Playing Jazz is like building a sandcastle on the beach.” I once had such a conversation with Tony after a rehearsal. You remember how you built those sandcastles as a child, just madly building them, forgetting the time passing and not even hearing someone calling for you…..soon the waves come and wash away the sandcastle, but you don’t care. You’ll just build a new one tomorrow because the process of building is just so much fun.

Perhaps the same can be said of our rehearsals. As we come up with ideas, we deepen our understanding of the songs, explore our sound, and develop the music, just like scooping up handfuls of sand and pilling it up. However, just as even the most beautifully constructed sandcastle will eventually be swept away by the waves, our music evaporates into the air as soon as it is produced.

It is a transitory thing. We cannot keep the notes we played in rehearsals, nor do we need to play the same way again. Jazz is the music of improvisation, not the music of reproducing the same thing. With different ideas and spontaneous inventions, the same song is played differently each time. The process of creating music in this way is enjoyable and meaningful.

You may have noticed that the repertoire on this album features many songs composed by drummers, but are ironically played by our duo of piano and bass. Somehow, while playing their songs, I feel like traveling freely through a world without borders. Exotic melodies remind me of folk music from different regions, and as I listen to them, my mind wanders to the West, the East, and sometimes to my nostalgic homeland, Japan.

The day of the recording session was like a whole new page for us, with a fresh mind and a free spirit. Many of the songs on this album turned out to be unexpected performances that we could not have imagined during rehearsals. And….how lucky we are that our “sandcastles” did not disappear, only to be captured on this album through the recording!

Atzko Kohashi, Piano
Tony Overwater, Double Bass

The post A Drum Thing appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Intizar: Songs of Longing is exclusively available in Stereo and 5 Channel Surround Sound DSD at NativeDSD.Com

Motamedi, a celebrated singer in Iran, is a masterful improviser and has a head full of Iranian poetry – he gets inspired by the mood of the music and then chooses a poem to improvise freely over the music. This album contains pieces that fit the more spiritual, traditional Persian repertoire, as well as a number of more worldly songs on which the Rembrandt Trio is expanded into a larger ensemble, with violin, cello and clarinet. Thus, the collaboration between the Rembrandt Trio and Motamedi becomes an adventurous journey through the colorful Persian musical landscape, where musicians from different continents find a shared language in music and improvisation.

Motamedi & Rembrandt Trio

The Rembrandt Trio, consisting of Rembrandt Frerichs (piano), Tony Overwater (double bass/violone) and Vinsent Planjer (drums and percussion), shares a deep curiosity and wanderlust, and has successfully collaborated several times with Iranian grandmasters like Hossein Alizadeh and Kayhan Kalhor. Because of their jazz background, the trio has extensive experience in improvisation, which is essential to their successful collaborations with Iranians; improvisation plays a crucial role in traditional Persian classical music.

Motamedi’s approach is fascinating; upon hearing the trio’s first bars, he delves into his memory to find poems that fit the mood. He knows countless poems from the Persian canon, which he recites and sings, while freely improvising on the trio’s music and being rhythmically guided by the metre. The text is fixed, but the melody and music intertwine, responding to each other and allowing for plenty of improvisation.

The collaboration between Motamedi and the Rembrandt Trio grew out of a special friendship that began with a spontaneous jam session at Tony Overwater’s kitchen table. For the trio, which rarely works with vocalists, Motamedi’s presence adds an extra layer of meaning. Now, in addition to notes, there are also words that carry meaning, even if it is a foreign language to them. The trio faces the challenge of feeling, interpreting and translating the content of Motamedi’s vocals into their own playing.

(Songs of) Longing

The album was recorded before the recent uprisings in Iran. However, in retrospect, almost all of the lyrics Motamedi uses are directly or indirectly about the suffering of his beloved homeland. The title, “Intizar,” represents the longing for freedom and a better time. It is a word used in Turkish, Farsi and Arabic and expresses hopeful anticipation. This album symbolizes the inner struggle in Iranian culture while offering hope for a new era, a return to a freer and more open society.

Two worlds

‘Intizar’ contains both worldly and spiritual music, reflecting the two facets of modern Iranian culture. Iranian worldly music often includes popular songs from the regional tradition, complemented by Western instruments and playing styles. This album contains two pieces from the worldly tradition and four pieces more in keeping with the classical Persian tradition, characterized by the use of poetry combined with instrumental and vocal improvisation. The Rembrandt Trio and Motamedi interpret these styles in their own unique way, combining instruments from Western and ancient music.

Location

The album was recorded at the Orgelpark in Amsterdam, a former church converted into a concert hall for (church) organs. The venue’s diverse organs and exceptional acoustics, especially for chamber and organ music, made for the ideal place to record Motamedi’s vocals. The combination of organs with Motamedi’s improvisations is a rarity, making it a unique aspect of the album.

Instrumentation

The musical system of Persian music differs from the Western European system in that it is modal in nature and uses microtonal ranges, while European music uses harmony and tempered tuning. The piano, designed as a tempered instrument, is not ideal for microtonal music. Nevertheless, an Iranian piano school has emerged that experiments with the piano because of its similarity to the santur, a hammered dulcimer. In this, Rembrandt Frerichs has developed his own language by using the old fortepiano (from the time of Mozart) as a starting point. This instrument is more closely related to the santur and, because of its construction and more subtle sound, allows itself to be better used for the modal Persian ranges.

Rembrandt Frerichs played several instruments on this album: the Walter fortepiano (from 1790), an Erard fortepiano (from 1889) and a number of organs from the Orgelpark. For the piece “in the Middle of the garden,” he tuned the Walter fortepiano to the dasthgah Nava, using microtones. Tony Overwater uses both the violone, forerunner of the double bass and related to the viola da gamba, and the double bass on the album.

Vinsent Planjer plays a self-assembled set of percussion instruments that he calls the Whisperkit. Maya Fridman (cello), Maarten Ornstein (clarinet) and Myrthe Helder were invited to enrich some of the compositions and arrangements on the album with their playing.

Mohammad Motamedi – Vocals
Rembrandt Frerichs – Piano, Fortepiano & Organ
Tony Overwater – Violone & Double Bass
Vinsent Planjer – Whisper Kit & Percussion
Myrthe Helder – Violin
Maya Fridman – Cello
Maarten Ornstein – Clarinet

This album has been reviewed in our blog by music reviewer Rush Paul. Go To Article

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Pianist Atzko Kohashi and Double Bass player Tony Overwater return to NativeDSD with their new album titled Crescent.  The album on the Sound Liaison label is their tribute to the Music of John Coltrane.

Crescent is available in Stereo DSD 512, DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64 and DXD. The Stereo DSD 512 edition is exclusively available at NativeDSD. This is a DSD Exclusive, Not Available on SACD release.

The crescent moon, which reflects the sunlight and waxes day by day, is like a piece waiting to be fully formed. You do not only entrust your dreams but you set your sights and your hopes, looking forward to the future and preparing to take action.

‘Crescent’ was recorded in the midst of the pandemic in the Beauforthuis, a former church now acoustically optimized music venue in Austerlitz in the Netherlands. Inspired by John Coltrane’s Crescent, this exceptional recording displays two musicians bonding through a deep desire to passionately realize the beauty of these compositions. The extraordinary acoustics of the church, combined with the beauty of the surrounding snow-covered fields, helped set the mood for this impressive release.

Atzko and Tony tell us “In January 2021, whilst having a rehearsal for a coming recording session, we suddenly came up with the beautiful melody of Coltrane’s song Crescent. And there were more to come to our mind. From a young age, we deeply admired John Coltrane and listened to his music countless times, but somehow we’d never had an opportunity to play those songs before. And now, after all those years, each song sounded so fresh and new to us. Of course, it was quite a challenge to play Coltrane’s songs with just piano and bass, but when we tried, it fitted surprisingly well. There is always something new to discover. At the same time, we even felt our energies were recharged quietly from within.”

Atzko Kohashi, Piano
Tony Overwater, Double Bass

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A Wind Invisible Sweeps Us Through The World is the third album by The Rembrandt Trio on Just Listen. The Rembrandt Trio features Rembrandt Frerichs (Pianist and Composer), Tony Overwater (Bass) and Vinsent Planjer (Drums and Percussion). This is the trio’s third album at NativeDSD following their earlier releases Same Self, Same Silence and The Contemporary Fortepiano (linked below). (The booklet for this album states that it was recorded in DSD 256. It was recorded in DXD.) It is Exclusively Available at NativeDSD in Stereo and 5 Channel DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64 and DXD plus Stereo DSD 512.

A Wind Invisible Sweeps Us Through The World

The album title, taken from a poem by the 13th century Persian poet Rumi, tries to capture the universality of music and conveys how curiosity drives the trio to travel and incorporate motifs, themes, and experiences from all over the world into their work. The wind, air blowing through the pipes of the organ, the invisible waves of sound that shape a song – the driving force that inspires traveling, broadening horizons.

Transcending boundaries by way of a shared musical imagination

The three members of the Rembrandt Trio, after fifteen years of touring the world together, found themselves grounded in The Netherlands when the world came to a standstill in 2020. Known for their curiosity-driven approach to music, incorporating many different musical cultures into their work and collaborating with grandmasters from different countries and continents (most notably with Persian grandmasters Hossein Alizadeh and Kayhan Kalhor) – the trio was now forced to stay put, stop performing, travelling, and collaborating.

Recorded at Orgelpark, Amsterdam

This time of reflection made The Rembrandt Trio realize how all their journeys of the past fifteen years had shaped a shared musical vocabulary that all three could draw from – and a musical trust that they had come to cherish deeply. They decided to record an album of songs that brought into play these collective memories, a shared imagination in which they still traveled the world. In February 2021, they secluded themselves in a former church in Amsterdam, called Orgelpark, filled with antique organs, and recorded with Just Listen Records. On “A Wind Invisible Sweeps Us Through The World” they take the melody as their guide and drawing on their communal experience on stages across the globe, they play compositions that feel timeless, have a universal quality about them, and connect across cultures. Songs to transcend boundaries – those of eras and places – as a much-needed release in times of suspension.

Just Listen Records and the Rembrandt Trio would like to express their gratitude to Maene Pianos for the use of one of their wonderful instruments, and Orgel­park Amsterdam for letting us record in their space ­the acoustics reflecting back a history of sound.

Universal Songs

While touring venues all over the world, the trio discovered that some compositions shared a special kind of magic that translated wherever they were played. Often, the pieces were based on themes from different times and cultures – a Bach motif, a Chinese folk song, a whiff of Armenian folklore. Beautiful, strong melodies that touched audiences no matter their background or culture. Like fairy tales told all over the world might have different characters but share the same plot: What it is to be human. The trio decided they wanted to create this kind of ‘universal’ music, keeping it concise and powerful – with melodies that have a universal quality, touching listeners everywhere. For this album, they chose strong, timeless melodies to try and transpose into song what we all share – our being human.

“When you have shared the stage for as long as we have, you become part of each other’s development, both as musicians and as people.”

Rembrandt Trio
Rembrandt Frerichs – Pianist and Composer
Tony Overwater – Bass
Vinsent Planjer – Drums and Percussion

The post A Wind Invisible Sweeps Us Through The World appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Virgo by the Kohashi-Overwater-Verploegen Trio is the latest release at Native DSD Music from Sound Liaison. It is a 2 Track Analog Recording that has been transferred to DXD and DSD by Sound Liaison.

The Kohashi-Overwater-Verploegen Trio is a Jazz group that creates a unique sound, standing on an equal footing with each other. Atzko Kohashi from Japan, joins two Jazz favorites from the NativeDSD Catalog – Tony Overwater and Angelo Verploegen from the Netherlands in this musical combo.  Beyond ethnicity and nationality, they seek and discover their own sound sharing a passion for music.

Japanese pianist Atzko Kohashi had something special in mind when she invited Dutch bass player Tony Overwater to join her for a musical encounter. She longed to create a unique unit of bass harmony and melody with each voice being equal and contributing selflessly to the music. Her vision is connected to Japanese Zen aesthetics that generate simplicity and spontaneity. With trumpet player Angelo Verploegen they found their match – a soloist who can blend in, shine, and support the music all at the same time.

On a cold winter day, they met in an empty church in Amsterdam and started playing. For hours. Instantly the delicate sound of these three instruments blended into gentle and generous music that warmed their hearts.

A few months later, they recorded their debut album Virgo in the only way possible for such collaboration. In a beautiful radio studio from the 1930’s, with a great sounding Steinway, only a few microphones but of the utmost quality and recorded directly to a 2 Track Analog Tape Recorder before a live audience. The three instruments blended into one sound, telling a story together.

Virgo originally appeared on the Jazz In Motion label as a Stereo CD. It is now available on the Sound Liaison label at NativeDSD in Stereo DSD 512, DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64 and DXD.

Album Producer Peter Bjornild says “Virgo by the Kohashi-Overwater-Verplogen Trio is the first release in a new series of albums licensed from Rhapsody Audiophile Recordings (RAR). RAR is an initiative of audiophile audio guru Harry van Dalen, producer, and high-end tuning expert Michael van Polen and Prix Europa awarded recording engineer and Frans de Rond.

RAR records direct to a 2 track Studer A80 tape recorder. Using a completely analog signal chain, RAR generates an organic, natural sound with a visible sound stage. Harry and Michel also run the Rhapsody high end music shop in Hilversum, the Netherlands. Since 1988 Rhapsody has been the expert in high-end residential audio reproduction systems.

Specialized in tuning, Harry and Michael are known to be able to combine different audio components resulting in top sets exceeding all expectations. Prior to release, most Sound Liaison recordings are given a last test drive at the shop as Harry’s and Michael’s critical ears and constructive feedback continues to be of great importance to our mastering process. So, it is with great pride and joy that I welcome Rhapsody Audiophile Recordings to the Sound Liaison Label.”

Atzko Kohashi adds “Looking up at the night sky, we can see the Virgo constellation lies in the southern direction. Virgo is the sixth astrological sign in the Zodiac and the Goddess of Innocence and Purity in Greek mythology. The word ‘Virgo’ means virgin in Latin and the Virgo symbol is designed to depict Virgin – innocence and purity. Innocence and purity are also important elements for Japanese aesthetics, which generate simplicity and freshness. You see it in many classic Japanese art forms such as choreography, ink brush paintings, Ikebana (art of flower arrangement), Sado (tea ceremony), Noh (the oldest Japanese theatrical art), etc. Innocence and purity also encourage artists’ creativity and spontaneity.

Here is a well-known quote by Zeami (1363-1443), a Japanese Noh actor, playwright, poet, and aesthetician, in his treatise for the sake of art Kakyo (A Mirror of the Flower). “Never forget Shoshin.” Shoshin (初心) is a word from Zen Buddhism meaning ‘beginner’s mind’ which refers to the initial feelings or impression at the first step. Zeami suggests that one must approach life with a beginner’s mind, with an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions.

I think Shoshin is connected to innocence and original purity of mind. Zeami’s wisdom applies to any type of art form in the current era, of course to jazz as well. I understand this quote to mean “Never lose your initial enthusiasm. Keep your mind open just like a beginner and renew yourself.”

And here we are. For this album we have played our longtime favorite songs composed by our beloved predecessors whom we adore and have respect for. You can also hear our original songs that are deeply rooted in jazz spirit. And what is more, just like the old times, we have recorded the album on analog, which is the purest way for the recording to capture the moment. Throughout this live recording (with audience) we were forced to venture into playing no matter what happened. One shot deal. No more takes, no editing – very pure and honest, with so much presence. We hope you can enjoy our musical world view.”

Kohashi-Overwater-Verplogen Trio
Atzko Kohashi – Piano
Tony Overwater – Double Bass
Angelo Verploegen – Flugelhorn

The post Virgo appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

‘Same Self, Same Silence’ documents the unique collaboration between the Iranian grandmaster Hossein Alizadeh and the Dutch Rembrandt trio. In an ancient church, Persian melodies and oriental scales intermingle with echoes of jazz – all played on a set of one of a kind instruments.

Invited by the famously inquisitive jazz pianist Rembrandt Frerichs, the prominent lute-player Hossein Alizadeh transports melodies from Iran into a space where all four musicians bring their own traditions and backgrounds into play. Vinsent Planjer, Tony Overwater, Rembrandt Frerichs and Hossein Alizadeh play instruments especially built for them or collected from musical eras past, to find a common language in music.

On ‘Same Self, Same Silence’ – a line lifted from a famous Iranian poem – we can hear how, when we dare to immerse ourselves in a different culture, we discover new horizons.

About the project, and why there is no DSD for this one…

Same Self, Same Silence was recorded by Jared Sacks of Channel Classics & NativeDSD Music in DSD 256 back in 2017. The project underwent minimal post production and was finished, but then a hard drive failure (and a loss of a backup) resulted in our DSD files being lost forever.

Feeling very sad and at a loss, we had to get it out of our heads, until a 44.1 render of the final track selections was discovered on a different hard drive. This has been used to press a CD, and offer a download in that resolution, so at least this beautiful music would see the light of day and can be enjoyed over the world.

Hossein Alizadeh – Shurangiz
Rembrandt Trio
Rembrandt Frerichs – Fortepiano & Harmonium
Tony Overwater – Violone
Vinsent Planjer – Whisperkit

Project Making-of by Jonas Sacks 

Het Parool, December 2020

Trouw, December 2020

(Only available in PCM Wav download or Physical CD, unfortunately this music is not available in DSD)

The post Same Self, Same Silence appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Blue notes bend – off beat, back beat. Could you pass me the ball please? I bathe into its belly, in the warmth of ebony.
Sing!

Let’s plunge into the mouthpiece, into the stutter of reeds. Through the tube of the target man, to the spitting of chant.

The post Jungle Boldie appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

This collection features fully re-mastered recordings of some of the most innovative and moving music in the world. The 14 tracks range from Beethoven’s “5th”, Allegro con brio, to Maarten Ornstein’s Quicksie from Jungle Boldie. What unites the pieces is the pure experience that they offer.

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Oscar Pettiford died in 1960 in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the age of only 37, which is not an acceptable reason for the fact that his music and playing are not on many lips these days. Oscar Pettiford was taken away from us way too soon, but his music lives on. Therefore Turtle Records is very pleased to be able to present Tony Overwater’s personal and contemporary tribute to both OP’s playing and compositions with Maarten Ornstein, Wim Kegel, Ernst Reijseger and Ack Van Rooyen.

Tony Overwater – Bass
Maarten Ornstein – Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet
Wim Kegel – Drums
Ernst Reijseger – Cello (Tracks 5, 6, 10)
Ack Van Rooyen – Flugelhorn (Tracks 2, 4, 6, 7)

The post Op: Tribute To Oscar Pettiford appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Tony Overwater is an award-winning bass player whose sound and unique way of playing have established him as a key player in the European music world. He is a remarkable solo performer and leader of his own projects but also a collaborative and attentive sideman.

Up Close was recorded in the Mennonite Church in Amsterdam, which means that the recording ‘breathes’ and Overwater’s bass sounds closer than ever. This album also features Yuri Honing & Maarten Ornstein.

The audiophile perfectionism would be wasted effort if the music was mediocre, but Overwater plays with surrender and subtlety. And he knows a standard like When I Fall In Love to build into a solo piece with a tension that is many times longer than that of the original. For eight of the ten songs on Up Close, Overwater invited the horny windsmen Maarten Ornstein (SFEQ) and Yuri Honing (Yuri Honing Trio) for a duet.

It concerns two very different musicians and that is best illustrated by the two versions of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, which Overwater recorded with both of them separately. The `seeker‘ Honing experiments with sound, tone, and tempi. Ornstein’s style is much more lyrical and in his `conversations’ with Overwater an almost naturally harmonious balance is created.

Up Close is a Stereo DSD 64 recording that was originally available on Stereo CD.  The CD edition of the album is no longer in print.  But listeners can enjoy it today in its original Stereo DSD 64 resolution from NativeDSD. It is a DSD Exclusive, Not Available on SACD release. 

Tony Overwater – Bass
Yuri Honing – Tenor Sax
Maarten Ornstein – Bass Clarinet & Tenor Sax

The post Up Close appeared first on NativeDSD Music.