Best of 2018 #7: Marike van Dijk – “The Stereography Project feat. Jeff Taylor and Katell Keineg”

“A remarkable example of diverse aspirations attaining a cohesive vision,” is how I described the 2018 release from Marike van Dijk for The Bandcamp Daily in my round-up of the Best Jazz of 2018.  What the statement refers to is two-fold.  First, the alto saxophonist adds to the challenge of her 2015 Stereography Project release of bringing improvisational elements to a chamber jazz environment by adding an additional layer of difficulty by composing for vocalists.  Furthermore, as a reflection of her time spent living in New York City and her native Amsterdam, van Dijk brings together two different ensembles and two different vocalists from those locales.  That’s a lot of variables to incorporate, and van Dijk makes it seem as simple as taking your next breath.  But it’s more than just overcoming a great challenge; it’s that this music is bursting with life and awash in nuance and the tiny details that make the difference between a pretty song and one possessing the emotional charge to melt hearts and move mountains.  In my original write-up of this album for The Bandcamp Daily, I said “[These] aren’t proper love songs per se, but they sure do evoke euphoria, heartbreak, and all of the ineffable emotions that fall between those extremes.”  This music is timeless.

Released on Hert Records.

Music from NYC and Amsterdam.

Read more on Bird is the Worm.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon