Winter Jazzfest 2020: Sounds of the Dutch Underground

Sun, Jan 12 - Sun, Jan 12  2020

On Sunday, January 12th, Winter Jazzfest 2020 will present “Sounds of the Dutch Underground“. Four Dutch jazz musicians will perform at Nublu in New York City.

Binkbeats

Binkbeats. Courtesy of Good Music Company.

Frank Wienk spent a good chunk of his lifetime studying the relationship between object and sound. Predominantly, his well-honed and peerless prowess of virtually any type of drum or percussion instrument served the artistic vision of others. As Binkbeats, Wienk snowballs his wide-eyed relationship to sound into a fully-formed, highly personal brainchild.

Binkbeats previously made his mark with the Beats Unraveled series, which found him translating such paragons as Flying Lotus, Aphex Twin and J. Dilla to acoustic, tangible realms. And impressively enough, Beats Unraveled achieved this feat without sacrificing the amorphous nature of the respective original works. Utilizing a vast collection of instruments – ranging from vibraphone, guzheng (Chinese harp) and yes, even typewriters – Wienk rapidly gained an impromptu following. To him however, Beats Unraveled marked an exploratory phase of how to recreate certain sounds with his own instruments and gear.

Now composing his original material, Wienk began stretching his sonic purview beyond just his vast array of percussion, and completely disregarding any parameters. As a matter of fact, the first creative spark arose by bringing harmonics and voice into the mix. As a result, Binkbeats has become Wienk’s beautiful limbo where his influences bleed into each other freely, intuitively and fearlessly.

Cavernous, four-to-the-floor club sprawlers, widescreen pop euphoria and brooding drone workouts all orbit Binkbeats’ all-embracing vision. The common thread of it all: to spawn something surreal out of the earthly. On stage, Wienk naturally surrounds himself with a dazzling amount of toys, instruments and gear: a physical performance that ranges from daredevil to introspective, exploring a nexus of possibilities.

Binkbeats, with its confluence of aural whims, is – remarkably so – the work of one individual.

Niels Broos & Jamie Peet

Niels Broos & Jamie Peet. Courtesy of Good Music Company.

Niels Broos and Jamie Peet are two child prodigy musicians, hailing from The Netherlands. Niels started playing keys at the tender age of four, and Jamie started off behind the drumkit at 5. Both have their signature sound and style, which have forged them as two of the most influential musicians in The Netherlands today, when it comes to fusing contemporary styles like jazz, hiphop and electronics. They started performing together just recently, but within a couple of months have made quite an impression across bigger festivals like Transition Festival and Mondriaan Jazz Festival 2017, that brought these two together on stage for the first time.

The music is totally improvised, with some melodic and rhythmic hooks, with an original analog approach, reminiscent of the New York based duo of Taylor McFerrin and Marcus Gilmore. But Niels and Jamie are less urban and build endless amounts of tension, that reminds the listener of groups like Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and early Autechre. This is the sound of the Dutch underground, the sound of today.

Tineke Postma Freya feat. Jonathan Finlayson, Matt Brewer and Dan Weiss

Nederland, Rotterdam, 11 juli 2014
Tineke Postma en Greg Osby
Foto: Merlijn Doomernik Courtesy of Good Music Company.

Tineke Postma: alto and soprano sax
Jonathan Finlayson (filling for Ralph Alessi): trumpet
Matt Brewer: bass
Dan Weiss: drums

Saxophonist and composer Tineke Postma, Rising Star for soprano saxophone in the American Downbeat Polls 2019, has been touring internationally since 2003 as a band leader (Tineke Postma Quartet, Sonic Halo, Tineke Postma International Group) and performed as a guest with prominent musicians and groups such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Herbie Hancock, Kenny Barron, Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves and Wayne Shorter.

Tineke released six albums (First Avenue in 2003, For The Rhythm in 2005, A Journey That Matters in 2007, The Traveler in 2009, The Dawn Of Light in 2011 and Sonic Halo in 2014) with a mix of original work and arrangements of jazz standards which received great critical acclaim.

Tineke received many awards such as the Heijmans Award, the Singer Laren Jazz Award, an Edison National Category for the Tineke Postma Quartet album “The Dawn of Light” and the prestigious Buma Boy Edgar Award (2015). Tineke is also part of two Grammy-winning albums by Terri Lyne Carrington (Mosaic Project) and Dianne Reeves (Beautiful Life).

Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet) has been recognized by the New York Times as “…an incisive and often surprising trumpeter,” He attended the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Finlayson is a disciple of Steve Coleman, having joined his band Five Elements in 2000 at the age of 18. He is widely admired for his ability to tackle cutting-edge musical concepts with aplomb. Finlayson has performed and recorded in groups led by Steve Lehman, Mary Halvorson, Craig Taborn, Henry Threadgill and played alongside notables such as Von Freeman, Jason Moran, Dafnis Prieto and Vijay Iyer.

Matt Brewer (bass) works with artists such as Greg Osby, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Lee Konitz, David Sanchez, Terence Blanchard, Antonio Sanchez, Vijay Iyer, Adam Rogers, Steve Coleman, Dave Binney, Aaron Parks, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and many others. He is a deputy faculty member at The New School and was a frequent guest artist / teacher at the Banff Center.

Dan Weiss (drums) is a member of the Sonic Halo group of Tineke. They toured with Sonic Halo in Europe and the States. He has been praised as one of the five best jazz drummers in The New York Times and his large ensemble recording “Fourteen” made it to the top ten of the best recordings of 2014. Weiss’s innovative drumming and progressive compositions have pushed musical boundaries for years. In addition to drums, Weiss has been studying tabla for twenty years under Pandit Samir Chatterjee and earned a place in Modern Drummer’s coveted Top 5 Jazz Drummers of 2014.

The Sound of Freya

This group is a new project of Tineke Postma. FREYA is Tineke’s most personal project to date with new work she created in the past year. Motherhood provided a wide range of emotions and new visions on her life. Lyrical melodies, exciting chords, groovy pieces, lots of interplay between the band members, room for silence and adventure.
Tineke: “I like to write multi-layered music with conceptual elements. The musicians I asked to join are free to do with it what they want. They are some of the most creative musicians around so I knew that it was going to be great whatever they came up with.”

Tin Men & The Telephone

Tin Men & The Telephone. Courtesy of Good Music Company.

Tin Men and the Telephone present the GREATEST show – Global Relocation of Evolved Apes Towards Exoplanet Suitable for Terraformation: a new immersive multimedia performance that combines improvised music, visuals, and audience participation via a smartphone app to address the very timely topic of climate change in a uniquely interactive, fun and thought-provoking way.

Still driving your non-electric car, eating dairy or meat at every meal, taking long showers, and enjoying your last-minute flights to tropical holiday destinations? Then you are the perfect candidate for this special mission: heating up a brand-new planet! Tin Men welcome you to the GETAWAY SPACE AGENCY – Global Evacuation Transport Authority Way Ahead of You.

In the (very) near future, the climate crisis has escalated, and the time has come for humanity to leave planet Earth. A new, nearly inhabitable planet has been discovered, and you and your fellow audience members are the chosen few to find themselves on board a space ship heading towards this new home. However, your destination is currently far too cold for human life but have no fear! This problem should be resolved soon, as humans have proven to be excellent at heating up their environment. As you travel through space, you must collaborate to make a plan to warm up your new home and enjoy the live in-flight entertainment by Tin Men and the Telephone along the way.

Lineup:
Tony Roe – piano/synths/visuals
Pat Cleaver – bass
Jamie Peet – drums