Tag: music

A NEW WAVE OF JAZZ GOES DIGITAL

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As from today on, after careful debate and in the light of the constant changing world economics (shipping costs, custom taxes, etc.), we are launching a new line of digital releases.  Music that has been on the waiting list for a physical release but the harsh reality caught us in speed.  We sincerely hope you’ll follow us in our vision and adapting to the circumstances around us but we want to keep our label alive and haven for the unique in free improvisation, avantgarde and free jazz alive and this is currently the way to proceed.  Each digital release comes in a stylish design, featuring the breathtaking photography of MARTINA VERHOEVEN. Thank you.

BENEDICT TAYLOR & DIRK SERRIES – GEOMETRIC FOLKLORE
(nwoj0070, A New Wave Of Jazz)

GEOMETRIC FOLKLORE is Benedict Taylor (viola) and Dirk Serries (guitar)’s third duo collaboration.  After their OBSIDIAN album for Creative Sources, they returned to the magnificent Oude Klooster chapel to record/perform this next phase in their ongoing duo dialogue.  And growth is clearly noted, two long form improvised pieces touching upon slightly different themes and tonalities.  Perhaps a bit less abstract that what we heard on their previous two albums and deliberately more harmonic and with a strict interplay between the two kindred spirits, re-inventing the folklore as you will.  

Benedict Taylor – viola
Dirk Serries – archtop guitar


Get your copy here : https://newwaveofjazz.bandcamp.com/album/geometric-folklore

GARUDA TRIO + RODRIGO PINHEIRO – LIVE AT SMUP
(nwoj0071, A New Wave Of Jazz)

Hugo Costa travelled back to his native country Portugal (he currently lives in The Netherlands) to play with some of his favorite musicians.  Their GARUDA TRIO doesn’t play often live because of the distance.  After their acclaimed album ’TONGUES OF FLAMES‘ featuring RODRIGO PINHEIRO , they set for playing the legendary SMUP venue.  Due to the miscalculation in the schedule, their concert was troubled by the rehearsals of a big band in the basement.  The quartet of Hugo Costa (alto sax), João Valinho (drums), Hernãni Faustino (double bass) and Rodrigo Pinheiro (piano) decided to amp up the volume and dynamics to at least match or even overpower the sound of the rehearsal band.  The concert became a celebration of life, injected with fire, heart, drama and joy, making the quartet grow as an unity.  And proud to release this excellent concert on A New Wave Of Jazz digital. 

Hugo Costa – alto saxophone
Rodrigo Pinheiro – piano
Hernâni Faustino – double bass
João Valinho – drums

Get your copy here : https://newwaveofjazz.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-smup

TRANSITION UNIT LIVE

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Last Saturday TRANSITION UNIT, the brand-new trio of RODRIGO PINHEIRO (piano), JOSÉ LENCASTRE (sax) and DIRK SERRIES (guitar), landed in jazzclub PlusEtage to promote their debut album FACE VALUE. Lovely audience, great vibe and Ben Taffijn of Nieuwe Noten was there and wrote a nice review. The photos are courtesy of Marcel Thomassen of PlusEtage and Jef Van den Broek.

“Enkele maanden geleden kwam het eerste album uit van Transition Unit, een trio bestaande uit saxofonist José Lencastre, pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro en gitarist Dirk Serries, op Serries’ label A New Wave of Jazz. Ik betoonde mij enthousiast over dit afwisselende ‘Face Value’. De opnames vonden overigens al in mei 2023 plaats in een studio in Portugal. Wat er sindsdien niet van kwam was optreden voor publiek, tot gisterenavond dus, als onderdeel van de serie concerten die Serries organiseert in samenwerking met de PlusEtage in Baarle-Nassau. Met deze twee musici in de buurt neemt Serries ook direct de kans waar om dezer dagen opnames te maken voor een tweede album.

In mijn verslag over het eerste album vallen termen als “abstract”, “weerbarstig” en “onstuimig”, naast dat er sprake is van “uiterst ingetogen klanken”. Zelfs word ik zo nu en dan melodische patronen gewaar. Het zijn etiketten die ik één op één ook op dit concert kan plakken, zo blijkt al snel. Neem die eerste set, die vrij voorzichtig, verkennend van start gaat met Lencastre en Pinheiro, die elkaar vrij goed kennen en samen ook deel uit maken van José Lencastre’s nau quartet, iets dat je goed terughoort tijdens dit concert. Serries biedt ondersteuning aan het bouwwerk dat hier langzaam maar geleidelijk vorm krijgt. Pinheiro en Serries dragen zorg voor de bedding, waar Lencastre zijn vaak opvallend melodieuze patronen overheen legt. Soms loopt het tempo op en overheerst de ritmiek, waar Lencastre met zijn felle klanken dan nog maar net doorheen weet te breken, maar vaak gaat het er ook veel meer ingetogen aan toe.  Een opvallend moment in de eerste set doet zich ongeveer halverwege voor: Pinheiro en Serries stappen over op een wat slepende ritmiek, de tot op dat moment heersende abstractie te niet doend. Aanleiding voor Lencastre, de gehele avond te horen op zijn altsax, om een enigszins getormenteerde, maar aantrekkelijke melodie te blazen. De spanning loopt wat op, de ritmiek krijgt een nog sterker meeslepend karakter. Uiteindelijk blijft louter Pinheiro over, met enkele noten een brug slaand naar een wederom meer abstracte frase. En ook nu loopt de spanning op en is het met name Lencastre die opvalt met zijn heftig, sputterende spel, aangevuurd door Pinheiro wiens handen zich razendsnel over de toetsen bewegen en Serries die zijn gitaar met de strijkstok bewerkt, een geluid producerend dat, zoals ik eerder opmerkte, meer wegheeft van een contrabas dan van een gitaar.

Het begin van de tweede set lijkt op die van de eerste, al zijn het nu Lencastre en Serries die aftrappen. Lang duurt het ingetogen spel hier niet, al snel schiet het trio weer vol in de actie en spreiden Pinheiro en Serries de loper uit voor Lencastres doldwaze uitspattingen. Prachtig hoe deze drie musici elkaar hier opstuwen tot grote hoogte, volledig verdiept in hun spel. En ook hier is abstractie weer het codewoord, al wil zeker Lencastre nog wel eens richting de melodie bewegen. Zoals gezegd, het gaat er ook regelmatig veel minder heftig aan toe. Zo horen we in die tweede set een prachtig ingetogen dialoog tussen Pinheiro en Serries, met karige klanken vindt er een boeiend vraag- en antwoordspel plaats. En als Lencastre zich er uiteindelijk bijvoegt, doet hij dat met een vrij donkere, sonore klank, er alles aan doend om dit fragiele bouwwerk aan te vullen, in plaats van te verstoren. Een aantal duetten tussen Pinheiro en Serries verderop in deze set sorteren hetzelfde effect. Telkens vormen die ook weer de opmaat tot meer hectische frases. Eén daarvan valt vooral op en dat is die waarin Serries wederom naar zijn strijkstok grijpt. Nu trekt hij deze zo strak over zijn snaren dat het eerder klinkt alsof hij planken aan het zagen is dan gitaar aan het spelen. Het vormt de opmaat tot één van de meest heftige momenten tijdens dit concert, een wervelstorm aan klanken trekt er door de zaal.” Ben Taffijn/Nieuwe Noten

LEMADI TRIO / MARTINA VERHOEVEN QUINTET

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UK’s Musique Machine just reviewed two of our latest releases with a 4 out of 5 stars rating for the LEMADI TRIO album. Both albums are of course available from our shop on bandcamp.

“4 out of 5 stars rating ! Canonical Discourse is a four-track journey into taut, tense, and largely angular improv. It’s a release that wonderful shifts and awkwardly shambles along- through the jarring, discordant, noisy and intense. The CD/ digital release appears on New Wave Of Jazz, and features two of the label’s key players- Dirk Serries who curates/ runs the label, and his wife Martina Verhoeven- he plays archtop guitar and she plays the grand piano. They are joined on alto sax by José Lencastre. Each of the four tracks has runtimes between eleven and fifteen-minute mark- with each of them having a fair bit of rewarding shift/ movement within their length. We open with the track “Detached Mode” which moves from taut maps of fluttering hisses, bounding piano hits, and guitar scarp ‘n’ manic pick. Onto slowly churning hazes of steadily horn fork ‘n’ boil, gloomy piano clunk, and broodingly guitar jangle/ clutter. As we move through the album we come to the longest track “Disjunction”. It opens with a jagged trail of manic neck picks, squawking horn tone, and bass-bound piano clunk ‘n’ dart. As we move on we shift into rapid string scrubs, speeding key runs, and cheeky to seared horn tone trailing. The album plays out with “Little Emphasis” which moves from hushed and drowsy blends of guitar pick drifts, compressed horn wonders, and steady-if-wavering key-clattering. Later on moving into mixes of darting-yet-gloom key shift, steady horn flirt, and baying to moodily rolling guitar tone detail. It’s fair to say I enjoy most of New Wave Of Jazz’s output- but Canonical Discourse really stood as something rather special to me. It’s down to its blend of engaging annularity, the feel of tense gloominess, and the constant shift/ development of each of the tracks here. As with all of this labels releases the CD has a pressing of just 200 copies- so I’d act sooner than later, if you enjoy where angularly and broodingly gloomy improv meets….”

“Indicator Light is a forty-three-minute improv/ free jazz recording which moves from briefly dwelling in the unease and gloomy. Before shifting gear to the pacey and angular, through to the woozy and careering. It’s a recording from a 2023 live show- with the whole set captured in an up-close, yet crystal-clear manner. The Martina Verhoeven Quintet brings together- Gonçalo Almeida – double bass. Onno Govaert -drums. Dirk Serries – guitar. Martina Verhoeven – grand pianoand Colin Webster – alto sax.The single 43. 32 track opens up grim and uneasy with lumbering bass stumbles,  moody guitar strums ‘n’ simmers, percussive slides, and driftingly forlorn sax trails. As we move on we go through intense runs of rapidly bounding keys, manic sax bays and wails, crashing drum lines, and untamed guitar strums. Though to cascading paino runs, pumped-up horn wail ‘n’ screams, searing cymbal rush, and guitar hiss ‘n’ clutter. As we move into the second half of the set we move from a bounding/ slight jarring groove, cut with baying horn rapidity, swirling piano key chaos. Though to manic bass run, key clunk, guitar buzz ‘n’ purr, and percussive sear ‘n’ shift. Indicator Light is a great pulse-pumping and mind-racing drive into the improv form. If you are in the mood for something largely firey, unforgiving, but eventful- this is a good fit.” Musique Machine – UK

MUSIQUE MACHINE

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UK’s MUSIQUE MACHINE just reviewed two of our 4 new albums. TONUS’ Analog Deviation proves to be a difficult album, although one of our faves over here at the office, but luckily compensated with the 4 out of 5 stars rated review of TRANSITION UNIT’s debut album ‘Face Value’. Both albums are available here.

“4 out of 5 stars rating! Face Value is an improv album that rewardingly shifts between darting angularity, glum moodiness, and pulse-pumping manic-ness. Transition Unit is a three-piece project- bringing together two Portuguese musicians saxophonist José Lencastre and pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro, with Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries. The CD release appears on New Wave Of Jazz- a label focusing on the more difficult/ noisy/ experimental side of the improv/ modern composition/ jazz genres. The CD comes presented in a four-panel mini monochrome gatefold- on its front cover, we have a photo of a twisted & turned mosque with a dense shadow beneath, and on the back cover minimal text.  This release is Ltd to 200 physical copies and can be purchased directly from here. The album takes in six tracks in all- which have runtimes between four and ten minutes. We open with “Idea Assumption” which brings together long grating bows & jarring neck picks, tip-taping to cascading keywork, and piping-at-points- almost sassily harmonic horn work. The tracks start things off in a rewardingly off-centre tone. As we move through the record we have the tinkling key darts, manic horn honks, and jagged strum ‘n’ bay of “A Western Decorative Pattern”- a great breathtaking, and heart-pounding track- which is akin to a massive caffeine, while trying to tap-dance.  There’s the title track-  which is a mix of creaking &  atmospheric pick/ twang, moodily baying horn tones, and taunt/ fraught key cascading. With the album playing out with the nearing eleven minutes of “The Utopian Dadaist”. It opens with a tautly woven sound mat of rapidly darting keys,  busy neck picks, and this sort of semi-galloping horn piping. As the track progresses the whole thing takes off in a wonderful manic/ speeding manner, before shifting through slowing deconstruction, and moody pipes, flirts, and bounds. As far as I can gather Face Value is the first release from Transition Unit – though of course all of the members have been active within the European improv/avant-jazz movement. And I must say it’s both a wonderful engaging album, which marvellously darts, twists, and broods… Let’s hope there is more to come from Transition Unit!.” Musique Machine – UK

“Analog Deviation takes in two twenty-five-to-thirty-minute examples of wandering, sparse, at times abstract or noisy improv.  Tonus is a three-piece collective bringing together Dirk Serries- Archtop guitar, Benedict Taylor- Viola, and Martina Verhoeven- grand piano. On the front cover of this CD album, we find a monochrome picture of what looks like the stone archway/ crude flint celling of a crypt, and there most certainly is a feeling of grim tone/ mood here, though equally, we get a feeling of discord/ lo-fi noise sourness too. The two tracks featured are simply titled “Inbound” and “Outbound”. The first tack slips into awkward audio existence with a pared-back/ lose mix of angular sting fork, guitar neck grate, and inside piano pick ‘n’ knock. By the eight-half-minute mark,  we’ve certainly moved into gloomier realms- as we find bleak key hits, eerie creaks, brooding twangs, and sinister plucks.  Before later on shifting into starker/pared-back mixes of grates, sears, knocks and sudden baying fumbles/bounds/ discordant scrabs. The second track is the longest of the two at nearly half an hour mark. We open with a decidedly loose/spaced-out mix of key plucks, drags ‘n’ creaks, and brooding key strikes/slides. By the ten-and-a-half-minute mark, we find a sparse/stretched-out flow of string scrab/ bay, crude textual bang ‘n’ knock, and circling creak ‘n’ death bed twang. Before later shifting into crude key descend,  neck scuttle, and dense fiddle ‘n’ grate. Analog Deviation very much sits at the more sparse, loose, and abstract side of the improv genre. I can certainly appreciate both the player’s talents, and what they are trying to do here- but more often than not it felt just a bit too pared-back/ awkward for my tastes.” Musique Machine – UK

TWO MORE REVIEWS

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EYAL HAREUVENI has been reviewing our releases almost since day one, for which we are really grateful. We need these voices out there to share the word that this music is alive. For SALT PEANUTS he just wrote two short reviews on LEMADI TRIO’s Canonical Discourse and TRANSITION UNIT’s Face Value in a feature on José Lencastre’s recent albums, collaborations and works.

TRANSITION UNIT – FACE VALUE
“Transition Unit is a newly-founded trio of Lencastre, Series and fellow Portuguese pianist Rodrigo Pinheiro (who plays in Lencastre’s Nau Quartet and of RED Trio), recorded at Estúdio Timbuktu in Lisbon in May 2023. Serries traveled to Portugal to play a few duo performances with Lencastre but then Pinheiro, who runs with Lencastre the Phonogram Unit label, surprised him and initiated a recording. Lencastre was a logical addition to this session, as he and Pinheiro are kindred souls and feel at home in such a free improvised format as on free jazz dynamics. The dynamics of this trio turned out to be mostly introspective and patient, almost chamber one, as Lencastre, Series and Pinheiro also correspond with the spacious Estúdio Timbuktu, but alternate with a few eruptions that experiment with thorny and tense frictions.”

LEMADI TRIO – CANONICAL DISCOURSE
“Lemadi Trio features Lencastre with Belgian pianist Martina Verhoeven (a gifted photographer who took the cover photo) and guitarist Dirk Serries (he and Verhoeven are partners in life in music). Canonical Discourse is the trio’s sophomore album, following Tryptophan Suite (A New Wave of Jazz Axix, 2023), and was recorded at Serries and Verhoeven’s home studio in Brecht in March 2024. The atmosphere is different from the trio’s debut album where Verhoeven played the vintage electric Crumar piano and leaned toward a chamber one. The four extended, free-improvised pieces deepen the slow-cooking, often fragile and sparse, but attentive and tension-filled dynamics of the trio, attuned to each sound and the most abstract timbres of the alto sax, archtop guitar and grand piano, with all the extended, breathing, bowing and percussive techniques. Lencastre provides the melodic core of these improvisations, contrasting the spiky guitar lines of Serries and the inside-the-piano percussive-resonant sounds of Verhoeven. A challenge and a treat for the ears.”