Cattitude

...to refer to Cattitude as one of the most adventurous releases for 2014 would be an understatement.
- Brent Black, Bop-N-Jazz

With an energized mix of jazz, soul, rock & funk, Belgian bassist Piet Verbist's Zygomatik takes the classic, mostly acoustic jazz quartet instrumentation to new places on the band's second recording. The trio of Verbist, drummer Herman Pardon, and Bram Weijters on Fender Rhodes, is joined by two saxophonists - Jeroen Van Herzeele on tenor & soprano, and Vinicent Brijs on baritone - as they slip and slide through a set of eight joyous originals. A staple on the European jazz circuit for many years, Verbist's deep sense of groove, time, and harmonic interest have made him a favorite of touring international artists and the many Belgian groups he's toured the world with over the last 20 years.

Production Info:

Produced by Piet Verbist for Contour vzw
Recorded by Jan Willems at Studio KipKaas, Mortsel, Belgium
January 4 and April 16, 2014
Mixed by Floyd Reitsma at Studio Litho, Seattle, WA
Mastered by Dan Dean at Dan Dean Productions, Mercer Island, WA
Painting by MoinMoin
Photography by Eric Malfait
Cover design & layout by John Bishop

Reviews of Cattitude

Midwest Record (Chris Spector)
Angular Benelux jazz in the spirited tradition of Hans Dulfer but toned down to be accessible to today's ears, this bass led crew seasons up their second outing with some saxes for extra flavor. Left leaning stuff for people that want that classic jazz rock feel without things rolling off the rails, this is a fine example of after hours jazz for t ...

Bop-N-Jazz (Brent Black)
To refer to bassist Piet Verbist as cutting edge would be cliché, to refer to Cattitude as one of the most adventurous releases for 2014 would be an understatement. Hybrid genres are nothing new. A largely acoustic ensemble that can pull from improvisational music along with soul, rock and funk and accomplish this daunting task utilizing their ...

Demofarm (Gunther Ramysen)
In ons land wordt aan jazz sowieso te weinig aandacht besteed, maar aan wie moeten we dan aandacht besteden is dan al snel de vraag. En dat is makkelijk te beantwoorden met de naam Piet Verbist. Piet Verbist is een contrabassist uit het Antwerpse die vooral bekend is geworden met zijn rol in het Jef Neve Trio en het label Contour dat hij oprichtte. ...

Dragonjazz (Belgium) (Pierre Dulieu)
Cattitude, the title of the first track that gives its name to the album, lays the foundation for this music. The rhythm section, with leader and composer Piet Verbist slappin’ the bass like a flag in the wind and drummer Herman Pardon, is fanning the embers from the start of a jazz-soul-funk fire which will soon ignite. After the exposition of a ...

JazzHalo (Belgium) (Claude Loxhay)
Formé au Conservatoire de Bruxelles et élève de Ricardo del Fra, Hein van de Geyn et Dave Holland lors de masterclasses, Piet Verbist a une discographie impressionnante en tant que sideman: trio de Jef Neve, H Septet et Musicazur de Pirli Zurstrassen, Trio Ancesthree et Quartet de Ben Sluijs, MP4 de Michel Paré, Jazz Station Big Band... Mais il ...

Jazzenzo (Dutch) (Erno Elsinga)
In the Netherlands, the Belgian musician Piet Verbist especially as the former bassist of the Jef Neve Trio. Domestically Verbist counts as an old warhorse who has played and recorded with numerous international musicians and he records for the American Origin Records label. From his debut Zygomatik from 2012 to the controversial compositions on ...

Roots Time (Belgium) (Jan van Leersum)
Piet Verbist (bs) studied at the Conservatory of Brussels, where he was taught by, among others Hein van de Geyn and Dave Holland. He played in many groups such as the Ben Sluijs Quartet, Trio Ancesthree, Jan de Haas Quintet eva But he is best known as the bassist of the Jef Neve Trio, his first CD came out on Verbist's label contour. But it is wi ...

Jazzflits (Netherlands) (Frank Huser)
What is it that bassist Piet Verbist has with the cheekbone? In Latin "zygomaticum." The shape of the cheekbone has to do with the sight of the face, unlike for example the tibia which is much more uniform than the cheekbone. The word in the name of this quintet intrigues and makes you look for an explanation, that might follow when you listen to ...

JazzHalo (Belgium) (Ferdinand Dupuis-Panther)
Die vorliegende CD enthält acht Eigenkompositionen des in Antwerpen beheimateten Kontrabassisten Piet Verbist. Zu seiner Band zählen unter anderem der Saxofonist Jeroen van Herzeele, der gemeinsam mit Massot und Blondiau auch in Maäk zu hören ist. Neben van Herzelle am Tenor- und Sopransaxofon ist noch ein weiterer Saxofonist in der Band, der B ...

Jazz Weekly (George W. Harris)
Bassist Piet Verbist sets the tone and the groove on this sleek and swinging set that is reminiscent of vintage Mingus on a collection of originals. He brings together Herman Pardon/dr, Bram Weijters/key and the brilliant double thick sax front line of Jeroen Van Herzeele/ts-ss and Vincent Brijs/bs. The two reeds feel like hot fudge poured over two ...

Jazzmozaiek (Belgium) (Georges Tonla Briquet)
The strongest release in the series is however from our own Piet Verbist and his band ZYGOMATIK. Together with Herman Pardon (drs), Bram Weijters (frh, Wurlitzer), Jeroen Van Herzeele (ts, ss) and Vincent Brijs (bs), Piet presents with "Cattitude" an hour of strong jazz that emanates from all directions. The versatility and wealth are both in the ...