Undercurrent in Corona time
'Jazz is fun', legendary drummer and bandleader Art Blakey once said. But that is no longer the case these days. Jazz doesn't have to have its roots in America either. Jazz no longer needs to swing. Improvisation stays of course. But jazz musicians want to make music as a sound image of our times. And this is a time marked by Corona. Performing was not allowed. Income has dried up. Not a happy time.
In a year and a half, reed player Iman Spaargaren composed eleven pieces that reflect his different moods: works about fear and hope, boredom and inspiration, sadness and pleasure. He saw the opportunity to record them with his Undercurrent Orchestra on the CD 'Everything Seems Different'. A multicolored Amsterdam sextet, formed by clarinettist Spaargaren, trumpeter Gerard Kleijn, trombonist Joost Buis, cellist Annie Tangberg, guitarist Guillermo Celano and drummer Marcos Baggiani. 'A contemporary jazz ensemble', says Spaargaren.
The opening song 'Ja Wat Bedoel Ik' immediately tells what the composer had to deal with. That questioning uncertainty continues in 'Strange How Everything Seems Familiar and yet Different at the Same Time'. I hear fading sounds of festivities. In 'Los Zapatos' there is latin. In 'Scene Interrupted by Incoming Phone Call' the excellent musicians are given the opportunity to blow apart their harmonious unity. And that disharmony returns in 'Waltz for Undecided Minds and the Art of Decision Making'. Spaargaren writes beautiful melodies and they surely resonate, but it is not the right time for it. Finally, the Undercurrent Orchestra gives their version of the indestructible Realbook song 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes', a song from the 1933 Jerome Kern musical 'Roberto', also not a happy time, but it evokes romantic feelings in the listener. ..
Zennez Records ZR2109020 (Klaas Koopman, De Nieuwe Muze)
