Luc Houtkamp: Frush

The album Frush was recorded on November 17 2023, in concert at LOFT, Cologne, by German recording engineer and producer Stefan Deistler whose studio is based just outside Cologne. It was mixed and mastered by Luc Houtkamp, a band member who was born in The Hague, The Netherlands, in December 1953 and plays tenor saxophone and clarinet here.

Incidentally, as far back as November 2017, at The Alternativa Festival in Prague, Czech Republic, Houtkamp had played in a trio with two other members of the quartet that recorded Flush—Martin Blume, a free and improv drummer who was born in Amsberg, Germany, in 1956, and Steve Beresford, an eclectic and versatile composer, pianist, musician and arranger who was born in Shropshire, UK, in 1950. The Beresford-Blume-Houtkamp trio was in the spotlight again when it was recorded in concert at LOFT Cologne on October 7th 2018, a recording that was released as Shed 1 (FMR Records) in December 2020. The connection between Houtkamp and Blume dates further back than that trio; as early as 2002 they had played in the trio named 2nd Outlet with Dutch pianist Cor Fuhler, recording the album Burnt Sienna (Nuscope, 2004). In the same period, Houtcamp and Blume were also members of the quartet FOURinONE...

The fourth member of the quartet that recorded Frush was Italian trombonist Sebi Tramontana who was born in Rosolini, Sicily, in December 1960, but now lives in Munich, Germany.. So, the four members have different nationalities—Dutch, German, British and Italian. The music that they played on November 17th 2023 is credited to all four players, which can often be an indication that all the players were improvising rather than playing pre-composed music. The album's seven tracks, which all begin with the letter "F" for some reason, have a combined playing time of 54' 16," with the longest, "Fidther," playing for 12' 07" and the shortest, "Frush," for 3' 44." However, rather than being listened to as individual tracks, this album is best heard from start to finish as a coherent whole in which each musician reacts and responds to the music of the others. Once the album is over, the only sensible thing to do is to listen to it again... and to hope that this foursome records again soon.

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