Fiddle me this: violinists in jazz, an addendum

After not posting anything here in a long, long time, we received a nice e-mail from across the pond today. All the way from Poland, in fact. A certain Maciej Afanasjew, unknown to us until today, had apparently read the blog here, and decided to introduce himself. He provided links to his music on YouTube, and suffice it to say, he’s a marvelous player, with a real understanding of both traditional and modern approaches to improvisation. Unlike some European players we’ve heard, he has a nice feel for the blues, too, with a nice bite to his sound, but he seems fully vested in the ECM-style of more introspective playing as well. Anyway, we’re happy to share him with the world, however small our role might be. He asked for a mention, and after hearing his music, it’s the least we can do. After watching the videos on YouTube, check out his website at http://maciejafanasjew.pl, too. As for the embedded video above, having seen Keith Jarrett perform this live in its initial incarnation back in 1975, it’s a treat hearing it re-imagined this way. Smaczne, man.