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Truffles

Artvark Saxophone Quartet

Truffles

Format: CD
Label: Challenge Records
UPC: 0608917329520
Catnr: CR 73295
Release date: 04 January 2010
1 CD
 
Label
Challenge Records
UPC
0608917329520
Catalogue number
CR 73295
Release date
04 January 2010
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
DE

About the album

Artvark Saxaphone Quartet
Rolf Delfos: Alto sax / Bart Wirtz: Alto sax / Mete Erker: Tenor sax /
Peter Broekhuizen: Baritone sax

Is not profound beauty most striking when this beauty has arisen from sincere and genuine emotions? When what is conceived in the minds of earthlings is being perceived as higher art by its audience? Do we want to ignore the rancidity of the artist or is his compulsive quest through fire and brimstone a profoundness in its own right? A heavenly result through earthly perseverance. Rooting through mud for that one exquisite truffle.

What is the power of Artvark? All four members combine their love for jazz with tremendous feel for groove & soul and all four have performed at the highest level: check the individual bios. ASQ plays original compositions and arrangements written by the members, which demonstrate the versatility and originality of Delfos, Wirtz, Erker and Broekhuizen. The quartet plays with great agility and move around the stage: all music is played by heart and some of it is quite complex, we can tell you! This gives an extra dimension to the music, since they can concentrate on the moment, the audience and on each other, which opens up new possibilities everytime they play.

A heavenly result through earthly perseverance. Rooting through mud for that one exquisite truffle. Artvark is a phantastic and passionate saxophone quartet and this is their second cd and debut on Challenge Records!
Nur wenige Saxophonquartette gibt es heute noch, und eigentlich könnte man denken, die Formation sei aus der Mode gekommen. Aber hier stemmen sich vier der Besten des Instruments gegen den Trend. Mit feinen Eigenkompositionen und ein paar ausgewählten Covern: `Children's Songs` von Chick Corea und zwei Titel von Abdullah Ibrahim sind dabei - eine Herausforderung an die Arrangeure der Band. Das Ergebnis ist nicht - wie häufig in der Vergangenheit bei Saxquartetten der Fall - der Versuch, möglichst viele Töne pro Titel zu spielen, und das möglichst höher, schneller & weiter, sondern vielmehr, eine Stimmung entstehen zu lassen. Und das gelingt eher mit einem bedachtvollen Umgang mit dem Material. Dass zudem der Sound stimmt, dafür sorgte das mittlerweile zur Creme in Deutschland aufgestiegene Studio `Fattoria Musica`/Osnabrück.

Artist(s)

Bart Wirtz

One of the finest young saxophonists in Europe today, Bart Wirtz has a flexible and versatile style that ranges from hard bop to freer explorations. A logical extension of such giants as Jackie McLean, Frank Morgan and Art Pepper among others, Wirtz has his own sound and open-minded approach to playing jazz. Born in the Netherlands, he attended the Rotterdam Conservatory, winning several honors (including the Erasmus Jazz Prize, the Leiden Jazz Award and the Breda Jazz Prize) while in the conservatory. Wirtz graduated in 2002 and then spent a half-year in New York. Returning to Amsterdam, he became very busy with his career and has not stopped since. Bart Wirtz has become an important member of five different jazz...
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One of the finest young saxophonists in Europe today, Bart Wirtz has a flexible and versatile style that ranges from hard bop to freer explorations. A logical extension of such giants as Jackie McLean, Frank Morgan and Art Pepper among others, Wirtz has his own sound and open-minded approach to playing jazz. Born in the Netherlands, he attended the Rotterdam Conservatory, winning several honors (including the Erasmus Jazz Prize, the Leiden Jazz Award and the Breda Jazz Prize) while in the conservatory. Wirtz graduated in 2002 and then spent a half-year in New York. Returning to Amsterdam, he became very busy with his career and has not stopped since. Bart Wirtz has become an important member of five different jazz groups. The Young Sinatras is a ten-piece band that includes singer Paul van Kessel. Monsieur Dubois is quite a bit different in style, mixing together funk, soul jazz, jungle beats and Afro grooves. Monsieur Dubois has thus far recorded two CDs for Challenge: Ruff and Soul Integration. The Artvark Saxophone Quartet gives Wirtz another separate area of music to explore. The a capella quartet, grooves while also being open to playing free and adventurous solos and ensembles without the comfort of a rhythm section. Wirtz describes the 16-piece Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra as “the best young Dutch musicians in one big band conducted by Johan Plomp.” With his previous album iDreamer he won a Edison Jazzism Audience award in 2012.

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Artvark Saxophone Quartet

After two years of preparation and hard solid work behind the scene, ARTVARK SQ shows itself in 2004 to the world at the Jazzfestival in Amersfoort (NL). Innovating own compositions, jazz-soloists with distinctive own styles and the adventurous groove of four saxophones. Rolf Delfos (alto/soprano), Bart Wirtz (alto), Mete Erker (tenor) and Peter Broekhuizen (baritone) produce with their different backgrounds an unanimous, creative and original sound: THE SOUND OF ARTVARK. After a flying start at Dutch Jazzfestivals and the overwhelming reactions to those concerts, the first CD, 'Artvark the Jazz Saxophone Quartet', was released in ‘05. The CD was very well received by the press, including a four star rating CD-review in the authoritative Dutch newspaper ‘De Volkskrant’. Since then the...
more
After two years of preparation and hard solid work behind the scene, ARTVARK SQ shows itself in 2004 to the world at the Jazzfestival in Amersfoort (NL). Innovating own compositions, jazz-soloists with distinctive own styles and the adventurous groove of four saxophones. Rolf Delfos (alto/soprano), Bart Wirtz (alto), Mete Erker (tenor) and Peter Broekhuizen (baritone) produce with their different backgrounds an unanimous, creative and original sound: THE SOUND OF ARTVARK. After a flying start at Dutch Jazzfestivals and the overwhelming reactions to those concerts, the first CD, 'Artvark the Jazz Saxophone Quartet', was released in ‘05. The CD was very well received by the press, including a four star rating CD-review in the authoritative Dutch newspaper ‘De Volkskrant’.
Since then the quartet performed in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, both on bigger stages as in the intimacy of chamber music settings. Unique was the double bill with ZAPP STRING QUARTET, with special arrangements for the combination of the two quartets. A highlight in March ’09 was the collaboration of ARTVARK with Mr. PETER ERSKINE (USA, Steps Ahead/Weather Report) and Mr. DOUDOU n’DIAYE ROSE (Senegal, Miles Davis/Rolling Stones). Special music was written for this beautiful project by Martin Fondse (check YouTube).
Recently Artvark toured with the project ‘busy, busy, busy’, a joined venture with NEW NIKS, the quartet of dummer Arend Niks. Premiere of ‘bbb’ was in the famous jazz club the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, live recorded by VPRO radio. In October ‘09 the CD of ‘bbb’ was released in De Doelen in Rotterdam (NL). In November ’09 ASQ appeared with this project on Dutch television in ‘Vrije geluiden’, a very fine live music program for both classical and jazz performers.

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Composer(s)

Press

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Videos

Artvark Saxophone Quartet speelt Pik
Artvark Saxophone Quartet
Artvark SQ @ Opium TV

Often bought together with..

Zoltán Kodály, Maurice Ravel, Erwin Schulhoff
Duos for violin & violoncello
Liza & Dmitry Ferschtman
Jan van Duikeren's Fingerprint
Jan van Duikeren
iDreamer
Bart Wirtz
The Ballad Album
Angelo Verploegen
Prologue
Wirtz

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