Tomasz Sroczyński Trio - Primal (2016)

Tomasz Sroczyński Trio

Tomasz Sroczyński - violin
Max Mucha - double bass
Szymon Gąsiorek - drums

Primal

FOR TUNE 0103




By Adam Baruch

It is the debut album as a leader by Polish Avant-Garde violinist/composer Tomasz Sroczyński, recorded in a trio format with bassist Max Mucha and drummer Szymon Gąsiorek. The album presents a continuous twelve piece progression lasting thirty eight minutes. Since composing credits are not disclosed on the album's liner notes I assume the music was co-composed by all three musicians based on basic ideas by the leader.

The music moves along between Contemporary Classical, Free Jazz, Improvised Music and Ambient, which seems pretty arbitrary as there is no coherent structure or sequence, which could hint as to the ultimate goal. The diverse sonic vistas produced by the violin are interesting and so is the attempt to share responsibility by the other instruments, which play along amicably, but that is not enough to keep the listener fascinated for more that a few moments at a time. Sroczyński displays virtuosic technique, especially so in the longest track on the album, but the other pieces are much more minimalistic and less immediately attractive.

However, there is no doubt that this is a courageous effort to produce original and ambitious music, and as such it deserves encouragement and support, like the release of this album. There is no way to foresee where Sroczyński might be heading in the long range, but based on his previous recordings and the one at hand he certainly is full of interesting ideas and opens new possibilities for the role of the violin in contemporary music. Lovers of adventurous Avant-Garde escapades, full of challenge and discovery, should find this music interesting and worth listening to. The question is if a repeated listening to this recording is something many listeners will be interested in.