Pieter Bast E.S.P. Quintet - La Condition Humaine (BUZZ May 4, 2018)

"La Condition Humaine" is the second album from The Pieter Bast E.S.P. Quintet: Jaspen Somsen, Pieter Bast, Bert Lochs, Michael Rörby and Mike Roelofs.

The second CD from the Pieter Bast E.S.P. (European Standards Project) Quintet: "La Condition Humaine" features all original compositions. It is an album full of the personal thoughts, ideas, experiences and memories of each of the band-members, resulting in 8 beautiful pieces containing elements of African music, Contemporary Jazz and Bebop, but also referring to the "Electric" period of Miles Davis during the '70 & '80's.

The music on the album is intense, full of tenderness and desire, but also sometimes rough, heavy and exciting with a unique frontline of trumpet and trombone. With "La Condition Humaine" the artists wanted to express their concern of today's world and the album is meant as a counterweight to the misery caused by mankind itself. To further accentuate this powerful, positive and hopeful message, the quintet is donating part of the proceeds from the sale of this CD to "Sounds of Change", an organization that brings the healing power of music to traumatised children from areas of conflict.

www.pieterbast.nl

Braskiri - Killing the Mozzarella (2015)

How do you kill a mozzarella and why give that name to a CD? Dirk Balthaus, the Braskiri quartet pianist has the answer. “I’ve had a musical connection for over 20 years with Bert Lochs, who plays trumpet and flugelhorn and has written the tunes on this recording. We’ve made a lot of albums together. It was time to make a new one. Bert is always busy writing tunes. He sets the scenes in his life to music. On tour in Italy he was much impressed by the mozzarella he ate in Naples. He thought it funny to write a tune about how you open a package of mozzarella. You take your knife and you put it in the package, in the plastic, and the water spills out. He thought somehow - that’s killing the mozzarella!”

Killing the Mozzarella, sharp, edgy and humorous, is just one track on the CD of the same name. Capriccioso, comes from the same week spent in the south of Italy. Full of subtle but unexpected harmony it could be a reflection of Naples street life, “…where everything can happen”. Brave Mr Blackbird, lyrical, warm and rather beautiful, describes a bird in Bert Loch’s garden, fed by his children, that returns every year, despite its nest regularly being destroyed by other birds or the cat.

Koempel, pulsating and powerful, though also lyrical, is about mineworkers in the Ruhrgebiet . Both Bert Lochs and Dirk Balthaus come from mining areas. Bert wrote the piece for his father’s father, a real “Koempel”*, a music lover and very gently man. Bert hopes that he looks down from heaven and smiles when they play the piece. Not the Man with the Horn is a homage to Avishai Cohen the bass player, though his namesake Avishai Cohen the trumpeter is also highly respected by members of Braskiri.

Bert Lochs, trumpet, flugelhorn

Steffen Granly, tuba

Dirk Balthaus, grand piano, fender rhodes

Wim Kegel, drums

1. Killing the Mozzarella

2. Brave Mr. Blackbird

3. Koempel

4. Capriccioso

5. Not the Man with the Horn

6. Tale-o-mat

7. Uncloud

8. Elegy

9. Valse du vent

BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

VÍCTOR