Amsterdam

Jan 19 2019

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

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Jan 14 2019

Best of 2018 #18: Orquesta del Tiempo Perdido – “Stille”

 

This bizarre yet immaculately orchestrated session from Jeroen Kimman’s Orquesta del Tiempo Perdido is one of the most intriguing things I’ve heard all year.  In the spirit of the diverse expressionism of the Kamikaze Ground Crew but with an emphasis on alien eccentricities rather than terrestrial oddities, Kimman’s ensemble finds a curious convergence between the whimsy of children songs and space-age effects and all of it balanced upon a slender, fluid melody that cuts down the heart of each of these fascinating tunes.  Nothing here sounds normal, and, yet, by the time the album reaches its conclusion, there is something comfortingly, strangely familiar about it.  Were I to create a Favorites of 2018 list, it’s quite likely that Stille would earn the top spot.

Released on Clean Feed Records and the Shhpuma label.

Music from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Read more on Bird is the Worm.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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Oct 25 2018

Recommended: Fire! – “The Hands”

 

For me personally, it’s kind of jarring to be reminded that the Fire! Orchestra got its start as a trio.  The large ensemble variant has spent the last handful of years putting out some of the most exciting music to hit the shelves.  It’s music that I find particularly rewarding, especially in that singular way the ensemble forms a handshake deal between unbridled chaos and innate tunefulness bordering on catchy.  The intensity that derives from this tenuous agreement between typically warring qualities is something that registers strong on my enjoyment meter.

As a trio, saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Andreas Werliin present the core of that agreement in its simplest terms.  The foundation of repetition that nurtures the catchiness is evident throughout their latest release The Hands, as is the naked edginess that obliterates that repetition without warning.  Missing are the rich textures and massive presence of the trio’s Orchestra ensemble, and while it’s an absence I’m not particularly fond of, it is refreshing to hear again what beats at the heart of that music.

Your album personnel:  Mats Gustafsson (tenor, baritone & bass saxophones, live electronics), Johan Berthling (electric & double basses) and Andreas Werliin (drums, percussion, feedback).

Released on Rune Grammofon.

Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Music from Amsterdam.

Available at:  Amazon

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