Ray Anderson (trb) – Han Bennink (drs) – Frank Möbus (g) – Ernst Glerum (b) – Paul van Kemenade (as) (USA-Germany-NL) cd: WHO IS IN CHARGE?
Created in december 2007 by altosaxophonist Paul Van Kemenade after a carte blanche concert he did at the ‘Bim Huis’in Amsterdam. This very first concert of this international quintet had been broadcasted by VPRO radio and television and one of the songs played that night (Ellington’s In a sentimental mood) has been released on the cd / dvd Two horns and a bass in 2008. The cd / dvd received overwhelming (inter) national reviews. Since 2008 Anderson-Bennink-Möbus-Glerum-Van Kemenade yearly come together for two tours to play compositions of each other. In 2011 they released the cd Who is in charge?
An international great jazzband with American tromboneplayer Ray Anderson( five times Downbeat Poll winner ) – European Jazzaward winner drumlegend Han Bennink – and Boy Edgar Prize winner bassist Ernst Glerum – and Boy Edgar Prize winner altoist Paul Van Kemenade from the Netherlands (whose cd ‘Close Enough’ was chosen by Downbeat as one of best cd’s 2011).
Reviews
The Guardian (UK): **** Vortex, London 2010. Alto saxophonist Paul van Kemenade’s good-humoured jazzband sounded, on its vivacious Vortex visit, like a contemporary jazz band to its fingertips. Some of it suggested what a Charles Mingus group might have become, but there was nothing retro about this show. The great Dutch drummer Han Bennink smiling ecstatically, and sustaining a more emphatically propulsive pulse with the brushes than most drummers manage with sticks.The leader’s bop-rooted alto lines and Anderson’s remarkable repertoire of hard-blown accents, rich long sounds, swarming-bee noises and slithery elisions developing it over Glerum’s booming bass-walk. Van Kemenade’s quiveringly tender tone and delicately inviting phrasing led his own Close Enough, before an effusively Cuban groove closed the set. A similarly impish second half included a long-lined Anderson theme reminiscent of the cool-bop guru Lennie Tristano, more languorously Mingus-like hip swing broken up by Möbus’s shards of abstract guitar sound, and bursts of ensemble clamour as convivial as an old New Orleans band.
LondonJazz (UK): This multinational jazzband clearly love each other’s musicial company; the smiles on their faces said it all – Anderson couldn’t help grinning all the way through, Glerum beamed as the band settled in, and Bennink’s irrepressible laughter and whoops were just part of his rich repertoire. This ensemble has a natural ability to vary the pace, and swing from one gear to another in the blink of an eye. Anderson’s understated masterclass on slide trombone was an exposition of its full range and tonal richness – acknowledging, in this context, JJ Johnson’s and Mangelsldorff’s small groups – counterpoised perfectly by Van Kemenade’s alto, batting licks mixed with precise duets, and pushing out growls straight from the Mingus canon. Bennink, wicked as ever, cooked up a rich stew of light clatterings, all manner of brushwork and sharp attacks – astonishingly, on a single snare drum. Glerum’s practiced bass often set the tone, blending with Möbus’s carefully placed chordwork.
JazzTimes (USA): Berlin Jazz Festival 2010
Outta’ New Jersey came trombonist Ray Anderson, a repeat visitor to this festival over the years. Anderson showed up one night at the club Quasimodo in a great band led by fine Dutch alto saxophonist Paul van Kemenade and witty Dutchman Han Bennink on drums … well, a single snare, to be precise, played colorfully with brushes, sticks and the occasional shoe.
Ruhrnachrichten (BRD): One of the highlights of the Berlin JazzFest 2010.