Atom String Quartet
"one of contemporary music's most essential string quartets, regardless of genre"
Ian Patterson, All About Jazz
"Atom String Quartet made my dreams come true that classical and jazz music unite and exist as one..."
Leszek Możdżer
The award-winning Atom String Quartet are not only a ‘chamber string quartet playing jazz’ (and first to do so in their native Poland), but simply an extremely original ensemble playing music which can’t be pigeonholed. Drawing on both classical and folk tradition, they successfully meld these melodic and rhythmic influences with jazz idiom in their original compositions to create a truly intriguing and unique experience.
Atom String Quartet have quickly become one of the most talked about jazz ensembles and since 2011 when their album "Fade In" received the Polish phonographic industry award Fryderyk in the category of Jazz Debut of the Year, they've been going from strength to strength. The quartet's second album "Places" (2012) was awarded Fryderyk for Jazz Album of the Year and they continue to receive accolades, they are in high demand and have toured worldwide. Praised as having “the energy adequate to the band’s name” by the Polish jazz legend Jan “Ptaszyn” Wróblewski, Atom String Quartet are: Dawid Lubowicz – violin, Mateusz Smoczyński – violin, Michał Zaborski – viola, Krzysztof Lenczowski – cello. With their third album, “Atom-sphere” (double CD, 2015) they have caused an explosion: “Sensation! One could finish this review with this statement as no words can testify to the richness and variety of the music the quartet offers” (Jazz Forum). Their latest album entitled simply "Seifert" celebrates the music and spirit of a Polish jazz violin legend, Zbigniew Seifert. It is a great testimony to the incredible artistry and creativity of Seifert's. The quartet plays and improvises on pieces which were originally written for a jazz combo and were in turn filtered through the musical language of a jazz string quartet, which seems close to the values professed by the composer. Adam Baruch reviewed the album: "the music is executed with the outmost care and sheer virtuosity, which easily explains the revered status of the quartet. Both individually and as an ensemble, Atom String Quartet are simply magnificent from start to finish. This album, in view of its challenges and rigorous outline, proves to be the quartet´s best recording to date as far as I am concerned. The limitations created by the repertoire turned out to be an asset and the quartet emerges victorious from the obvious challenge."
Mo' Connections are proud to be representing Atom String Quartet in Great Britain.
A Bit Mo’ About Atom String Quartet...
Having collaborated, toured and recorded with artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Gil Goldstein, Branford Marsalis, Paolo Fresu, Urszula Dudziak, Aga Zaryan, Adam Baldych, Christian von Kaphengst, Rupert Stamm, Verneri Pohjola as well as Leszek Możdżer, Lars Danielsson and Zohar Fresco alongside the Berlin Philharmonic, Atom String Quartet have appeared at numerous festivals, including Berliner Jazztage, Jazz Baltica, Festival Veranos de la Villa Madrid, Cairo Jazz Festival, Manchester International Jazz Festival, Jazz Jamboree, Ethno Jazz Festival and Solidarity of Arts, among others. The Solidatity of Arts concert brought a fruitful and joyful collaboration with Bobby McFerrin and Gil Goldstein and was released on DVD. They have performed and collaborated with many excellent musicians and with most reputable orchestras. Their most recent series of gigs with Branford Marsalis, featuring Mino Cinelu and the Polish folk/pop superband Zakopower prove that their music transcends genres and celebrates creativity with enormous joy.
Besides their "atomic" activities, the band members keep themselves busy with other notable ensembles. Dawid Lubowicz is a soloist in Christophe Voise's project Missa Brevis and is a member of Bester Quartet. Between 2012 and 2016 Mateusz Smoczynski was a member of the legendary, Grammy-winnng Turtle Island Quartet. Michał Zaborski leads violas in Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra and Radom Chamber Orchestra, while Krzysztof Lenczowski also acts as a jazz guitarist and plays with Fusion Generation Project and Leszek Kułakowski Ensemble, among others.