Suite Réunion

The Antwerp-based bassist Piet Verbist has been a staple of the Belgian jazz scene for decades. The current album features Verbist, the musicians listed below, and connections to these musicians date back to the teens, such as Dré Pallemaert . On the tenor saxophone we hear Bart Borremans , at the piano Bram Weijters and in some songs like "Hope In Despair" Wim Eggermont sits at the "shooting gallery" instead of Dré Pallemaerts.

All of the compositions mentioned are taken from the pen of Piet Verbist, including the opening title "Migratum", quite apart from "Asylum" and "Suite Réunion", compositions that, due to their length, give all musicians scope for development. The album is rounded off with "Devious Ways" and "Blues Excuse".

A bassist as a bandleader - you do not expect sprawling bass solos, but at least a bass that does not hide and take a back seat. And right at the beginning of the album is the composition "Migratum" a mature bass solo, while not remaining in deep modesty, but also the higher registers, almost caught in a contrapuntal mode. The sound contours that Piet Verbist draws, like a lukewarm wind that sweeps through the leaves of the trees. One could also think of listening to a sirocco, a warm wind blowing from North Africa to Europe. Seamlessly, this solo seems to move on to the next piece. However, "Asylum" is characterized by the gentle saxophone playing by Bart Borremans. At the same time, this piece also contains a little of the spirit of the Orient. The quartet presents us tonal spices at its best. Seraglio and caravanserai seem to be very close. As soon as the saxophone is heard, it also makes you feel like being in the world of Blue Note Records and the heyday of bebop and modern jazz, even though the saxophone passes the musical baton to the piano where Bram Weijters acts.

Deep in the bebop rooted "Bright Minor" seems. This "song" of the very virtuoso game Bart Borremans lives. Somehow the listener gets the impression that the atmosphere captured by the movie "Round Midnight" is celebrating a resurrection. However, if you expect the beginning of a multi-part suite at "Suite Reunion", you have to have a better one. More like a ballad, the character of the composition appears. The sound sovereignty belongs as in other pieces beforehand Bart Borremans with his tenor saxophone. The bandleader Piet Verbist is always present, but rather in the background the bass lines setting, while Bram Weijters painted in bright shades of tonal whirlpools and small rivulets. Gradually he lets it swell, while supported by the woven bass. But then rises the gentle sound of the saxophone and seduces the listener to fall into a certain contemplation. But finally the "song" ends in Bebop reloaded 2.0, right?

As a "bouncer", the men around Piet Verbist chose the title "Blues Excuse": In the spirit of Cannonball Adderley and Art Blakey & The Messenger this composition seems to have been created. Piet Verbist is again in the foreground vocal, supported by one or the other turbulence. But then it is up to Bart Borremans to paint the timbres, certainly with a behavioral-screaming saxophone. Bram Weijters also gets room to celebrate the blues. And where is the percussion solo? Yes, in small bites and without debauchery Wim Eggermont shows his skills on toms, snare and sheets.

(translated from German)