Super happy to announce four new releases in the A New Wave Of Jazz/Axis series.  Now available as pre-order as a bundle, to coincide with a new Bandcamp Friday. Go here to pre-order the bundle for a very attractive price of only 45 EUR (incl. worldwide postage).

TRANSITION UNIT – FACE VALUE
(cd, A New Wave Of Jazz Axis 2024)

TRANSITION UNIT is the brand-new trio of RODRIGO PINHEIRO (piano), JOSé LENCASTRE (alto and tenor sax) and DIRK SERRIES (archtop guitar).  When Dirk Serries flew to Portugal in 2023 at the invitation of José for a number of concerts in duo, he received an surprise invitation from Rodrigo for a studio session.
Rodrigo Pinheiro is a class act, a fantastic pianist who has earned his place in both classical free jazz and contemporary music with, among others, his magnificent RED TRIO and the collaborations with Rodrigo Amado, Hugo Costa (see also our release of the GARUDA TRIO featuring Rodrigo Pinheiro), etc.
José Lencastre was a logical choice to join Rodrigo and Dirk on this studio session. José Lencastre is a kindred spirit of Rodrigo and also a strong musician, on saxophone, who feels at home in both free jazz and free improvisation.  They both run the PHONOGRAM UNIT label.  TRANSITION UNIT is a trio that musically balances beautifully on the fine line between free improvisation, the more classic free jazz and even chamber music.

Listen the album and pre-order the album here.

TRANSITION UNIT celebrates the release of their debut at jazzclub PlusEtage (Baarle-Nassau, The Netherlands) on December 14th, 2024.  All info and tickets go here.

TONUS – ANALOG DEVIATION
(cd, A New Wave Of Jazz Axis 2024)

Connaisseurs of the label are most likely familiar with TONUS, the minimalist rotating ensemble curated by Dirk Serries.  6 years after TEXTURE POINT (find the album here) the trio configuration of MARTINA VERHOEVEN (piano), BENEDICT TAYLOR(viola) and DIRK SERRIES (archtop guitar) returns with a new album.  This session was performed and recorded at the home studio.  Still playing with the trademark pacing of TONUS, this album definitely takes a dive into more abstract and intense phrases as well – bringing a more musique-concrete and avant-garde feel to the timbre of Analog Deviation.  A must-have for all minimalist / abstract music admirers.

Listen the album and pre-order the album here.

LEMADI TRIO – CANONICAL DISCOURSE
(cd, A New Wave Of Jazz Axis 2024)

This is LEMADI TRIO‘s 2nd album for A New Wave Of Jazz.  The trio consists of JOSÉ LENCASTRE on alto sax, MARTINA VERHOEVEN on piano and DIRK SERRIES on archtop guitar.  On contrary to its debut on which Martina plays the electric Crumar piano, she plays the grand piano here.  Truly a game changer as the timbre is quite different from tis predecessor, with the clear and pristine acoustics at the home ‘Canonical Discourse’ is an album that furthermore expands the communcation between all 3 musicians into world of its own. LEMADI TRIO is definitely setting the bar for a trademark sound of the trio.  A challenge and a treat for the ears.

Listen the album and pre-order the album here.

MARTINA VERHOEVEN QUINTET – INDICATOR LIGHT
(cd, A New Wave Of Jazz Axis 2024)

“Almost a throwback to the glory days of 1970s Free Jazz, Driven’s one lengthy improvisation is played with fire and determination by a pan-European quintet. But with several generations of creative musicians now exploring that style, New Thing excesses have been pared to mature interaction. Consisting of Belgians, pianist Martina Verhoeven and guitarist Dirk Serries, Portuguese bassist Gonçalo Almeida, Dutch drummer Onno Govaert and British alto saxophonist Colin Webster, the five, who are each part of numerous bands, frame the narrative in sections, some of which are prestissimo and pressurized; while others are andante and acquiescent.  More than an historical aberration, Free Jazz improv has become part of the Jazz continuum. Here Martina Verhoeven’s quintet shows how well it can be done.” Jazzword 

Better than Ken Waxman’s thoughts on the quintet’s debut DRIVEN we can’t introduce MARTINA VERHOEVEN‘s quintet here.  After their incredibly powerful passage at the Roadburn Festival in 2022, the quintet played a release show (for this album) at the same venue, jazzclub Paradox in Tilburg (The Netherlands).  The quintet consists of MARTINA VERHOEVEN (grand piano), GONÇALO ALMEIDA(double bass), COLIN WEBSTER (alto sax), DIRK SERRIES (archtop guitar) and ONNO GOVAERT (drums).

Equally powerful as the quintet’s initial live performance but the jazz aspect dripped in a bit more, making the quintet more groovy and thematic.  What a live band !

Listen the album and pre-order the album here.