|
1 CD
✓ in stock |
€ 19.95
|
Buy |
| Label Challenge Records |
UPC 0608917357622 |
Catalogue number CR 73576 |
Release date 04 October 2024 |
"... As already written: very beautiful, wonderfully transparent production and recording – a feast for the ears..."
Er em, 12-10-2024Quiet Dreams, the debut album of the Ramon van Merkenstein Trio, was released at the end of 2021. At that time, the world was recovering from the COVID lockdown, and we hadn’t been able to play live music for quite some time. Fortunately, we were able to go on an extensive release tour to promote our music, growing closer as a band along the way. We learned a lot about each other, both musically and personally. Our trio has always been about connecting — with the audience, with the music, and with each other. This intense period strengthened these connections, resulting in a powerful band that is elevating the music to new heights.
During this time, I began composing new music specifically tailored to our trio’s chemistry. I knew exactly how to write to bring out the best in Lieven, Gabriele, and the band. This is the new music on Waiting for a Summer Storm.
The album became a collection of moods, reflecting the deep connection between music and emotions. Each track tells a different story: from the excitement of sudden insight in Epiphany to the calm acceptance of fate in Waiting for a Summer Storm. Reflecting captures moments of introspection, while Green Garden celebrates joy. Apollo’s Daydream is about chasing your dreams, and Shadow Song is my tribute to my wife, Inge. Dauntless embodies the feeling of being unstoppable, and Chez Lydia captures the thrill of playing live with an audience.
Waiting for a Summer Storm is more than an album; it’s a reminder of how strong music is. Each piece serves as a portal into the collective consciousness of the trio. It’s a tribute to new beginnings, to adventures yet to come, to dreams waiting to take flight.
Ramon van Merkenstein believes in combining traditional and experimental styles of music. He pursues grooving sound, compelling rhythms and surprising harmonies.
Ramon graduated the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with a Master of Music degree for jazz double bass in 2017. His internationally recognized conservatory teachers – as well as his intensive studies of recordings by legendary jazz musicians – have inspired Ramon to find his own musical voice.
Ramon’s musical creations and arrangements demonstrate his rich imagination and sophistication in jazz composition. Guided by fresh harmonies and grooving rhythms, he has developed his own characteristic style.
Audiences say it’s a great experience to watch Ramon perform on stage. He radiates his own sound with jazz energy, while his interplay with other band members is always musically inventive and coherent.
Prepare to be surprised!
Ramon van Merkenstein believes in combining traditional and experimental styles of music. He pursues grooving sound, compelling rhythms and surprising harmonies.
Ramon graduated the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with a Master of Music degree for jazz double bass in 2017. His internationally recognized conservatory teachers – as well as his intensive studies of recordings by legendary jazz musicians – have inspired Ramon to find his own musical voice.
Ramon’s musical creations and arrangements demonstrate his rich imagination and sophistication in jazz composition. Guided by fresh harmonies and grooving rhythms, he has developed his own characteristic style.
Audiences say it’s a great experience to watch Ramon perform on stage. He radiates his own sound with jazz energy, while his interplay with other band members is always musically inventive and coherent.
Prepare to be surprised!
... As already written: very beautiful, wonderfully transparent production and recording – a feast for the ears...
Er em, 12-10-2024
... ... The original compositions and the great solos by all members of this trio make this album extraordinary and well worth listening to......
jazzfun , 04-10-2024
... The musical focus is on wide-ranging, atmospheric freestyle numbers and soloistic intermezzi.
inMusic, 01-12-2024
... The trio's music is compact, joyful and brooding, always in mutual empathy...
skjazz.sk, 13-11-2024
The performances of the protagonists are a balm for the ears and the soul, especially in this era. The beautiful round sound of the guitar during the solos is impossible not to like. Played by Gabriele di Franco, an Italian living in Brussels, in short, the decoration of the recording. Of Merkenstein, the same must be said. The whole trio radiates energy, which is immediately transferred to the audience.
SKJazz, 13-11-2024
Lively melodic lines, balanced swing, slight bulges and angular arabesques alternate, sometimes in the same song. All the material was also composed by van Merkenstein. A more than successful second album.
Jazzmania, 05-11-2024
Each piece tells a different story, full of different emotions and atmospheres. And that’s the beauty of this album to take us on various adventures from which we only emerge with firm intention to relive them.
Le Soir, 30-10-2024
The power of control, but especially of a close playing trio.
That way they keep the tension going. Spicy melody lines, balanced swing, light protrusions and angular arabesques alternate, sometimes in the same song. By the way, all the material was composed by van Merkenstein. A more than worthy second album.
Jazzhalo, 12-10-2024
... has developed a sound language that artfully combines modern jazz with experimental sounds and rock elements...
Jazzzthing, 01-9-2024
Play album
