"... Saxophonist Iman Spaargaren whose deeply spiritual sound suits the romantic nature of Chopin's music very well ... I like this sort of hybrid treatment a great deal, as it demonstrates previously hidden vitality within the music, which is by no means dead ... this is also a great recording, of music which never sounded like this before, but I'm sure that Chopin would have approved" (Hificritic, Jan Feb Mar 2017).
StarkLinnemann
Transcending Chopin, Volume II & III
StarkLinnemann
"This is a double album from a Netherlands-based band co-led by drummer Jonnas Linnemann and pianist Paul Stark, accompanied by other musicians like Greek bass player Vasilis Stefanopoulos, and in Vol III saxophonist Iman Spaargaren whose deeply spiritual sound suits the romantic nature of Chopin's music very well.
Both are interpretations of Frederic Chopin's music: Vol. II, performed as a trio, covers the composers famous late
Piano Sonata No. 3 (Opus 58). The crucial point is to not to throw the baby out with the bath water, and respect the composer's intentions and the fragility of the original. Here Linnemann has done a wonderful job.
Vol. III covers Chopin's
Cello Sonata Op. 65. I like this a lot, as it shows the unsuspected dance potential that exists in Chopin's music. This is something which the classical world has always ignored, but Jazz improvisors approach musical heritage in a completely different way, and this can have such unexpected results. A good earlier example is maybe what pianist Jacques Loussier did with the music of Bach, Vivaldi, Ravel and Chopin.
I like this sort of hybrid treatment a great deal, as it demonstrates previously hidden vitality within the music, which is by no means dead. It keeps appealing to new generations, and always in different ways. Of course something of the same also happens in the classical music domain, and the observation that upcoming generations of musicians re-read notes differently is simply a sign of the changes that time brings. Incidentally, this is also a great recording, of music which never sounded like this before, but I'm sure that Chopin would have approved" (Hificritic, Jan Feb Mar 2017).
