MARTINA VERHOEVEN QUINTET’s 2nd album ‘Indicator Light’ just got an excellent review by Ken Waxman for JAZZWORD (Canada). Get the album here.

“Working up to a pitch of unbridled excitement, a quintet of pan-European improvisers prove once again that dynamic cooperation among contemplative musicians results in an evolving design more lasting than anything agreed on by politicians or conferences. Another live outing by this on-again/off again combo, band members’ immediate perceptive connections belie there many other projects. Belgian pianist Martina Verhoeven is involved in multiple other bands, often with fellow Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries. Portuguese bassist Gonçalo Almeida is also part of Spinifex; UK alto saxophonist Colin Webster plays with Daniel Thompson among others; and Dutch drummer Onno Govaert plays with everyone from Ziv Taubenfeld to Luís Vicente. Putting aside nationalities, the single improvisation begins with a moderated double bass thump and shaking guitar frails, quickly ascending to Verhoeven dynamic keyboard patterns and simultaneous strums on the piano’s inner strings. Accommodating the saxophonist’s nasal sneers and overblowing plus cymbal crashing and drum pounding from Govaert, distinctive door-stopper-like percussion reverberations, dissonant reed bites and enough pressure applied to the piano keys to probably make them jump in the air, doesn’t mask a tandem evolving melody. A quieter interlude at mid point reveals Serries’ intricate clips and stops as well as Verhoeven’s relaxed spawls and shakes which contribute to the exposition’s slowing down from allegro to andante. The theme then moved forward with drum rattles, pedal point piano vibrations and guitar string stabs and further space is devoted to Webster’s protracted  tongue slaps and split-tone growls that joined with keyboard patterning moves the sequence into full Ecstatic Jazz mode. Soon every player is contributing to the up-and down sound slides at the top of each instrument’s range. With the bassist preserving the narrative thread with thick stops, drum claps, reed flutters and keyboard clinks gather sonic strands into a cohesive conclusion.” JazzWord – Canada