Jazz Piano – Saturday 24 February 20:00 CET.
Etudes of Shapes and Forms is the title of the album. Composer Philipp Rüttgers’ inspiration for this music for his piano trio included Ligeti, Schönberg, Debussy … and Escher. In this programme he provides some explanation.
For trumpeter Angelo Verploegen, inspiration came from a completely different source, namely the birth of his grandchild.
The third panel of Jazz Piano is for the duo Harmen Fraanje/Arve Henriksen. Henriksen plays the trumpet, but the instrument is barely recognizable in the sounds that he makes. This duo’s CD, Touch of Time, is a product of ECM Records. Meditative music that invites you to close your eyes.
The “piano trio” has a long history in jazz. The instrumentation is flexible: piano with guitar and bass, with guitar and drums, with bass and drums. The last variant is also the one chosen by the Philipp Rüttgers Trio (photo). Thomas Pol bass and Sun-Mi Hong drums. Rüttgers has been active in the Dutch jazz scene for about fifteen years, and Pol and Hong both also now rich CVs.
The combination of instruments may be familiar, but that does not apply to the music. Rüttgers, asked about his sources of inspiration, lists a long series of 20th-century composers from the ‘classical’ world. His preparation of the piano – magnets and pieces of paper between the strings – and the title of the album, Etudes of Shapes and Forms, refelect this. His suggestion to the listener: “If you listen to my music, you can, for example, sitting outside under a blue sky, without sun, drinking cold water, watching a David Lynch movie.”
The CD will be released on March 1 on ZenneZ Records.
Infant eyes, you are my own / Without your smile, the stars would fall / and the moon would lose its glow / and the rivers would cease to flow.
Flügelhorn player Angelo Verploegen recently became a grandfather. This led to waves of emotion and inspiration. Some key concepts: intense feelings of happiness, open-mindedness, curiosity, boundless energy, love, hope, comfort. Infant Eyes, a composition by Wayne Shorter, is one of the pieces on the album Little Dancer by the duo Verploegen and pianist Jeroen van Vliet. Piano solo.
The meditative atmosphere of Infant Eyes becomes more intense in Touch of Time, the first duo album by Norwegian Arve Henriksen (trumpet, electronics) and Harmen Fraanje (piano). Rich in nuance, contemplative, intimate, less is more, low volume. The sound of the trumpet is reminiscent of Japanese wind instruments.
Close your eyes and listen…
The playlist is in the Guide.
Jazz Piano – a programme by Robert Vermeulen
