Route 1
Red Route

The Japanese pianist Aki Takase was featured at the 2009 ZJFT in a duo with (bass) clarinettist Louis Sclavis and with her band Aki & The Good Boys. In her rich musical career, the pianist worked with people like Han Bennink and David Murray. She was inspired by Ornette Coleman and Fats Waller. In daily life, Aki Takase is the wife of fellow pianist Von Schlippenbach, who also performs at the ZJFT (barn Dekker). This year, Aki Takase released a second album with tenor saxophonist Daniel Erdmann: ‘Ellington’. It is a duo in which the Berlin based pianist feels like a fish in water.

The Walloon organiser and drummer Michel Debrulle has been working with the tuba player Michel Massot for years. Together, they form a rhythm section that has versatility written all over it. Since the 1980s they have been part of Brussels based groups like Trio Bravo (with Aka Moon’s Fabricio Cassol), the septet Rêve D’Éléphant Orchestra and the even larger La Grande Formation. In Trio Grande they are joined by the masterful French reed player Laurent Dehors. They set up a kaleidoscopic colour palette that can go in any direction. Their agile music is a feast for the ears.

The Berlin pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach (1938) was one of the first free jazz band leaders in Europe. In 1966 he started the Globe Unity Orchestra, featuring some of the key players of the European improvised music scene. The pianist was featured at the 2007 ZJFT with Monk’s Casino and in 2011 with Trio D’Agaro/von Schlippenbach/Bennink. The Thelonious Monk specialist (and Aki Takase’s life partner) will be joined at barn Dekker by alto saxophonist Henrik Walsdorff, with whom he has been working for thirteen years in the Schlippenbach-Walsdorff Quartett. He also takes the experienced Norwegian drummer Dag Magnus Narvesen along.

After a number of successful tours with the Ava Trio through Europe and Asia, Giuseppe Doronzo is looking for new directions in his imaginary folk music. On the debut album Futuro Ancestrale, the Italian baritone sax specialist is joined by guitarist Andy Moor (The Ex) and drummer Frank Rosaly, originally from Chicago. Fragments of music from countries like Ethiopia, Persia and South Africa form the basis for improvisations. It’s as if the threesome are leafing through an atlas full of music. ‘There is nothing quite comparable to Doronzo‘s projects and Futuro Ancestrale is no exception’ (All About Jazz).

The Russian pianist Simon Nabatov should not be missing from the roster of piano maestros at the 2024 ZJFT. He was classically trained in the Soviet Union and landed in Cologne by way of New York, and has become one of the most interesting jazz pianists of his generation. His music covers a broad range: classical music, avant-garde and jazz. His Herbie Nichols projects were particularly successful. This makes him an excellent partner for a nimble improviser like Frank Gratkowski, who performed at the 2017 ZJFT with trombonist Sebi Tramontana. Two years later, he was featured with the Trio Kaufman/ Gratkowski/ De Joode plus guest Gerry Hemingway. And now Nabatov/ Gratkowski, a top duo that’s not to be missed.

Bassist Dion Nijland often performed as a sideman in ZJFT country, but now brings his own band Deon. Their debut album, Soft Steel, was released last year, to critical acclaim: ‘A beautiful, adventurous album’ (Volkskrant). ‘Surprising, multifaceted’ (Jazz Nu). ‘The band plays with obvious joy and energy’ (Moors Magazine). It is an assembly of five Utrecht stakeholders who manage to release an idiosyncratic album, making one curious for the live performances. Breaking news: the second set will feature an (as yet) nameless string trio with Dion Nijland.

Cellist Ernst Reijseger has been making music for the soundtracks of director Werner Herzog’s films since 2000. His collaboration with the Senegalese singer Mola Sylla and pianist Harmen Fraanje has been a long standing one, too. Harmen Fraanje stayed on after Reijseger’s adventure with Eric Vloeimans’ Fugimundi. The threesome have found a wonderful balance in which the qualities of both Reijseger and those of Sylla and Fraanje come to the fore. All About Jazz had this to say about their album Deep Down: ‘Deep Down truly sounds like no other recording, as romantic classicism intersects with African culture and jazz-centric improvisation.’

Kuhn Fu is summoned to the stage for the final party in Garnwerd. Here, they show up as a sextet, once again. Like no other, Christian Kühn manages to enthral the audience with his energetic stage act. With Kuhn Fu’s reputation as an exciting live band, they will easily raise the roof of the Garnwerd tent.