Articles by Robin Arends
Eddie Gomez: The Call of the Wild
by Robin Arends
How to survive in jazz music? One of the people who can answer this question is bassist Eddie Gomez. With his 11 year cooperation he was the longest serving sideman of pianist Bill Evans. After interviewing Evans-bassist Chuck Israels in Holland, I called Gomez a few weeks later in his hometown. Twice there was a connection to his voicemail saying: “Here is Eddie. Please leave your message when you hear the call of the wild" (subsequently a cry of a ...
read moreOmer Klein: Theme and Variations
by Robin Arends
One of the numerous talents that Israel has produced in the last decade is pianist Omer Klein. He is a much sought-after guest at various music venues in Europe, Israel and the U.S and last April he had his first tour in Canada. Klein, grew up in Netanya, Israel. After he received a special scholarship Klein moved to jny: Boston where he attended the New England Conservatory. In 2006 he moved to New York where he quickly became a notable ...
read moreThe Passion of Lorenzo Tucci
by Robin Arends
Drummer Lorenzo Tucci is an important part of the thriving Italian jazz scene and a musician drawn to experimental settings. He recorded Drumonk (Veneto Jazz, 2007) his tribute to Thelonious Monk without piano, and a piano-trio album, Tranety (Albore Jazz, 2010), dedicated to John Coltrane without a saxophonist. In the 1990s Tucci started his professional carreer in his hometown Rome, playing with Italian and international musicians. He has collaborated with numerous artists such as Phil Woods, George Cables and Enrico ...
read moreChuck Israels: Tribute to Bill Evans
by Robin Arends
Isn't it nice to meet someone who takes time for a good chat in these hectic times? Especially if this person has a lot to tell, carries the living memory of an important part of jazz history, and is called Chuck Israels?Bassist/arranger/composer Chuck Israels is in expansive form for this interview conducted in a room of a former monastery in Oegstgeest, a small town in the Netherlands near the North Sea. He is happy to be reunited again ...
read moreHans Ulrik: Still Searching
by Robin Arends
It is not easy to classify Danish saxophonist Hans Ulrik. He dedicates himself as easily to movie soundtracks and jingles as to an album of Latin or Christmas music. At the same time it is not difficult to recognize Ulrik's dreamy, Nordic voice. Like other European jazz musicians Ulrik started his career in the United States. While studying in Berklee in the mid 1980's he built up a network of jazz musicians and later on, back in Denmark, made good ...
read moreClaudio Filippini: Facing North
by Robin Arends
Pianist Claudio Filippini, born in Pescara in 1982, is one of the bright young stars of Italian jazz. With his album The Enchanted Garden (CAM Jazz, 2011) he was hailed as the new “wonder boy" of Italian jazz. Now he is regarded as a pianist/composer of international stature, with his album Facing North (CAM Jazz, 2013) receiving widespread critical acclaim. At the age of 11, Filippini enrolled in a course of jazz piano, parallel to his classical studies ...
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