"Asked to create a solo album, Adia started looking for a creative way to re-invent her solo saxophone music. Her new improvisations are inventive pieces which take advantage of the full range of her instrument and different playing techniques, but also the sounds of her surroundings in the unusual locations where she recorded - the echo of a silo, the clucking of a chicken coop, or passing cars. These sounds inspired the music, creating a dialogue with the environment."-Relative Pitch

"There are plenty of examples of soprano saxophonists who have released solo albums: Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, Jane Ira Bloom, and Sam Newsome, to name just a few. "I should be able to do that too," thought the young Antwerp-based jazz and improvisational musician Adia Vanheerentals, and she put her words into action. She herself calls her second solo album a duo album - the first, the barely eighteen-minute-long Here Are 5 Reasons to Meditate, was released in 2024 on the Ultra Eczema label. The eight pieces on Taking Place, totaling 33 minutes of exciting improvisation, were recorded in unusual locations, hence the term "duo album." The album kicks off with "Silo," which is probably also the location where the improvisation was recorded, as there is a lot of echo on the recording. On "Running," the sound of a downpour or fountain can be heard. A different sound, a different atmosphere, and played almost in a whisper. On "Roundabout," Vanheerentals makes her saxophone sound very sonorous, with creaking and squeaking sounds interspersed. "Henhouse" is audibly recorded in a chicken coop or run. Here, the musician engages in a kind of dialogue with the poultry by emitting short statements on her instrument. On "Steps," Vanheerentals' fragmented playing style is again noticeable. No long, drawn-out phrases, but intuitive, suggestive, and short reflections, as if she is presenting haikus instead of longer poems in free verse. On "Koekje," I hear children playing in the background, while "Stream" seems to have been recorded amidst passing truck traffic. On this track, the musician only blows air through her sax, I have the impression. It sounds like gargling. Fascinating. Taking Place concludes with 'Reflect', in which I alternately hear a lament or a cry of distress, but it could just as easily be an ode to joy. Adia Vanheerentals' talent was recognized early on: in 2024 she was selected for De Twintigers of radio station Klara, a platform for promising young musicians. Based on Taking Place, that selection was more than justified. It's a wonderfully fresh and uninhibited-sounding album that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to. More of this, Adia!"-Jazz&Mo