Time Change

Milan Verbist plays as if time stands still

The audience at De Singer is filled with anticipation as pianist Milan Verbist (26) hovers his hands above the keys. A soft, almost tangible intro unfolds—the title track Time Change from his new album. The audience holds its breath. De Standaard newspaper awarded his debut album four stars, and broadcaster Klara called him one of those young twenty-somethings "who will color the music of tomorrow." No small words - and so expectations are high. As if that weren't enough, De Singer immediately crowned him Artist in Residence. Verbist will therefore be making his sounds heard here even more often.

A flair for humor and craftsmanship
The pressure does not seem to paralyze him, but rather give him wings. With a steady hand, he leads his trio—Toon Rumen on double bass and Jens Meijer on drums—through a rich program. In his composition No I Haven't, a playful response to the jazz standard Have You Met Miss Jones, he shows his flair for humor and craftsmanship.

The hall is well filled: friends, family, curious onlookers. When Brigitte's Waltz begins - a tender tribute to his mother, who sits smiling in the audience - there is something warm in the air. Rumen is given space here for a subtle double bass solo, carried by Verbist's light touch.

A few centuries of music
But Verbist is not a man of safe choices. His interpretation of Tomasz Stańko's Bosonossa (and other ballads) is a whirlwind: a singing bass line, a pulsating beat, a pianist who alternately challenges and embraces. Then he returns to the silence of Johann Sebastian Bach - or at least, a jazz version of it. The Sarabande from Bach's first French suite (BWV 812) swings from baroque to a solid piece of swinging jazz and back again, a journey through a few centuries of music in a few minutes' time.

From Gsus to Djeezes
Self-mockery resonates in the title Djeezes. Composing the song can be considered a quick endeavor. It took less than two hours to progress from the chord "G7 sus" to Djeezes, created from nothing more than a chord progression and perhaps a joke in the rehearsal room. There is no religious reference, but rather a display of musical enjoyment.

Following the elegant The Silence Between comes Gary Peacock's Flutter Step—a vibrant finale with a powerful theme full of pleasant, surprising rhythms and a thunderous drum feature by Meijer.

More
The encore, Anatol, not yet released on record, is a fiery finale: up-tempo, virtuosic, and exactly the spark this concert deserves. Thunderous applause brings the evening to a close.