“Soigne Ta Droite” is a new collaboration of Ken Vandermark and “Entr’acte” ensemble performance lively recorded in Krakow Jazz Autumn. The music is bright, evocative and expressive – all musicians have their own and original sound, unique way of improvising and remarkable playing manner. Here Nate Wooley (trumpet), Mette Rasmussen (alto saxophone), Ken Vandermark (reeds), Jasper Stadhouders (electric bass & guitar), Terrie Hessels (guitar), Joe Williamson (acoustic and electric bass), Elisabeth Harnik (piano), Steve Heather (drums), Didi Kern (drums) and Dieb13 (Dieter Kovačič) (turntables and electronics) are improvising together.
“Soigne Ta Droite” has bright, universal and modern musical pattern. It has three basical sections which contain the fundaments of compositions – bright sparkling reeds, moving and dynamic percussion and innovative electronics. All kinds of instruments are gently combined here – the musicians are making interesting, eclectic and exotic combos. They don’t hesitate to make radical, shocking, provocative or weird musical decisions to finally make an exclusive and original sound. The reeds section is kept by vivid passionate saxophones of various types, bright expressive trumpet and moving clarinets. Vivid melodies are played with expression and drive and all the time accompagnied by flowing passages, gorgeous ornaments, hot thrills, fantastic glissando, furious shrieks, hysteric blowing riffs and other elements. All these elements finally grow out to tremendous culminations, wild perturbations and breaking sessions.Vivid, moving and expressive saxophones and clarinets are filled with light, moving and driving sound. It dictates the main mood of whole melody line. Hot, bursting and dynamic trumpet’s tunes are bright accents – bursting riffs, full blasts of energy, luminous culminations and impressive solos bring life and energy to the music. Ken Vandermark, Mette Rasmussen and Nate Wooley are the masters of their art – their music is an organic mix of virtuosity, creativity, passion, drive and inventive ideas. Strings section is wide and electroacoustic – electric and acoustic basses are mixed up to guitars. Subtle pieces, solemn mood, relaxing meditative episodes with strange timbres and evocative ways of playing are frequently heard here. These episodes suddenly rise to striking culminations, perturbating riffs, abandonned ambient tunes, cold and depressed mood or – light, flowing, passionate and expressive melodies. Deep tight bass line is created, extended and innovative playing techniques of acoustics are combined together with modern electronics, special effects and sonoristic experiments. Guitars bring an ornamental, tiny and rich texture, form an expressive, remarkable and simply impressive melody line. Jasper Stadhouders, Terrie Hessels and Joe Williamson make a great improvisations all together. Piano by experienced and talented pianist Elisabeth Harnik keeps the fundaments of melody, highly effects the rhythmic section and is a source of strange timbres and experiments. Breaking sessions, driving riffs, perturbations, vibrant and wild culminations, longly-repeated, hysteric, aggressive and frantic sequences which are suddenly changed by minimalistic samples, monotonous rhythms, static beats or silent pauses – that’s the base of impressive, dynamic ans surprising piano melodies. Steady beats, low tunes, tappings, frottings, other types of special effects and sonoristic experiments who are highly contrasting to rising riffs, striking sudden attacks, cracking, bright, beating and booming culminations, gorgoeus timbres, special effects, light, tiny and flying passages or driving sessions. Two great drummers Steve Heather and Didi Kern make an incredible and dynamic rhythmic section. Ambient, sonoristic experiments, drone, glitch, sound machine’s experiments, computer sounds, synth tunes, amplifications, dubs, in-puts, modified and alterated timbres, imitations of nature’s sounds and other kinds of electronics and turntables are used here and are masterfully mixed together by Dieb13 (Dieter Kovačič). All music is completely based on experimental jazz and free improvisation. The main elements of hard bop, post bop, bebop and other modern jazz styles are gently combined together with minimalism, contemporary academical, modern classical, electroacoustic and experimental music. That makes an effort to inspiring, dynamic and innovative sound.
Avant Scena 