Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Baars Buis Deman: Cecil's Dance

Baars Buis Deman: Cecil's Dance

By Mark Corroto
February 11, 2024
View read count

Ab Baars

clarinet

" data-original-title="" title="">Ab Baars has come to be one of the deans of Dutch jazz, which of course is mostly centered around Amsterdam. He can be heard in large settings such as the Instant Composers Pool, in duo with his partner

Ig Henneman

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Ig Henneman, or performing with the anarcho-punk band The Ex. Trombonist

Joost Buis

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Joost Buis joined Baar's quartet for the

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington tribute Kinda Dukish (Wig, 2005) and later in duo for Moods For Roswell (wig, 2020), a salute to the trombonist

Roswell Rudd

trombone
1935 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Roswell Rudd.

On Cecil's Dance, with the addition of

Berlinde Deman

tuba

" data-original-title="" title="">Berlinde Deman's tuba, Baars and Buis become a trio. Deman is probably best known as a member of the big band, Flat Earth Society. She also performs here on the serpent, a 16th-century precursor of the tuba. It looks very much like a sinuous snake and sounds like a cross between a bassoon and a euphonium.

The byproduct of the Baars Buis Deman collaboration presents us with a chamber jazz ensemble with a compact marching band attitude, sprinkled with free improvisation magic dust. The music can be the soundtrack to an animated cartoon, such as "For John" which could easily be the surreal action soundtrack where Bugs Bunny is being stalked by Elmer Fudd. "Faintly White," with Baars swapping his clarinet for shakuhachi, mimics a forest of birds with their varied call-and-response songs. The approach here is variable and Baars Buis Deman find a comfortable balance throughout the ten tracks. The trio ranges from the clarinet exorcism of Baars "Jackdaw" to the lamentations of "Lounge des dames." Deman's tuba compliments both Buis' trombone and Baar's clarinet on Rodgers & Hammerstein's "This Nearly Was Mine," which is presented with a small group Ellington sound. The versatility of this trio gives ithe breath to the track "Shuffle For Tristan" and the presentation of Dutch poet Johnny van Doom's (Johan van Doorn) futurist-sounding poem "Portret van de Selfkicker." Just when you think Baars Buis Deman will zig, they zag.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

For John; The Sky and the Sea; Kikiriki; This Nearly Was Mine; Shuffle for Tristan; Jackdaw; Portret van de Selfkicker; Faintly White; Cecil's Dance; Louange des dames.

Personnel

Ab Baars

clarinet

Joost Buis

trombone

Berlinde Deman

tuba

Additional Instrumentation

Ab Baars: shakuhachi; Berlinde Deman: serpent.

Album information

Title: Cecil's Dance | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Wig

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Jonesville
< Previous

Best of 2023 Mohini Dey, The Devine ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.