Krystyna Stańko - Secretly (2010)

Krystyna Stańko new album is dedicated to Peter Gabriel and comprises smooth jazz versions of such his covers as "Mercy Street", "Red Rain" or "Diggin in the Dirt". Apart from Gabriel evergreens strong side of the album is also musicians  that accompany Krystyna: vibraphonist Dominik Bukowski, bassist Piotr Lemańczyk, drummer Cezary Konrad, Irek Wojtczak on bass clarinet and flute, Marcin Gawdzis on trumpet. Those guys make fabric of the music on this album as light as a feather and as spacious as calm, summer night with blazing stars over our heads. As guest in one song appears also Mieczysław Szcześniak.

Unfortunately it is impossible for me to judge this record adequately. I simply never was interested in Peter Gabriel's music, it does not appeal to me. So taking  into account that I am little prejudiced    Ms Stańko was quite successful. I got engaged by music and listened to the album from the beginning to the end. After this rehearsal I learned to appreciate her creativity, ability to infuse music with her own bluesy mood, her smooth interactions with sidemen.
Her voice being rather delicate and filigree she follows suit of Patricia Barber, Diana Krall or Norah Jones, building over moods, tempers and vibes all associated with minor key sounds. If she decided to go deeper and more consistently in this direction and (let me be a little critical in the end) improved her English pronunciation, we would get even better record than it actually is.
Please check samples of the music to judge by yourselves whether you like it or not:

http://www.myspace.com/krystynastanko