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Bluebeard

Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet

Bluebeard

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Records
UPC: 0608917346626
Catnr: CR 73466
Release date: 06 March 2020
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Label
Challenge Records
UPC
0608917346626
Catalogue number
CR 73466
Release date
06 March 2020

"... All eight compositions pass at a time like a petal in a small stream - slow and lazy, but hymnic and balladic!"

skjazz.sk, 04-9-2020
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

The relentless Bluebeard now has a soundtrack thanks to Dutch saxophone pride Yuri Honing. Yuri Honing dedicated his new album to the gruesome heritage of Bluebeard, title character of the 17th century French fairy tale. The duke with the seven wives symbolizes other historic European figures such as Pablo Picasso, who conquered women and loved them, but also destroyed them; all these phases inspired his art. A sonnet by the first female Pulitzer Prize winner, Edna Millay, a variation on the fairy tale, forms the basis of the album Bluebeard. With his Acoustic Quartet, Yuri Honing has been celebrating international success for many years. As with his previous album Goldbrun, the release of Bluebeard will be followed by an exhibition at Museum De Fundatie in Zwolle, a Gesamtkunstwerk of paintings, sculptures and music in collaboration with painter Mariecke van der Linden. Honing’s awards include three Edisons and the Boy Edgar Prijs 2012, and he has worked with countless greats such as Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Paul Bley and Craig Taborn.
Der unerbittliche Blaubart hat jetzt dank des niederländischen Saxofonisten Yuri Honing einen Soundtrack. Yuri Honing widmete sein neues Album dem grauenhaften Erbe des Blaubartes, der Hauptfigur des französischen Märchens aus dem 17. Jahrhundert. Der Herzog mit den sieben Ehefrauen symbolisiert andere historische europäische Figuren. Zum Beispiel Pablo Picasso, der die Frauen eroberte und liebte, sie aber auch zerstörte; all diese Phasen inspirierten seine Kunst. Ein Sonett der ersten Pulitzer-Preisträgerin Edna Millay, eine Variation des Märchens, bildet die Grundlage des Albums Blaubart. Mit seinem Akustikquartett feiert Yuri Honing seit vielen Jahren internationale Erfolge. Wie bei seinem Vorgängeralbum Goldbrun folgt auf die Veröffentlichung von Blaubart eine Ausstellung im Museum De Fundatie in Zwolle, ein 'Gesamtkunstwerk' aus Gemälden, Skulpturen und Musik in Zusammenarbeit mit der Malerin Mariecke van der Linden. Zu seinen Auszeichnungen gehören drei Edisons und der Boy Edgar Prijs 2012, und er hat mit unzähligen Größen wie Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Paul Bley und Craig Taborn zusammengearbeitet.

Artist(s)

Yuri Honing (saxophone)

Honing had his first major success in 1996 with his album Star Tracks, which comprised recordings of pop songs as an alternative to the American Songbook. The album became a hit in the Netherlands and Germany, and gained significant notice in the UK as well. The album contains songs by Abba and The Police among others. Honing uses their material as a basis for improvisation; he gladly points out that jazz musicians of previous generations were doing exactly the same. The album Sequel that Honing records in 1999 is in the same vein, using material by Björk, Blondie and others. The CD Playing (1998) finds Honing performing alongside veteran pianist Misha Mengelberg in twelve freely improvised tracks. Two years later the project gets a sequel at the North Sea Jazz Festival, with cellist Ernst Reijseger as third improviser. The recordings find their way onto the CD Lively (2000). In 2001,...
more
Honing had his first major success in 1996 with his album Star Tracks, which comprised recordings of pop songs as an alternative to the American Songbook. The album became a hit in the Netherlands and Germany, and gained significant notice in the UK as well. The album contains songs by Abba and The Police among others. Honing uses their material as a basis for improvisation; he gladly points out that jazz musicians of previous generations were doing exactly the same. The album Sequel that Honing records in 1999 is in the same vein, using material by Björk, Blondie and others.
The CD Playing (1998) finds Honing performing alongside veteran pianist Misha Mengelberg in twelve freely improvised tracks. Two years later the project gets a sequel at the North Sea Jazz Festival, with cellist Ernst Reijseger as third improviser. The recordings find their way onto the CD Lively (2000).
In 2001, Honing met Paul Bley and recorded the album Seven with Bley on piano, Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian ondrums. This album garnered Honing the Dutch Edison Award in 2002.[1] In The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (Eighth Edition) this CD was recognized with four (out of five) stars.
Memory Lane is recorded by Honing in 2002, together with members of the Amsterdam based Concertgebouw Orchestra. It is his first project with musicians from the world of classical music.
In addition to his activities in acoustic and classical music, in 2005 Honing starts a new electric band, Wired Paradise. It features Tony Overwater (on bass guitar) and Joost Lijbaart plus the German guitarist Frank Möbus, best known for his work with the trio Der Rote Bereich.
The saxophonist enters into a new classical collaboration with the Metropole Orchestra in 2006. With conductor Vince Mendoza at the rostrum he records the CD Symphonic with this orchestra. Just like he considers contemporary pop music to be the continuation of the Great American Songbook, Honing sees a parallel between that particular song form and Franz Schubert's lieder. He therefore decides to record a full instrumental version of Schubert's song cycle Winterreise, accompanied by the classical pianist Nora Mulder (2007). He also uses Winterreise as the title for a special concert evening with guests which the saxophonist organizes every year on December 29 at the Amsterdam Paradiso.
In 2009 Honing forms an acoustic band with a chordal instrument for the first time! In his Acoustic Quartet Wolfert Brederode is the pianist, Ruben Samama on double bass, and Joost Lijbaart once again the drummer. That same year Honing also invites dance producer Floris Klinkert for a collaboration, resulting in the CD Phase Five. On this album Floris makes use of samples from the saxophonist's entire discography to produce new compositions. The resulting songs are sung by pop singers like Leine, Sarah Bettens (known of the band K's Choice) and Lilian Vieira (of the band Zuco 103); in addition Honing himself is featured as a soloist. January 2012 Yuri Honing won the Dutch Boy Edgar Prijs.
Other career highlights
  • 2001 Honing toured with Bley and bassist Charlie Haden.
  • 2003 He performed with guitarist Pat Metheny and bassist Scott Colley.
  • 2006 He recorded Symphonic with arranger and composer Vince Mendoza.
Source: Wikipedia
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Joost Lijbaart (drums)

Joost Lijbaart is a versatile drummer who uses a lot of different influences in his playing. Born in Amsterdam, he started drumming when he was seven years old. After several years of classical percussion lessons he went to the conservatory in Hilversum where he followed lessons from Cees Kranenburg, Marcel Serierse and Gerhard Jeltes. He graduated in 1991. During his study he went to Senegal (West-Africa) to take lessons in African percussion with the legendary DuDu and Ali un D’Aya Rose. Besides jazz, pop and improvised music he worked with modern classical music and dance. In 1990 he performed with students from the National Ballet Academy, played modern classical percussion music from Xenakis, Cage, Reich and worked in different projects with...
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Joost Lijbaart is a versatile drummer who uses a lot of different influences in his playing. Born in Amsterdam, he started drumming when he was seven years old. After several years of classical percussion lessons he went to the conservatory in Hilversum where he followed lessons from Cees Kranenburg, Marcel Serierse and Gerhard Jeltes. He graduated in 1991. During his study he went to Senegal (West-Africa) to take lessons in African percussion with the legendary DuDu and Ali un D’Aya Rose.
Besides jazz, pop and improvised music he worked with modern classical music and dance. In 1990 he performed with students from the National Ballet Academy, played modern classical percussion music from Xenakis, Cage, Reich and worked in different projects with Theo Loevendie and Louis Andriessen.
He formed with Yuri Honing the Yuri Honing Trio in 1989. With this group he did concerts and tours in more than 60 countries all over the world. During a tour in the Middle East in 1998 the trio was introduced to the music of the Arab world. The result was a bigger group called Orient Express with a Libanese singer and two musicians from Iraq. This group did several tours in the Middle East and the Netherlands. In 1993 he won the 15th Europe Jazz Contest with the Nicolas Thys trio. For this performance he received the “best drummer award”. In 1995 he joined the Michiel Borstlap sextet with Yuri Honing, Eric Vloeimans and Benjamin Herman. With this group they released the double CD the sextet live in 1996 and did several tours in the Netherlands. A tour in China in 1998 was filmed by Dutch documentary maker Jop Pannekoek.
From 1995 he works also with Agog a trio with guitar player Frank Wingold and bassguitar player Mark Haanstra. 
With this group Lijbaart won in 2002 the Dutch jazz competition and was awarded as best soloist from the contest by American drummer Elvin Jones. From 2002 Joost started his own quartet “group of friends” with Yuri Honing, Benjamin Herman and Mats Eilertsen. For this group he is also very active as a composer. He played on the North sea jazz festival with this band in 2003. A DVD of this concert was released in 2005.
Another new group is the duo with piano player Wolfert Brederode. A CD of this group will come out in Autumn 2006. With the duo they did a project with dancer and choreographer Lonneke van Leth. Also they played music on the spoken book Shadowchild from Dutch writer Frans Thomese.
This year Joost’s main groups are the Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet and Wired Paradise, an exciting electro/rock group with Yuri Honing.

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Gulli Gudmundsson (double bass)

Gulli Gudmundsson, born in Iceland in 1971 plays double bass since an early age. After attending music school in his homeland, he moved to the Netherlands and enrolled at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 1993 where he studied with Jacques Schols, Frans van der Hoeven en Hein van de Geyn. Graduating in 1999 he quickly assimilated into the Dutch jazz scene, playing with most prominent players and appearing on more than 40 records. He has toured to in about every European country and as well in Asia, Africa, North- and South America, and played on festivals such as North Sea Jazz Festival Rotterdam, Jarasum South Korea, Tokyo Jazz Festival, Hong Kong Jazz Festival and Belgrade Jazz Festival to name...
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Gulli Gudmundsson, born in Iceland in 1971 plays double bass since an early age. After attending music school in his homeland, he moved to the Netherlands and enrolled at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 1993 where he studied with Jacques Schols, Frans van der Hoeven en Hein van de Geyn. Graduating in 1999 he quickly assimilated into the Dutch jazz scene, playing with most prominent players and appearing on more than 40 records.

He has toured to in about every European country and as well in Asia, Africa, North- and South America, and played on festivals such as North Sea Jazz Festival Rotterdam, Jarasum South Korea, Tokyo Jazz Festival, Hong Kong Jazz Festival and Belgrade Jazz Festival to name a few.

In 2005 he joined Eric Vloeimans Gatecrash, whose record ‘Gatecrashing’ won the prestigious Edison awards in 2007.

Gulli also plays with the Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet and which won the prestigious Dutch Edison awards for Best Jazz Record in 2016 (Desire, Challenge Records) and Best Jazz Record in 2017 (Goldbrun, Challenge Records).

Gulli is a member of the Wolfert Brederode Trio, which recorded ‘Black Ice’ for the prestigious ECM label in 2016, which was received with universal acclaim from a global audience.

He writes and produces his own music under the name Binary Orchid. The CD ‘Radioactivity’ appeared in 2006 featuring Arve Henriksen on Trumpet.

Gulli taught main subject Double Bass at the Conservatory of Antwerpen from 2003 to 2006, and teaches at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague since 2018.


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Wolfert Brederode (piano)

Dutch pianist Wolfert Brederode (1974) earned his masters degree in both classical and jazz piano at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. His refined and focused touch, his concern for the musical flow at any circumstance and his creativity are the hallmarks of his playing and he is being recognized as a highly personal and poetic voice in the jazz scene today. Apart from his activities as a performer Wolfert writes the music for his own ensembles and he also contributed compositions to several theatre- and dance productions.With groups such as the Wolfert Brederode Trio, Nimbus, the Wolfert Brederode Quintet and Susanne Abbuehl he has been performing at jazz clubs, theatres and concert halls throughout Europe, Canada and South Africa....
more
Dutch pianist Wolfert Brederode (1974) earned his masters degree in both classical and jazz piano at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. His refined and focused touch, his concern for the musical flow at any circumstance and his creativity are the hallmarks of his playing and he is being recognized as a highly personal and poetic voice in the jazz scene today. Apart from his activities as a performer Wolfert writes the music for his own ensembles and he also contributed compositions to several theatre- and dance productions.With groups such as the Wolfert Brederode Trio, Nimbus, the Wolfert Brederode Quintet and Susanne Abbuehl he has been performing at jazz clubs, theatres and concert halls throughout Europe, Canada and South Africa. He appeared on major festivals such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, JazznoJazz, Jazztage Leverkusen, Jazz à Vienne, Molde, Banlieues Bleues, Montréal Jazz Festival, Nevers, Paris Jazz Festival, Cape Town, Brussels, Le Mans, Jazz d'Or, Cully and Vicenza. Concerts have been broadcasted on radio in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Iceland. TV-appearances in the Netherlands and Germany.The latest ensembles in which Wolfert is involved are a duo with drummer Joost Lijbaart, a quartet with Claudio Puntin-clarinets, Mats Eilertsen-double bass and Samuel Rohrer-drums and 'Prompter'; a project, initiated by bassist Gulli Gudmundsson and Wolfert, that focuses on music & sound for drama- and modern dance productions.Both as leader and sideman Wolfert can be heard on various cd productions for record labels such as A-Records, Daybreak, Buzz Records, Jazz in Motion and ECM Records.Wolfert has worked with artists such as David Liebman, Jeanne Lee, Arve Henriksen, Ack van Rooyen, John Ruocco, Rachel Gould, Ronan Guilfoyle, Angelo Verploegen, Tony Lakatos, Ed Verhoeff, Harry Sokal, Trygve Seim, Hans van Oosterhout, Stefan Lievestro, Kristina Fuchs, Michel Portal, Per Oddvar Johansen, Toon Roos, Rob Madna, Lucas Niggli, Tony Overwater, Jasper Blom, Jojo Mayer, Gerald Veasley, Wolfgang Puschnig, Cristina Branco & Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Eric Vloeimans and Yuri Honing.

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Composer(s)

Yuri Honing (tenor saxophone)

Honing had his first major success in 1996 with his album Star Tracks, which comprised recordings of pop songs as an alternative to the American Songbook. The album became a hit in the Netherlands and Germany, and gained significant notice in the UK as well. The album contains songs by Abba and The Police among others. Honing uses their material as a basis for improvisation; he gladly points out that jazz musicians of previous generations were doing exactly the same. The album Sequel that Honing records in 1999 is in the same vein, using material by Björk, Blondie and others. The CD Playing (1998) finds Honing performing alongside veteran pianist Misha Mengelberg in twelve freely improvised tracks. Two years later the project gets a sequel at the North Sea Jazz Festival, with cellist Ernst Reijseger as third improviser. The recordings find their way onto the CD Lively (2000). In 2001,...
more
Honing had his first major success in 1996 with his album Star Tracks, which comprised recordings of pop songs as an alternative to the American Songbook. The album became a hit in the Netherlands and Germany, and gained significant notice in the UK as well. The album contains songs by Abba and The Police among others. Honing uses their material as a basis for improvisation; he gladly points out that jazz musicians of previous generations were doing exactly the same. The album Sequel that Honing records in 1999 is in the same vein, using material by Björk, Blondie and others.
The CD Playing (1998) finds Honing performing alongside veteran pianist Misha Mengelberg in twelve freely improvised tracks. Two years later the project gets a sequel at the North Sea Jazz Festival, with cellist Ernst Reijseger as third improviser. The recordings find their way onto the CD Lively (2000).
In 2001, Honing met Paul Bley and recorded the album Seven with Bley on piano, Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian ondrums. This album garnered Honing the Dutch Edison Award in 2002.[1] In The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (Eighth Edition) this CD was recognized with four (out of five) stars.
Memory Lane is recorded by Honing in 2002, together with members of the Amsterdam based Concertgebouw Orchestra. It is his first project with musicians from the world of classical music.
In addition to his activities in acoustic and classical music, in 2005 Honing starts a new electric band, Wired Paradise. It features Tony Overwater (on bass guitar) and Joost Lijbaart plus the German guitarist Frank Möbus, best known for his work with the trio Der Rote Bereich.
The saxophonist enters into a new classical collaboration with the Metropole Orchestra in 2006. With conductor Vince Mendoza at the rostrum he records the CD Symphonic with this orchestra. Just like he considers contemporary pop music to be the continuation of the Great American Songbook, Honing sees a parallel between that particular song form and Franz Schubert's lieder. He therefore decides to record a full instrumental version of Schubert's song cycle Winterreise, accompanied by the classical pianist Nora Mulder (2007). He also uses Winterreise as the title for a special concert evening with guests which the saxophonist organizes every year on December 29 at the Amsterdam Paradiso.
In 2009 Honing forms an acoustic band with a chordal instrument for the first time! In his Acoustic Quartet Wolfert Brederode is the pianist, Ruben Samama on double bass, and Joost Lijbaart once again the drummer. That same year Honing also invites dance producer Floris Klinkert for a collaboration, resulting in the CD Phase Five. On this album Floris makes use of samples from the saxophonist's entire discography to produce new compositions. The resulting songs are sung by pop singers like Leine, Sarah Bettens (known of the band K's Choice) and Lilian Vieira (of the band Zuco 103); in addition Honing himself is featured as a soloist. January 2012 Yuri Honing won the Dutch Boy Edgar Prijs.
Other career highlights
  • 2001 Honing toured with Bley and bassist Charlie Haden.
  • 2003 He performed with guitarist Pat Metheny and bassist Scott Colley.
  • 2006 He recorded Symphonic with arranger and composer Vince Mendoza.
Source: Wikipedia
less

Press

... All eight compositions pass at a time like a petal in a small stream - slow and lazy, but hymnic and balladic!
skjazz.sk, 04-9-2020

Yuri's own way ...
De nieuwe Muze, 04-9-2020

... Congenially he is accompanied on the album by his acoustic quartet around Wolfert Brederode (piano), Gulli Gudmundsson (bass) and Joost Lijbaart (drums). Recommended!
Inmusic, 01-8-2020

Literature, painting, history, jazz and classical music: it all comes together on the albums with his acoustic quartet.
Enola.be, 09-6-2020

With Bluebeard, Yuri Honing has pulled off something quite exceptional.
Sandy Brown Jazz, 01-6-2020

Dutch saxophonist Yuri Honing’s tenor horn floats with melancholic grace through this album
The Scotsman, 30-5-2020

Deeply lyrical, meditative and uplifting, Bluebeard is a fine addition to Honing's impressive discography, and a high-water mark in the quartet's trajectory thus far.
All about Jazz, 26-5-2020

His sound and approach are mirrored by his bandmates, who are equally adept at such a distinctive form of creativity. The resulting album is the perfect partner for a few minutes of quiet, individual, reflection—an ideal way to diminish stress and wallow in the beauty of the music.
All about Jazz, 14-5-2020

... With big breath and an even bigger tone on the tenor saxophone Honing plays his way through the winding paths and the rhythm section harmoniously strikes out in other interesting ways again and again...
Jazz'n More, 12-5-2020

Yuri Honing Quartet creates new poetry with "Bluebeard"
Jazznu, 08-5-2020

Three years after the success of Goldbrun, Yuri Honing presents his new descendant Bluebeard. The theme refers to the dark fairytale that has many faces. The saxophonist naturally gives it his own twist. "Composing is nothing more than using your imagination."
Jazzism, 24-4-2020

Bluebeard crawls under your skin and shows the different faces of ominousness. Love and power can be a dangerous combination. And that sounds in this case - wonderful.
Jazzism, 24-4-2020

Bluebeard is the third CD of this quartet and a provisional highlight. Thematically, the music tells the story of King Bluebeard who murdered his seven wives. The pieces sometimes sound threatening and ominous, but the refined harmonies certainly have a comforting and healing function.
nederlands dagblad, 10-4-2020

airplay
hessischer Rundfunk, 02-4-2020

The saxophonist Yuri Honing, when creating the songs for his latest album, was inspired by the 17th century legend about Sinobrody.
Jazz Press/ Poland, 02-4-2020

... Honing breathes with his saxophone, but not in the style of Ben Webster, but then already more like Garbarek and other Nordic colleagues, in the mood carrying far away, seemingly lost in thought, trance-like and floating...
Musik an Sich, 02-4-2020

The music explodes with restraint.
Le Soir, 01-4-2020

... Be that as it may. Bluebeard by the Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet is an acoustic gem that friends of relaxed sounds should definitely listen into.
highresmac, 29-3-2020

Indescribable beauty ... Interaction of an eerily high level. Plate of the year.
Het Parool, 28-3-2020

Intimate and very atmospheric. “Bluebeard”, the new, magnificent CD by Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet.
Stretto, 28-3-2020

The music is characterized by poetry, great musicality, transparency and space, in which every note, every tone inflection, every chord and every slap and swipe matter and seem to reveal to us deep secrets, without ever being able to find words for it.
Het Parool, 24-3-2020

The Dutch saxophonist Yuri Honing should actually have been headlining the big festivals long ago and leading the charts with his recordings. After all, he has been one of the outstanding aesthetes of his instrument for a quarter of a century, and on "Bluebeard" he also shows that his tenor tone is hard to beat in terms of delicacy and suppleness...
Jazzthing, 24-3-2020

... music imbued with solemnity, with 'claires obscures' coloring, of an alto with clear sound, smooth, without roughness, and well supported by fluid piano playing by Wolfert Brederode, sometimes accompanied by some notes of vibraphone ('Bluebeard Maze'). Gulli Gudmundsson's double bass has a beautiful sound, full of lyricism and Joost Lijbaart plays his drums with such delicately. Music that evokes an atmosphere very close to ECM albums.
jazzhalo, 19-3-2020

Dreaming and wandering with Bluebeard.
NRC, 19-3-2020

...This album is characterized by mature artistic expression and emotion in the recordings of all instrumentalists. I like their interesting, imaginative improvisations, the wide range of articulation and technical means they use, the consistency in building their stylistic idea, the mutual inspiration, the full partnership and the great musicality. 
Jazz Fun, 16-3-2020

Another impressive album from the Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet.
Rootstime, 06-3-2020

... for the time being there is this beautiful album, on which Honing takes you along with pianist Wolfert Brederode, bassist Gulli Gudmundsson and drummer Joost Lijbaart on a discovery tour through the bluebeard catacombs, where you are immersed in fountains of music in hidden rooms.
Mania, 06-3-2020

Every note from Yuri Honing is striking on his album Bluebeard.
De Volkskrant, 05-3-2020

Play album Play album

Often bought together with..

Avalon Songs
Yuri Honing / Wolfert Brederode
Common View
Enrico Pieranunzi
Party Animals
Eric Vloeimans' Gatecrash
GOLDBRUN
Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet
Italian Opera Meets Jazz
Mike del Ferro / Claron McFadden / Metropole Orkest
Desire
Yuri Honing Acoustic Quartet

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