Metamorphoses

The idea that the Zbigniew Seifert Foundation should record and release a solo album by Mateusz Smoczyński was fairly obvious. Mateusz won the second Zbigniew Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition in 2016, and the Foundation does not stop at handing over a prize: it works closely with the Competition's laureates, organising concert tours and supporting them in making records. That, however, is not the only reason we proposed a solo recital to Mateusz.
Mateusz Smoczyński is a versatile and outstanding musician, involved in countless ambitious and critically acclaimed projects. Suffice it to mention the American Turtle Island Quartet, of which he was a member from 2012 to 2016, the superb Atom String Quartet, his own bands — Mateusz Smoczyński Quintet and New Trio — and finally the famous Zakopower and Natalia Kukulska. It is time, then, to present the next artistic incarnation of this gifted violinist, composer and arranger.
A solo recital consisting mainly of his own compositions is a bold and important step in Mateusz's career. Once again he proves that there are no musical boundaries he cannot cross. And a solo concert is, after all, an emotionally and physically exhausting undertaking. Finding the balance between technical bravura and unhackneyed lyricism, between deft juggling of styles and attention to detail, between the details and the overall idea or message of the project, is an extraordinarily difficult challenge. To fill that space with one instrument, at most two (Smoczyński's recent discovery is the baritone violin), demands uncommon craft, artistry and musicality — qualities our artist unquestionably has.
In many interviews Mateusz Smoczyński admits to three musical fascinations: Zbigniew Seifert, John Coltrane and Karol Szymanowski. The music on this album widens that range of influences to include Niccolò Paganini, Eugène Ysaÿe, György Ligeti and Krzysztof Penderecki. Somewhat different in style are the compositions by Mark Summer and by Jan Smoczyński — Mateusz's brother and faithful musical friend — that round out the recording.
The author himself says of his newest project: The main thought that guided me in making this album was the wish to record a classically oriented record rather than a jazz one. I had been thinking about a solo album for a long time. My ambition was to test myself playing solo, but I did not quite know how to go about it. My colleagues from Atom String Quartet persuaded me to sit down and compose something. One result of that work is the four-movement Sonata, the central piece on this album. Writing pieces that go beyond a jazz theme is new to me — and that is my "metamorphosis". The album also holds pieces by other artists, added for contrast, because I was afraid of boring the listener.
Zbigniew Seifert's "Solo Violin" was written more than forty years ago and remains an extraordinarily important item in the history of jazz — above all in the field of solo jazz violin. Let us hope that Mateusz Smoczyński's album will likewise become an inspiration for young artists searching for their own musical language in this difficult solo medium.

Aneta Norek-Skrycka