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Marta Warelis / Frank Rosaly / Aaron Lumley / John Dikeman: Sunday At De Ruimte

By Mark Corroto
June 17, 2021
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Marta Warelis / Frank Rosaly / Aaron Lumley / John Dikeman: Sunday At De Ruimte

Is it a pilgrimage or just magnetism that draws improvising artists to Amsterdam? If you've read Kevin Whitehead's book New Dutch Swing (Billboard Books, 1998), you'll understand the open atmosphere and creative jazz scene which began there in the 1960s. It was a scene sown by America's New Thing in free jazz, but also one that developed its own unique language that incorporated

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington and

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk. Amsterdam was also the intersection between the UK scene of

Derek Bailey

guitar
1932 - 2005

" data-original-title="" title="">Derek Bailey and

Evan Parker

saxophone, soprano
b.1944

" data-original-title="" title="">Evan Parker and Germany's FMP Records with the likes of

Peter Brötzmann

woodwinds
1941 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Br?tzmann,

Peter Kowald

bass, acoustic
1944 - 2002

" data-original-title="" title="">Peter Kowald and

Alexander von Schlippenbach

piano
b.1938

" data-original-title="" title="">Alexander von Schlippenbach. It gave birth to such giants as

Han Bennink

drums
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Han Bennink,

Wilbert de Joode

bass, acoustic
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Wilbert de Joode,

Misha Mengelberg

piano
1935 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Misha Mengelberg, and

Willem Breuker

saxophone
1944 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Willem Breuker.

Fast forward to the 21st century and the scene that is Amsterdam continues to attract creative talent, evidenced by this live recording from the 2020 Doek Festival. The quartet is made up entirely of expatriates. Pianist

Marta Warelis

piano
b.1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Marta Warelis (Michael Moore, Ab Baars) is from Poland, double bassist

Aaron Lumley

bass, acoustic

" data-original-title="" title="">Aaron Lumley (

Jasper Stadhouders

guitar, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">Jasper Stadhouders,

Onno Govaert

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Onno Govaert) from Canada, and drummer

Frank Rosaly

drums
b.1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Rosaly (

Dave Rempis

saxophone
b.1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Rempis, All Ellington) and saxophonist

John Dikeman

saxophone, tenor
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">John Dikeman (Cactus Truck, Jaime Branch) are American. All four artists have chosen to make The Netherlands their creative base of operations.

These four leaderless improvisations are packed with accelerants, meaning the music is a kind of touch paper of sonic combustion. The concert begins with the almost benign "Juniper Fields." Bowed bass and twinkling piano are accented by Rosaly's cymbals. Dikeman's saxophone probes and explores avenues of sound, careful not to turn the track into a skirmish. That would come later. Let's credit the environment for the democratization of this meeting. Solos are equally shared. Lumley's broad shouldered bass attack on "Masquerade Charade" on the recordings longest track gives way to a spike of energized free jazz. While this energy path is trodden, the quartet constantly restore the balance, and the dialogue between all four remains polished and civil. Not an easy feat for a free jazz quartet.

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Track Listing

Juniper Fields; Masquerade Charade; Lake Perfidy; Post War Fiction.

Personnel

Marta Warelis

piano

Frank Rosaly

drums

Aaron Lumley

bass, acoustic

John Dikeman

saxophone, tenor

Album information

Title: Sunday At De Ruimte | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Tractata Records

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