The Squid's Ear Magazine


Blue Lines Trio (Scheen / van der Weide / Hadow): Blue Lines Trio (Casco Records)

With all the tongue-in-cheek aspects of Dutch improvisers, the piano trio of Michiel Scheen on piano, Raoul van der Weide on bass, crackle box & sound objects and George Hadow on drums, all hailing from a superb pedigree of European Free Improv involvement, show their connection through comprehensible playing with a wonderful sense of humor in their approach to delightfully smart playing.
 

Price: $12.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Michiel Scheen-piano

Raoul van der Weide-bass, crackle box, sound objects

George Hadow-drums


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 8714835106401

Label: Casco Records
Catalog ID: 002
Squidco Product Code: 31124

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2014
Country: Netherlands
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at the Bimhuis, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on March 5th, 2014, by Arnold de Boer.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Sometimes, CD-releases of new Dutch jazz and improvised music can really surprise one. The Amsterdam based Blue Lines Trio seems to be a very good working unit, a collaboration between three generations of musicians. Michiel Scheen, for several years worked within the Maarten Altena Ensemble, and besides this trio, he now regurarly works as a duo with saxophonist and clarinetist Tobias Delius and with the Jan Nijdam Quartet. Raoul van der Weide has worked with Guus Jansen, and currently works in a trio with John Dikeman and Klaus Kügel, furthermore he jams with a lot of the new generation of improvisors that visit or live in Holland. George Hadow is a young British drummer who works with the Galm Quartet and many improvisers of all generations in and around Amsterdam.

The debut CD of this trio is remarkable. There are pieces, musical theme's that generate improvisations, but there are also freely improvised sequences. In general, what all the tracks show, is that the three musicians carefully listen to, and give room to each other.

A lot of free improvised music has such a density that the listener could lose focus, on this CD however, the improvising is crystal clear. The players spontaneously seem to pick a musical motive and elaborate on it carefully. The process doesn't get boring: they sometimes intuitively throw in contrasting material to 'refresh' the flow. And that offers the possibility to repeat things they have played before, which provides a structure to the improvisation, not to be heard often. Might this maybe be a new form of what we call 'instant composition'? That initial musical motive defines the character of the piece, so no track resembles others, every track is an entity and has a character of its own.

The rhythmic concept of the trio is exceptional: themselves, they call it 'throbbing swing' or 'dribble-swing', a curious mixture of jazz-swing and free-pulsating movement. Like three horses on a span, not in a military rhythmic unison, but a clopper-de-clop-stay-as-close-as-can-be fashion. Three individual and separate, but closely related, 'lines'.

Another feature of the music from the trio is their melodic and harmonic alertness. They seem to catch each others pitches perfectly, also not to be heard often in freely improvised music.

All of which makes the CD a very diverse and colorful 'contemporary improvised music' album.

The pieces, the theme's, seem to be written down and arranged for the 'cast'. They sound like bop and soul-jazz (in the case of the two compositions by the late saxophonist and composer Paul Termos), post-bop, post-free-jazz, and sometimes like contemporary academic music. One could identify influences by Thelonious Monk, Cecil Taylor, Olivier Messiaen, Oscar Pettiford, Charles Mingus, David Izenzon, Paul Motian and Han Bennink.

"Solid" starts as a post-boppy-blues-free-motion-indefinite-swing piece, but then breaks up in a staccato improvisation that leads to free Monkish-piano variations. It's got a funny 'Salt Peanuts' reference.

"Improvisation 538" starts with arco bass with tonal references, piano and drums match this with their variation of a similar kind of 'sonic production': plucking snares on the inside of the piano and brushes on skin and cymbals.

Paul Termos' piece "Kop op" is a brickwork bebop-like theme leading to a drumsolo that get's 'attacked' by Cecil Taylor-ish interventions. Not quite a 'logical' approach and maybe prefabricated (so this track convinces me the least), but the return to the theme out of fortissimo free-jazz is very well executed and 'a sound of surprise'.

"Idols" contains piano-chords that I cannot decipher (well, I'm an amateur pianist), but they're certainly not the standard II-V-I jazz-changes or free-jazz clusters. It's seems to be an idiom in itself. The rhythmic unison by Hadow's drums is magical! The way he varies the composition is a link to the the improvisation after the theme. I like that approach!

"Not yet" by Van der Weide is a peaceful haven, the theme is a continuous variation of four notes, but has nothing to do with so called 'minimal music'. It is more like a clockwork that leads into spacious and time-stretched improvisations with overtones on bass and cymbals and Messiaen-like harmonies on piano.

In "Ingredients 539" the trio-members have a grab at the mainstream jazz idiom, but the grab really is a child's play with conventional elements. The 'way-to-long' bass line-solo by Raoul van der Weide is hilarious! This music is a preposterous out-of-proportion jazz-pastiche, but never tasteless.

"Stumble" is an emotional heartfelt cry, bluesy free-jazz, with a touch of South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim's left hand playing. Exceptions excluded, the Dutch improv scene is not really known for this kind of direct speaking from the heart.

The CD closes with "Sigh", a ballad with Ellingtoneske chords and warmth. A closer listen reveals a little musical joke: the melody is all chromatic, except for a 'gigantic' leap of a minor third (!) at the end of each section.

Careful and repeated listening sessions reveal more intelligent musical jokes throughout the album. But they are more hidden than outspoken. The maybe typical Dutch irony is less on the foreground, I would say raised to a higher and more abstract level and to be discovered only by attentive listening."-Chris Naat, Jazz Music Reviews


Get additional information at Jazz Music Reviews

Artist Biographies

"In 2012 pianist and composer Michiel Scheen (1963, Amsterdam) joined Raoul van der Weide (bass, cracklebox, sound objects) and George Hadow (drums) in the Blue Lines Trio, a initiative by Van der Weide.

In 2016 the trio invited Ada Rave (tenorsaxophone), Bart Maris (trumpets) and Wolter Wierbos (trombone) to form the Blue Lines Sextet.

Besides that, Scheen regularly plays a duo with saxophonist and clarinetist Tobias Delius and with the Jan Nijdam Quartet.

After a retreat from 2000 untill 2004, he formed a new quartet with Ab Baars, Han Bennink and Ernst Glerum. They recorded the well received CD "Dance, my dear?".From 1986 untill 1999 Scheen worked with many musicians, amongst others with Ab Baars, Conrad Bauer, Johannes Bauer, Han Bennink, Jaap Blonk, Anthony Braxton, Tobias Delius, Cor Fuhler, Hans Hasebos, Gerry Hemingway, Wiek Hijmans, Guus Janssen, George Lewis, Misha Mengelberg, Roscoe Mitchell, Butch Morris, Jacques Palinckx, Evan Parker, Hans Reichl, Vladimir Tolkachev, Tang Xu and John Zorn.

He also worked with the international ensemble Ohrkiste, led by Radu Malfatti (a.o. with Evan Parker), the Paul Termos Tentet and Dubbel Express, the electro-acoustic trio YPON (with Michael Barker and Wiek Hijmans), Structures, led by Peter van Bergen, Cardueles Cardueles (leader: Cor Fuhler), the Dickinson Projekt by Ig Henneman, Kenvermogen (with a.o. Wiek Hijmans and Hans Hasebos), the Maarten Altena Ensemble (collaborations with a.o. Remco Campert, Mark Terstroet, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Lawrence Butch Morris, John Zorn and theatergroup Discordia; tours through Europe, USA, Canada and USSR), the theaterproduction "Elektra and Orestes" by director Erik-Ward Geerlings and composer Arthur Sauer (theatergroup FACT Rotterdam), Seafood (led by Alan Laurillard) and the Object Theatre Orchestra (a duo with Augusto Forti).

In 1991 Michiel Scheen was commisioned by NOS-radio and Jazzmarathon Groningen to compose a live-set, which resulted in the project "Rijs", with a.o. Jaap Blonk, Tristan Honsinger and Paul Koek. He initiated projects and ensembles (Filiaal, the Michiel Scheen Sextet and -Quartet and TRIKLINION), with a.o. Ab Baars, Jaap Blonk, Michael Vatcher, Frank van Berkel and Hans van der Meer. Since 1990 Scheen recieved commisions and stipendia for his work as a composer from the "Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst" (the Dutch fund for composers).

Scheen also joined the Dutch jazz-musicians union: the BIM (Beroepsvereniging van Improviserende Musici). During 1994-1996 he was a member of the board, and during 1996-1998 he was the chairman of this union. As a chairman Scheen engaged in contacts with the Ministery of Education, Culture and Science, several funds for artists and other unions. He also was involved in the "Stichting de Centrale", a service-unit for freelance musicians."

-Michiel Scheen Website (http://michielscheen.blogspot.com/search/label/Biography)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Raoul van der Weide (Fontenailles / Fr, 1949) played 6 years of classical violin in the Northern Netherlands Youth Orchestra. As a bassist he developed largely autodidactic but also studied classical double bass at John Clayton and Norma Brooks. Contrast point at Guus Janssen. Feel inspired by inspiration and improvisational practice in the free but unstructured views of various musicians like Paul Termos, Guus Janssen, Lennie Tristano, Misha Mengelberg, Jimmy Giuffre, Steve Lacy, Ornette Coleman, Derek Bailey, Charles Mingus and Munir Bashir.

As an improviser, the creative focus is on the development possibilities of open personal aesthetics in the broadest sense. The continued deepening of its own sound, intonation and power of expression - of the musical fingerprint - is considered important.Van Raoul van der Weide published the solo CD 'Passages' (GeestGronden # 24 / www.geestgronden.com) at the beginning of 2006, to which De Volkskrant and promising 4 stars discussion was dedicated.

Worked together in Bert Koppelaar's POINT OF ORCHESTURE, Paul Termos Trio, Guus Jansen Septet / Octet / Orchestra, Burton Greene Quartet / Trio Spazio Trio (with K. Bauer and Guenther Sommer), Luc Houtkamp Quartet, Ab Baars Sextet, Peter Zegveld projects ('Caspar Rapak' and 'Statua Tumultus'), The Gravitones (Winners Dordtse Jazz Prize 1995), Joost Buis & The Famous Astronotes, Sound-Lee! Quartet ('Plays the Music of Lee Konitz'), New Crosscurrents Sextet."

-Raoul van der Weide Website (Translated by Google) (http://www.raoulvanderweide.nl/)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"George Hadow represents the newest wave of improvisers to hit the Dutch scene. Like many of the active newcomers, George is an expat, hailing from Devon in the UK. George first came to the Netherlands in 2011 to take part in the Dutch Impro Academy, where he studied with Han Bennink and Michael Moore, among others. He has quickly developed into a mature musician, playing with acute sensitivity as well as unbridled power.

The list of regular groups with whom he performs is impressive for its scale and diversity: The Blue Lines Trio, Mulligan - Baker Project, Terrie Ex/Raoul van der Weide/George Hadow, Aya ba yaya, Almeida/Dikeman/Hadow, Molino, Galm Quartet. George has also collaborated with Andy Moor, Roy Paci, Anne-James Chaton and Joe Williamson, The Ex and Cactus Truck as well as countless ad hoc combinations."

-DOEK Festival Website (http://www.doek.org/festival-2017/groups/george-hadow-solo/)
12/11/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Solid 4:40

2. Improvisation 538 3:14

3. Kop Op 4:00

4. Improvisation 536 3:42

5. Dark Goeree 6:45

6. Idols 3:31

7. Improvisation 541 4:53

8. Not Yet 5:55

9. Ingredients 539 3:50

10. Stumble 5:42

11. Improvisation 537 2:33

12. Sigh 2:38

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
Objects and Home-made Instruments
Staff Picks & Recommended Items

Search for other titles on the label:
Casco Records.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Jackson, Keefe / Raoul van der Weide / Frank Rosaly
Live at de Tanker
(Kettle Hole Records)
Keefe Jackson on tenor & bass clarinets, Raoul Van Der Weide on bass & cracklebox, and Frank Rosaly on drums are heard in this 2022 live performance at De Roze Tanker in Amsterdam, reuniting the Chicago reedist with Rosaly, who is now based in Amsterdam, for six free jazz tunes: two Jackson compositions and four superb collective dialogs.
Costa, Hugo / Raoul van der Weide / Onno Govaert
Land Over Water
(Creative Sources)
A collective trio in the free jazz idiom from Hugo Costa on alto saxophone, Raoul van der Weide on double bass & percussion objects and Onno Govaert on drums, recording in the studio in Rotterdam for two extended and two succinct improvisations, building their conversations from solo playing that gradually yields to group dialog of evolving intensity.
Strings5
Lost In Labyrinth
(Casco Records)
A chamber-oriented album of strings & piano improvisation released on cellist Raoul van der Weide's Casco label, in a quintet of Marta Warelis on piano, Jacob Plooij on violin, Raoul van der Weide on cello & percussion, Henk Zwerver on guitar, Jan Nijdam on double bass, recording in the studio for eight quick-witted, sophisticated and innately playful conversations.
Other Recommended Releases:
Blue Lines Trio (Scheen / van der Weide / Hadow)
Chance and Change
(Casco Records)
The free swinging Dutch piano trio of Michiel Scheen on piano, Raoul van der Weide on contrabass, cracklebox & objects and George Hadow on drums, in a set of buoyant and ebullient improvisations, a mix of composed and collective works that bring together tradition and freedom, melody and abstraction, while clearly enjoying their playful approach to creative jazz.
Hadow, George / Dirk Serries
Chapel
(Creative Sources)
A duo of free and spaciously building exchanges between Dutch drummer George Hadow (Zwerv, The Blue Lines Trio) and Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries (A New Wave of Jazz), in an extended dialog of great technical skills and creative use of their instruments, performing live at the 2021 JazzBlast event held in the chapel Groels Kapel in Bocholt, Belgium.
New Rumours And Other Noises (Ada Rave / Nicolas Chentaroli / Raoul van der Weide)
The Moonlight Nightcall
(Casco Records)
The debut of the Amsterdam-based trio of Argentinian pianist Nicolas Chientaroli and saxophonist & clarinetist Ada Rave with Dutch bassist Raoul van der Weide, all three using preparations, objects and voice to extend their unique approach to instant composition, heard in eight succinct, animated and sometimes eccentric dialogs recorded at BIMHuis.
Campbell, Roy / John Dikeman / Raoul van der Weide / Peter Jacquemyn / Klaus Kugel
When The Time Is Right
(577 Records)
Performing at Bimhuis in 2013, the trans-Atlantic quintet of Roy Campbell on trumpet, flugelhorn & flute, John Dikeman on saxophone, Raoul van der Weide on cello & percussion, Peter Jacquemyn on bass & voice and Klaus Kugel on drums, perform an extended, energetic and dynamic set of free improvisation, with intricate melodies and beautifully rich transitions.
Scrambled Harmonies
Stella Art
(Self Released)
The free improvising Amsterdam quintet of Andrius Dereviancenko (tenor saxophone), Henk Zwerver (guitar), Nico Chientaroli (piano and keyboards), Raoul van der Weide (bass, objects and squat box) and Onno Govaert (Tilburg, drums) are heard in this live recording at Zaal100 in 2020 for a quirky and first rate free jazz album of wry humor and impressive skill.
Massaro, Francesco / Giovanni Cristino / Walter Forestiere
Undergrowth
(Creative Sources)
The Italian trio of saxophonist/clarinetist Francesco Masaro, pianist and prepared pianist Giovanni Cristino, and drummer/percussionist Walter Forestiere, take us on a journey at the lower levels of a forest's undergrowth, adding objects, preparations and extended techniques in a blend of free jazz and nonidiomatic forms to reveal mystery and brightness in the brambles.
Zwerv (Taubenfeld / Vicente / Lucifero / Zwerver / Chientaroli / ven der Weide / Hadow)
Music From Any Moment
(Creative Sources)
Guitarist Henk Zwerver leads this collective free improvising band in their second release, now extended to a septet with the addition of Salvoandrea Lucifero on trombone, joining Zwerver: Ziv Taubenfeld on bass clarinet, Luis Vicente on trumpet, Nico Chientaroli on piano, Raoul ven der Weide on double bass, objects, and George Hadow on drums.
Bertch Quartet, The
For Oumuama
(Creative Sources)
Guitarist Henk Zwerver, bassist Raoul van der Weide and percussionist George Hadow, frequent collaborators in the Amsterdam free improv scene, join with Berlin saxophonist & clarinetist Edith Steyer to make up the Bertch Quartet, their debut album a great and embraceable example of subtle, collective free improvisations that merge traditional and non-idiomatic forms.
Tandaapushi
Borromean Rings
(JVTLANDT)
The second album from this Norwegian electric improvising power trio, using dark rhythmic grooves over which guitar, electric piano, amplified objects, no-input mixing board, and pianet emerge, creating hypnotic states that lead to exultant moments through sinuous melody, building and releasing intensity while maintaining a consistent gauzy undertone.
Zwerv (Raoul van der Weide / George Hadow / Henk Zwerver / Ziv Taubenfeld / Luis Vicente)
Live
(Creative Sources)



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Jeong, Eunhye (Burik / Ridley / Mela / Kim)
End of Time / KM-53 Project Vol. 2
(577 Records)
(code named KM-53), is an energetic and sophisticated album of free collective improvisation and one Jeong composition, performed with Allison Burik on alto sax & bass clarinet, Max Ridley on double bass, Francisco Mela on drums and Mina Kim on cello, recorded live at Lilypad, in Cambridge.
Thomas, Pat / Dominic Lash / Tony Orrell
BleySchool: Where?
(577 Records)
The followup to their 2020 album titled BleySchool, the trio of Pat Thomas on piano, Dominic Lash on double bass and Tony Orrell on drums revisit and further explore the music of Paul and Carla Bley, here in a 2022 live performance at London's Cafe OTO focused on early Bley compositions, and also a cover of "Monk's Mood" which Bley included on his solo album Basics.
Selva, The (Jacinto / Almeida / Morao)
Camarao-Girafa
(Clean Feed)
An absorbing album of electronic jazz and improvisation from the Portuguese string and percussion trio of Ricardo Jacinto on cello, electronics & harmonium, Goncalo Almeida on double bass & electronics and Nuno Morao on drums & percussion, exploring unique and innately lyrical intersections of chamber improv, ea-improv and compositional forms.
Gustafsson, Mats / Joachim Nordwall
Their Power Reached Across Space And Time-To Defy Them Was Death-Or Worse
(Thrill Jockey)
Expanding on their decade-long collaboration with albums on Astral Spirits, Bocian and Confront (Ensemble Var), and both members of Fire! Orchestra, sound artist Joachim Nordwall on analog synth and tapes and reed & wind player Mats Gustafsson use extended approaches to their instruments through effects and close mic-ing to create powerful and hallucinatory sound worlds.
Bucher / Tan / Countryman
Sacred Fire Of The Free
(FMR)
The continuing collaboration from the collective free jazz trio of Philippines-based American alto saxophonist Rick Countryman, Philippines bassist Simon Tan and Swiss drummer Christian Bucher is heard in this studio session of eight lyrically inclined tracks of spontaneous interaction, a well-balanced mix of energetic grooves and contemplative group conversation.
Dreamstruck (Crispell / Fonda / Sorgen)
With Grace In Mind
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)
Officially taking their group name from the title of their first album, The Dreamstruck trio of Marilyn Crispell on piano, Joe Fonda on bass and Harvey Sorgen on drums are heard in this innately lyrical and masterfully controlled, concise set of studio recordings, with compositions from each performer and two collective improvisations, a remarkable example of the modern piano trio.
Musson / Moore / Brice / Prevost
Under the Sun
(Matchless)
Quartet, the masterful grouping of Rachel Musson on tenor sax, NO Moore on electric guitar, Olie Brice on double bass and Eddie Prévost on drums, an improvising ensemble of wonderfully unpredictable momentum, from passages of quiet introspection to thunderous density, but always with attentive listening and imaginative responses, heard in this spectacular 2021 concert at Iklektic.
Jordan, Edward 'Kidd' / Joel Futterman / William Parker / Hamid Drake
A Tribute to Alvin Fielder (Live at Vision Festival XXIV)
(Mahakala Music)
Recorded at Vision Festival XXIV in June of 2019, legendary drummer Alvin Fielder's friends and long time partners Kidd Jordan on tenor saxophone, Joel Futterman on piano and William Parker on contrabass are joined by drummer/percussionist Hamid Drake for an emotional and potent swinging free jazz tribute to Fielder, who passed away in January of that year.
Yamamoto, Eri / Chad Fowler / William Parker / Steve Hirsh
Sparks [2 CDs]
(Mahakala Music)
Four of New York's most versed free jazz players--Eri Yamamoto on piano, Chad Fowler on stritch & Saxello, William Parker on bass and Steve Hirsh on drums--aim for a form of Spontaneous Folk Music through post-bop/free jazz idioms, recording in the studio for naturally lyrical music that builds from a beautiful glimmer to a passionate fire of masterful interaction.
Big Bad Brotzmann Quintet
Bambule!
(Euphorium)
An intense concert of collective European Free Jazz in two extended improvisations recorded at naTo in Leipzig, German in 2019 from the quintet of Peter Brotzmann on tenor saxophone, clarinet & tarogato, Oliver Schwerdt on grand piano, percussion & little instruments, John Edwards and John Eckhardt on double bass, and Christian Lillinger on drums & percussion.
Dikeman, John / Pat Thomas / John Edwards / Steve Noble
Volume 1
(577 Records)
The first of two planned volumes from the quartet of John Dikeman on tenor saxophone, Pat Thomas on piano, John Edwards on bass and Steve Noble on drums, bringing the American saxophonist working throughout Europe together with this nearly telepathic collaborative grouping of UK frequent collaborators, captured in concert at Cafe OTO in 2019 for two absorbing improvisations.
Dykstra, Jordan / Koen Nutters
In Better Shape Than You Found Me
(elsewhere)
The first album from the duo of American composer & violinist Jordan Dykstra and Dutch composer Koen Nutters, developed by exchanging material of ambient & spacious nature using slow chord development, field recordings, viola, pitch pipe, crotales, piano EBow and electronic programming, the resulting work diverse and constantly evolving through fascinating details.
Subatin, Javier (w/ Demian Cabaud & Pedro Melo Alves plus guests)
Mountains
(Habitable Records)
Led by Argentinian guitarist based in Lisbon, Javier Subatin, the core of his band is fellow Portugal-based Argentian bassist Demian Cabaud and drummer Pedro Melo Alves, with guests improvisers on a number of tracks, presenting a series of "Mountain" tracks interspersed with "Rocks", "Birds", "Cave", &c. in impressively advanced use of time, rhythm, structure and harmonics.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC