Composer, arranger, musician and teacher, Robert Len is not an ordinary musician. A virtuoso of an incredible amount of instruments, Robert is accomplished in many styles of music from Jazz, Big Band, Pop, to Classical and New Age.

On this album, he uses a unique combination of instruments which include the flugelhorn, trumpet, muted trumpet, classical and electric guitars, percussions and many flutes from his exotic personal collection.

He backs them up with samplings of 4 French horns and 4 trombones as he explores the jazz, pop and traditional worlds you will find in our choice of material. Playing all these instruments in his personal, romantic style, Robert reaches our emotions with his warm sound.

As a producer, it has been a wonderful experience for me to work with a musician of such range and talent. This project is a work of love. Give it a listen.

Robert Len – Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Muted Trumpet, Classical & Electric Guitars, Percussion and Flutes
Carole Meneghel – Strings

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The reed players of Calefax go on a musical road trip across the United States on An American Rhapsody. The program captures several iconic composers from different periods and backgrounds, ranging from Florence Price, Harry Burleigh, George Gershwin, Samuel Barber and Moondog to Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Stevie Wonder and Kinan Azmeh.

Taken together, these pieces reflect America’s kaleidoscopic diversity and its rich yet complex culture and history. The album is a declaration of love to a country that Calefax has frequently visited over the last two decades and continues to fascinate.

Calefax
Oliver Boekhoorn – Oboe, English Horn, Duduk
Bart de Kater – Clarinet
Raaf Hekkema – Alto Saxophone, Solo Vocals
Jelte Althuis – Bass Clarinet
Alban Wesly – Bassoon

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Help! highlights Len’s musical influences from the worlds of Jazz, Classical, Orchestral, and New Age music.  These genres are fused in a profoundly deep melodic voyage. Close your eyes and let yourself be transported and enveloped by love and tenderness.

All Instruments on Help! are Played by Robert Len
Acoustic, Classical and Electric Guitars, Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Native American Drum, Triangle, Moseno, Dudek, Handpan, Floor Tom with Brushes, Shekera, Low Whistle, Tar, Chajchas, Wind, Darbouka, Shaker

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Eijlander says “Philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) described the encounter between the organized philosophical world of the ancient Greek and the mystical, abstruse world of the East as a dark fire. This would have caused the enlightenment in Greek poetry.

It’s unclear what Heidegger really thought about it, but I found the mental image of a dark fire lit by this chance meeting beautiful and highly inspiring. For Heidegger, this was mainly about the East and West.  To me it’s about an encounter with the realms of other people’s experience, principally those of musicians. When two energies meet for the first time and are fully open to the experience, a new mirror image of themselves they have never seen before will arise.”

Joachim Eijlander – Cello
Kadir Sonuk – Duduk
Izhar Elias – Guitar
Helena Basilova – Piano
Vincent van Amsterdam – Accordion

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With exceptional talent and artistic finesse, he delivers an album in which each musical element selected is essential. In ‘Hope’ everything has its place. The intelligence of producer Perry’s production style is palpable. Len and Perry succeeded in creating an extraordinary acoustic balance in which the exclusion of one small component could compromise an arrangement’s effectiveness. Just as the addition of one ingredient could weigh it down.

Robert Len tells us “Hope’ is much more than merely the fruit of a second tight collaboration. We succeeded in developing a unique sound using 4 trombones, 4 French horns, a flugelhorn, trumpet, muted trumpet, various flutes, acoustic guitar, various electric guitars with country, rock, R&B styles, not to mention a variety of percussion instruments.”

Robert Len – Flugelhorn, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Classic Guitar, Trumpet, Percussion, Native American Flute, Dudek, Singing Bowls, Low Whistle, Vocals
Carole Meneghel – Vocals

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These texts, expressing spiritual longing in the terminology of physical desire, seem perfect for the music – even though it may be odd to express it that way around. The words are in three languages – English, Latin and Spanish; says Tulev: ‘The overlapping of languages works like a commentary, re-interpreting the original. When we aren’t listening to our principal language the process of translating forms a kind of gap between the object and the new language, and this gap is filled with interpretation even while we are listening to it. The process of translation gives time for this and raises the activity above the normal.’

The small orchestra includes recorder and duduk (a Eurasian wind instrument somewhat akin to the oboe). The duduk’s longing quality is well suited to the poems, and the players improvise embellishments, drawing on the background that they share with the composer) in early music performance. The work, which is dedicated to the writer, was premiered in October 2005 as part of the NYYD (‘NEW’) festival.

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