this music, we know it well, all the albums. The main characters of our master's theses are musicians who have played and recorded with you. They have been a model for us, and now we can stay with you on a stage and play. Being a musician is a good thing, but it can be very difficult: all these musicians create a real family. They are not just people we know, with whom we play from time to time. If one of the musicians leaves, it's as if someone from the immediate family was gone. Suddenly, he left. The advantage is the music that stays. What Tomasz Stańko has left and thanks to her will be with us until the end of the world – underlined Gradziuk

According to the pianist Włodek Pawlik, Stańko belongs to one of the greatest figures of the culture Polish last half century. – It's a monumental figure, although Tomasz has never claimed a monumental figure. He was a great artist and a man who emanated from spiritual freedom, crossing borders. He was a visionary. His music comes from so many sources … I do not know if a lot of musicians can offer such an artistic erudition. This distinguished him from others, even the greatest virtuosos.

– Tomek had a vision, he was inspired by literature as Słowacki by recording the first CD for ECM, Wisława Szymborska, Witkacy … he is so anchored in his work. It is also a model for young musicians, an encouragement to research. Plus, it was his amazing and characteristic sound trumpet. Recognizable after two sounds. We immediately knew that it was Tomasz Stańko. In Polish culture, not necessarily associated with the official narrative, he remained in opposition to the surrounding reality, he created things that go beyond. I would like to thank him for that – he confessed

– He will always be in my heart and in the hearts of all who think that this world needs people who create such art. Tomek was a great timeless artist. The saxophonist Włodzimierz Nahorny is, like Stańko, one of the pioneers of jazz music in Poland. In the early 1960s, the musician was invited to play in a group led by pianist Andrzej Trzaskowski. It was thus that he met Tomasz Stańko

– The rehearsals took place in the old Hybrids of Mokotowska Street. There, for the first time, I came into contact with a professional band, professional music. Trzaskowski preferred freejazz, he knew it most, he was the most auscultated. He was an artist when we were just starting to crawl. There, I met Stańko. He was in a strange position: there were two groups, leading the leaders of Komeda and Trzaskowski. There were also Namyslowski groups, Kurylewicz, but both teams were the "headquarters". Tomek was the only musician who played in both – there were not many freejazz trumpet players at the time. He had been playing with Komeda for a long time, they were very close to each other, musically and spiritually – recalls Nahorny.

– We started making friends and then becoming friends. We played Trzaskowski almost until the very death of Andrzej. It was a deep friendship, even though we did not see each other every day. It was clear that we can always count on ourselves, our help and support. Tomek quickly started working alone, he had his own groups with Seifert, Muniak. I had my groups, but we often met on the roads. Then he settles in the United States, he shares his life between Warsaw and New York. In the 1960s and 1970s we were close, even living side by side – he added.