Stanisław Słowiński/Marek Moś/AUKSO - Visions Violin Concerto (2019)

Stanisław Słowiński/Marek Moś/AUKSO

Stanisław Słowiński - violin
Zbigniew Szwajdych - trumpet
Marta Wajdzik - saxophones, flute
Szymon Mika - guitar
Kuba Płużek - piano
Justyn Małodobry - double bass
Dawid Fortuna - drums
with AUKSO Chamber Orchestra


Visions Violin Concerto 

PRIVATE EDITION

By Adam Baruch

This is the third album as a leader by young Polish Jazz violinist/composer Stanisław Słowiński, recorded with a Jazz septet comprising of musicians that took part in the recording of the two earlier albums: trumpeter Zbigniew Szwajdych, saxophonist/flautist Marta Wajdzik, guitarist Szymon Mika, pianist Kuba Płużek, bassist Justyn Małodobry and drummer Dawid Fortuna, as well as the Aukso Chamber Orchestra conducted by Marek Moś. The music, recorded live, presents a violin concerto in three movements, and includes both the audio (CD) and video (DVD) version of the premiere performance of the concerto.

The music is a typical romantic Classical concerto, incorporating melodic themes strongly based on Polish folkloristic influences, full of melancholy and beautiful lyricism. The Jazz and Classical elements are loosely integrated, which causes the music to move between the Classical and Jazz worlds rather than present a unified/amalgamated approach, with the solo violin parts serving as a bridge between the two worlds.

As expected, the performances, both by the septet members and the string orchestra, are excellent from start to finish, as are the violin solo parts by Słowiński. He joins the ranks of the young Polish violin stars, which are constantly growing, building the new generation of the Polish Jazz Violin School. This ambitious undertaking is perhaps a tad too tamed overall, with Słowiński taking no risks and following 19^th Century Classical Music conventions and mainstream Jazz patterns, whereas contemporary listeners probably expect a little more experimentation these days.

Having said that, this album is a solid, well structured and beautifully performed piece of music, which can be enjoyed by a wide range of listeners, both from the Jazz and Classical Music circles. Definitely worth investigating!