The Iman Spaargaren Quintet offers free spirited chamber jazz music with polyphonic melodies and complex sounds, various textures and rhythmic parameters. Spaargaren creates layered arrangements with tenor saxophone, violin, clarinet, recorder, guitar and drums using polyphony, counterpoint and leitmotif.
Iman Spaargaren, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Dodó Kis, recorder, bass recorder
Jasper le Clercq, violin
Paul Pallesen, guitar
Yonga Sun, drums
The band members are known for their own distinctive sound and approach to various types of music. For example, recorder player Dodó Kis not only conjures up playful melodies but also plays bass lines by using a bass recorder. Jasper le Clercq is known for his outstanding improvisational skills: his violin sings and growls. Paul Pallesen and Yonga Sun form the rhythm section of guitar and drums providing solid grooves as well as creative input for free improvisations.
Iman Spaargaren wrote a special arrangement for this group to celebrate the 50-years anniversary of BIM (Beroepsvereniging Improviserende Musici) in 2022. The arrangement concerns a triptych that describes the rise, bloom and decline of Europe in the 21st century. WWII as the catalyst of the European project, Brexit and Orbán as the concrete rot in the ivory tower of Brussels. Capturing sociological themes, politics and tensions in contemporary society in music is considered his motto by Spaargaren.
The composition has orchestral sections with classical themes, compelling free funk grooves, dreamy soundscapes and abrasive free improv. The use of acoustic instruments in this intriguing combination offers a wide variety of sounds and colors.
As a composer and arranger, Spaargaren has a lot of experience writing for various instrumentations, large and small. The latest release 'Everything Seems Different' on Zennez Records from the Undercurrent Orchestra (December 2021) is a recent milestone.
www.imanspaargaren.nl
Iman Spaargaren Kwintet at Transition Festival 2022 / TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht
