Alexis Valet (feat. Ben van Gelder & Bojan Z) - Explorers (jazz&people)

S’affirmant comme une voix passionnante parmi ceux qui font revenir le vibraphone au devant de la scène, Alexis Valet présente un album captivant aux formats variables et aux pistes multiples, marqué par la participation éblouissante de deux figures européennes majeures, le pianiste Bojan Z et le saxophoniste Ben van Gelder. Fidèle à son titre, "Explorers" donne à entendre ce que le jazz contemporain a de plus inspiré lorsqu’il est sublimé par le sens de l’invention et la magie de l’interaction.

"Ce tout nouveau projet est une vraie révélation."

(Jazz'halo)

"Explorers” confirme qu’Alexis Valet est l’un de ceux avec qui il faut compter"

★★★★ (Jazz Magazine)

"La interpretación de Valet suena sincera, con naturalidad y cautivadora, explorando nuevos caminos para este peculiar instrumento."

(La Habitación del Jazz)

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Asserting himself as an exciting voice among those who are bringing vibraphone back to the front of the stage, Alexis Valet presents a captivating album with a shifting format exploring multiple directions, marked by the participation of two major European figures, pianist Bojan Z and saxophonist Ben Van Gelder. True to its title, "Explorers" gives us an idea of what contemporary jazz inspires the most when it’s driven by a sense of invention and the magic of interplay.

1. Casual Polyglot 03:09

2. Plaza de la Alfalfa 05:13

3. L'Ile aux Fleurs (feat. Bojan Z) 06:28

4. Any Sunday with Her (feat. Ben van Gelder) 07:02

5. Dixie's Dilemma 05:06

6. Voyager I 02:49

7. Explorers (feat. Ben van Gelder and Bojan Z) 04:53

8. Fall (feat. Bojan Z) 04:57

9. Dr. Jackle (feat. Ben van Gelder) 05:50

10. Hats and Cards (feat. Ben van Gelder and Bojan Z) 06:41

11. What's Next? (feat. Bojan Z) 04:53

Alexis Valet, vibraphone

Lucca Fattorini, double bass

Antoine Paganotti, drums

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Ben van Gelder, alto saxophone (on 4, 7, 9, 10, 11)

Bojan Z, piano (on 3, 7, 8, 10, 11)

All compositions by Alexis Valet, otherwise noted.

Recorded at Studio Libretto by Erwan Boulay on January 16-17th 2021.

Mixed by Erwan Boulay.

Mastered by David Darlington.

Add Christelle Raquillet on flute on track 11.

Photography: Audrey Radas

Graphic design: Olivier Linden

PRE-ORDER

Adán Mizrahi - DISSIDENT (ears & eyes Records)

Containing Argentinean textures and traditional rhythm influences, 20th century “classical music” ideas, deep grooves, and free improvisation would land this record in the overall genre of “contemporary jazz.” It’s fusion music in the sense that it takes elements from different worlds and puts them together to create new, well conceived music with clear influences and yet its own identity. The compositions are often contrasting in style with one another, whilst keeping a coherent aesthetic as a whole. These contrasts will probably lead to a favorite track depending on each listener’s taste. The kind of album that can satisfy the Jazz and Improvised Music enthusiast but also tickle the curiosity of others, like a Rock or World Music lover.

The ensemble is made up of musicians from different backgrounds and generations. This is true in many aspects. Not only is there a 20 year difference of age between the oldest and the youngest member but also their careers have been formed from various “schools” and literal varying hemispheres giving the overall sounds a richness that’s not often heard. It features the Argentina-born, Netherlands-living tenor saxophonist Natalio Sued and the Dutch alto saxophonist Ben Van Gelder - icons of two different generations and latitudes.

Adán had a late start, and was a “mature student” during his Jazz and Classical studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam where his varied influences included (but were not limited to) Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation, Argentinian Music, Blues, Rock and more and represents the unity of Adán’s musical life.

With his beginnings rooted on blues guitar, he was active in several scenes in Buenos Aires from the late 90s throughout the 2000s. He played punk guitar at the iconic Cemento, and was later a member of the Jazz and also the Tango scenes, now with the double bass, performing at virtually all Tango Saloons, opening the Buenos Aires Tango festival and later touring Europe, getting to share a stage with the legendary bandoneonist Luis Stazo.

Once settled in Amsterdam, a strong, long lasting collaboration with Natalio Sued was born. Besides performing together frequently as a duet and a trio, they co-founded Antimufa together with other Argentinian members of the local improv scene. The quartet revisited the Argentinean Tango and Folklore songbook, subsequently performing original compositions and was eventually joined by guest Martín Sued on bandoneón.

Here on this debut as a leader, Mizrahi allows any and all of the above to influence the compositions of DISSIDENT.

Mizrahi states that the choice of musicians came out of their affinity with the styles and good camaraderie. He wasn’t planning on a super-group, it just happened that way. In fact when he decided to pursue a career in music he didn’t really envision having such a top notch group of musicians playing his material, it just happened that way. 

The double bass is always present without becoming dominant, with subtle inflections and suggestions that spark responses from the combo. A very elegant conversation that happens within the framework provided by the compositions, which also share the understated beauty and intelligence.

It’s a very well balanced recording, fresh without being superficial, adventurous without being pretentious.

1. Javastraat 04:59

2. Open Flag 04:11

3. Tone Deaf Morning Chant 04:15

4. Sin Cobrar 06:29

5. Picadita Tropical 04:40

6. Rubata e Ritrovata 10:31

7. Melush 03:42

About the tunes:

JAVASTRAAT: While in a funky 7-4 groove, the opening tune Javastraat utilizes Tango practices with its sudden stops, chromatics (think: Pugliese) and semitone modulations (think: Piazzolla). The piece also serves as a presentation card of the band, with everyone but the drums taking a solo. First is the bandleader's which is very groovy, fluid and makes eloquent use of the “chromatic” element in combination with open strings. The tune modulates a semitone down for the guitar solo; an interesting incorporation of harmony to what is otherwise a “vamp-heavy tune”. And once more, we venture a semitone down for the short, yet distinct alto sax solo. For the tenor sax solo, we go back to the original key of C. But now for a sequence: 4 bars of C and 4 bars of B, and this will loop throughout the solo. Sued takes good advantage of this for what is probably the most developed solo, making use of several elements from the tune and from previous solos. While being the only instrument not taking a solo, this tune introduces us to what is clearly a refined, groovy drummer. Hip too, yet supportive and unpretentious.

OPEN FLAG starts off as a bluesy tune with some interesting phrasing. The B section, with the guitar now playing a melodic role seems at first to have more of an introspective vibe which is surprising but very satisfyingly matched with some Tristano-like lines, magnifically performed in unison by Sued and Van Gelder. Semey’s rock sounding solo is also somewhat contrasting in a satisfying way. The next section now features a sax duo improvised “soundscape”, over which the original guitar (counter)melody takes place.

TONE DEAF MORNING CHANT turns the quintet into a sextet with the addition of George Dumitriu on guitar. The big sounding orchestration in the beginning is followed by the quizzical main theme in parallel 6ths and dominant chords moving by intervals of seconds and thirds catapulting Van Gelder into his freely improvised solo. 

SIN COBRAR includes an intriguing bass groove that simulates the “bordoneo” of the Tango guitar and is so smoothly performed the 5/4 bar goes barely noticed. What seemed to be a dark tune turns to a fresher, more Folkloric aesthetic, reminiscent of Guillermo Klein’s music. It later turns into a faster, danceable groove with a guitar solo and later an obsessive ending loop where Tijn Jans shows some fine drumming.

PICADITA TROPICAL is a fun uptempo tune in the Latin Rock style but chord progressions reminiscent of Tom Petty. The kick off energy is never lost, but rather augmented soloist after soloist.

RUBATA e RITROVATA is two compositions in one. The first part is totally rubato, and stays so during the solos. There is a bass cadenza connecting to the next piece which features solos on a jazz waltz, being the only moment of the album with a swing feel.

MELUSH is an “Argentinean Zamba” ballad performed without harmonic instrument but with guest Marcos Baggiani on the characteristic Argentine drum bombo legüero and cymbals. Mizrahi stayed on the bow with a captivating tone on the melody and made use of some Tango technique subtleties before going to pizzicato. A nice, relaxed, simple, open aired closure to a recording that is otherwise energetic and rather “in your face”.

Adán Mizrahi - Double Bass & Compositions

Ben Van Gelder - Alto Sax

Natalio Sued - Tenor Sax

Teis Semey - Guitar

Tijn Jans - Drums

Special Guests:

George Dumitriu - Guitar on 3

Marcos Baggiani - Drums on 7

PREORDER

Bruno Calvo Quartet - Outlines (FRESH SOUND NEW TALENT RECORDS 2018)

Bruno Calvo Quartet es un proyecto creado recientemente en la ciudad de Ámsterdam, Holanda. Consta de cuatro de los músicos jóvenes con mas talento de la escena de la música improvisada europea; procedentes de países como Italia, España y Holanda. En los últimos meses esta formación ha actuado en importantes escenarios y festivales de entre los cuales destacan el Bimhuis (Amsterdam) o el Festival InJazz en Lantaren Venster (Rotterdam).

Esta original formación no tiene instrumento própiamente armónico y combina los elementos fundamentales del jazz como son el blues, la improvisación y el fuerte sentido del
ritmo.

La inusual combinación de estos instrumentos fuerza a los músicos a cambiar el enfoque
interpretativo que tendrían en una banda que incluyese un piano o guitarra. Resulta interesante la forma en la cual los vientos están conectados formando contrapuntos en el que líneas melódicas se entrelazan, creando así un sonido homogéneo del que emergen modernas armonías. Todo ello acompañado de una enérgica sección rítmica que a la vez cuenta con infnidad de sutiles colores.

El repertorio contiene en su mayoría, composiciones originales escritas específcamente para esta formación. Es frecuente tambien la interpretación de arreglos de estándars de jazz así como tambien canciones infuenciadas por la música pop u otros estilos musicales.

El trompetista andaluz Bruno Calvo se ha convertido en unas de las principales voces emergentes de la música improvisada internacional. Sus raíces musicales se basan principalmente en la música afroamericana. No obstante, su sonido personal tiene claros tintes de otros estilos como son la música clásica y el famenco. En los últimos años ha tocado en muchas formaciones distintas y proyecto personales que lo han llevado a conocer grandes escenarios y a estar en contacto con músicos de renombre. Colabora frecuentemente con la Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw. Recientemente ha obtenido el segundo puesto en la competición de trompeta de jazz más importante; la Carmine Caruso Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, que tuvo lugar el pasado septiembre en Moscow (Idaho, EEUU). Un concurso de jazz en el que por primera vez en su historia, ha tenido la presencia de un músico europeo en la final.

01. Introduction (Erytheia) 2:09

02. Dolores 5:59

03. Contrast 4:17

04. Luna Bass Intro 1:06

05. Luna 6:46

06. Con Alma 7:12

07. Interlude #2 (Kotinoussa) 2:12

08. The Elephant's Revenge 6:37

09. Candle 4:10

All compositions by Bruno Calvo, except #6 'Con Alma' written by Dizzy Gillespie

Bruno Calvo (trumpet)

Ben van Gelder (alto sax)

Giuseppe Romagnoli (bass)

Iago Fernández (drums)

Recorded at CVA Studio, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, February 20 & 21, 2017

Sound engineers: Attie Bauw & Ido Zilberman

Mixed by Joeri Saal at Studio 150

Mastered by Quim 'Kato' Puigtió

Design & artwork: Travassos

Picture by Tamara Conde

Produced by Bruno Calvo

Executive producer: Jordi Pujol

The BvR Flamenco Big Band - Luz de Luna (2017)

“Luz de Luna” is the sequel to ‘Jaleo Holandés, the BvR Flamenco Big Band’s debut album from 2014. Just like the first album, “Luz de Luna” features a staggering diversity of compositional approaches as well as an equally solid and instantly recognizable sound . Van Rossum has by no means kept still over the past two years, returning with this new statement bringing his musical ideas into the limelight with confidence and assertion.

The CD fuses traditional flamenco elements like the idiomatic Flamenco voice, rhythmic guitar and the ever-present inflammatory clapping to the sound of a flexible big band. The compositions are refined and at the same time easy on the ear. An additional dimension is brought by the soloists: they maintain a strong individual voice while moving seemingly effortlessly within Van Rossum’s musical idiom. Particularly attractive are the solos of tenor saxophonist Joao Driessen ‘El Gladiador cobarde’, trumpeter Gidon Nunes Vaz and pianist Xavi Torres on “Lejos de Casa”.

Singer María Marín and special guest vocalist David de Jacoba deliver compelling and energetic interpretations of evocative Spanish lyrics: “Sol que almas despertará, susurra sin gritar, mientras acaricia el mar” (“Sun that awakens souls, whispering without shouting, while caressing the sea”).

A striking addition to the instrumentation is the virtuosic and soulful sound of harmonica player Antonio Serrano.

At the end of the review of their first album ‘Jaleo Holandés “, it was hoped that Van Rossum’s music would soon again materialize into a record . The result: This second album is at times romantic (on the title track “Luz de Luna”), exciting (at the beginning of “Y tu ni siquiera lo sabes”) and thanks to the skillful changes of pace and atmosphere, it flows organically. Excellent that the Fonds Podium Kunsten and the Keep an Eye Foundation contributed to making this new album possible. With ‘Jaleo Holandés, Van Rossum proved his project was an interesting newcomer to the Dutch jazz scene, with “Luz de Luna” he confirms loud and clear that the BvR Flamenco Big Band is here to stay.

La gaviota

Luz de Luna

El gladiador cobarde

Y tú ni Siquiera lo sabes

Lejos de casa

Tras la tormenta

Catedral para un ateo

Bernard van Rossum: leader, composer, arranger, lyricist, soprano sax

Gerhard Ornig: trumpet

Bruno Calvo: trumpet

Gidon Nunes Vaz: trumpet

Evgeniy Bandarev: trumpet

Jasper van Damme: alto sax, flute

Miguel Ortega: alto sax, clarinet

Joao Driessen: tenor sax, clarinet

Fernando Sanchez: tenor sax

Bruno van der Haegen: baritone sax, bass clarinet

Jos van der Heuvel: trombone

Oliver Emitt: trombone

Matthias Konrad: trombone

Pablo Martinez: bass trombone

Xavi Torrres: piano

Marco Zenini: bass

Joan Terel: drums

Flamenco Artists

Maria Marin: voice

Edsart Udo de Haes: flamenco guitar

Udo Demandt: percussion

Miguel Hiroshi: percussion

Special Guests

Antonio Serrano: harmonica

David de Jacoba: voice

Ben van Gelder: alto sax

Carlos de Jacoba: guitar on “La Gaviota” vocal interlude

Raffaele Genovese Trio - Musaico (2016) ALFA MUSIC

Musaico è il disco della maturità.

È un lavoro autobiografico che riflette a pieno la personalità di un musicista colto e sicuro delle proprie capacità. In questo progetto Raffaele Genovese ricompone il suo sapere e lo mette assieme attraverso un mosaico di suoni raffigurato secondo una sequenza che assomma con precisione melodia e timbro. Quei suoni, poi, appartengono al suo retroterra di musicista in linea con le evoluzioni moderne del piano jazz e allo stesso tempo al richiamo genetico della sua terra, dove le sonorità ogivali arabe rientrano nelle sue composizioni e sono parte integrante di una spiccata sensibilità che gli appartiene di natura. Genovese riesce, in perfetto equilibrio, a bilanciare le pulsioni melodiche, solari e fisiche del suo essere isolano, con un jazz di natura occidentale e afroamericana, dove l’essenzialità dell’assunto, la rarefazione del suono e il dosaggio ritmico sono le peculiarità strutturali. 

È in quell’equilibrio che si sviluppa la personalità jazzistica di Genovese, nel suo essere leader e gregario, nel creare e sviluppare il tema, come nell’accompagnare e assecondare le frasi secche e “nordiche” del sax di Ben van Gelder. È accanto al contrabbasso di Carmelo Venuto e alla batteria di Emanuele Primavera che ridisegna la poetica dei suoi racconti, che hanno nomi legati al presente e al passato di una cultura interiore che si materializza in composizioni di puro istinto narrativo. Flavio Caprera

Musaico is a recording that belongs to a musician’s maturity.

It is an autobiographical work that fully reflects the personality of a cultured musician who is absolutely sure of his abilities. In this project Raffaele Genovese reassembles his knowledge by means of a mosaic of sounds that are set forth in a sequence that combines melody and timbre with great precision. Those sounds belong to his background as a musician who is fully in line with the modern trends of the jazz piano, but they are also a deeper genetic reminder of his homeland, where the sinuous ogival shapes of Arab sonorities have entered into his compositions. These exotic sounds are an integral part of the exceptional innate sensibility that is such a profound aspect of his character. Genovese thus succeeds in creating a perfect equilibrium, balancing the melodic, solar and physical urges of his essence as an island-dweller, with jazz of a western and Afro-American stamp, in which an essential and rarefied sound with measured rhythms are the structural peculiarities.

The distinctive jazz personality of Raffaele Genovese has developed within this equilibrium, in his being a leader as well as a wingman, in the creation and development of musical themes, and in the way he accompanies and supports the clean-cut Nordic phrases of Ben van Gelder’s Sax. Accompanied by the double-bass of Carmelo Venuto and the drums of Emanuele Primavera he redesigns the poetry of his compositions, the titles of which are related to the present and past of an inner culture that is manifested in these stories that are built up from a pure narrative instinct. Flavio Caprera

01. Slow down

02. Gentle piece

03. Albert Camus

04. Bright insight

05. Intro (to Settembre)

06. Settembre

07. Ibn Hamdis

08. For this time

09. Via D'Amelio

10. Pentapolis

All compositions by Raffaele Genovese except 2 by Kenny Wheeler

Publishing: AlfaMusic Studio (Siae)

Raffaele Genovese piano and keyboards

Carmelo Venuto double bass

Emanuele Primavera drums

Special guest Ben van Gelder alto sax