Paul van Kemenade and guests: No Way Station

Reviews

Cadence (USA): The vivid creativity of writing struck me immediately: the title track (No Way Station) uses seven instruments in such varied, shifting ways that they at times sound like two small groups going in parallel but contrasting directions, sometimes like a shouting big band over funk-driven rhythms. It is a change from the usual ensemble-soloist format, and it hints at everything from Parker and Gil Evans back to New Orleans street music. On the duets between Van Kemenade and pianists Busch or Braam, the leader suggests that he would have fit into a gospel group or a Ray Charles big band. Intense and sometimes rough, his playing hints at a fierce version of Phil Woods. Occasionally Van Kemenade’s lines are repetitive in the manner of Steve Reich, but he never stays stuck in one groove. The closing three selections are explorations of the possibilities for Jazz soloists and strings: they are alluring but not sweet, intriguing without being aggressively dissonant.Thrilling.

Jazzmozaiek (B): * * * * * ( top cd ) Een juweeltje, een beklijvend werkstuk dat ons door de nachtelijke straten laat dwalen van Buenos Aires, New York of….Tilburg misschien?

Brabants Dagblad (NL): Er zijn weinig altsaxofonisten in Nederland die zo lekker kunnen grommen op hun instrument als Paul van Kemenade. Zijn rauwe geluid en tegelijk lyriche spel.

Muziekpodia.nl: Vereenzelvigd met zijn sax; diversiteit aan muziekstukken. Fenomenaal poject en durabel visitekaartje.