Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Robin Verheyen: Starbound

202

Robin Verheyen: Starbound

By

View read count
Robin Verheyen: Starbound
Belgian-born/ New York-based saxophonist Robin Verheyen has crafted, on Starbound, an engaging form of lively chamber jazz—a label that often denotes a more sedate listening experience.

Verheyen plays tenor and soprano saxophones, but here leans more toward the straight horn. The set opens with a spring-in-its-step romp, "On the House." The ensemble bubbles and burns, as pianist Bill Carrothers lays down quirky grooves behind Verhayen's sugary tone, while bassist Nicolas Thys and drummer Dre Pallemaerts sizzle along with implacable momentum. It's a cool four minute stretch of interplay, full of surprises.

The lyrical Verheyen original, "Boechout," slows the pace. Carrothers is as unconventional and beautiful as ever in his accompaniment. As on the entire disc, the sound has a very organic, stream-of-consciousness feeling, and off-the-beaten-path loveliness.

Verheyen's title tune is a concise and sparkling piece of high-energy interplay that leads into the album's more inward centerpiece— and highlight—"Lamenting." The wandering, haunting introspection features the leader on a dark-toned tenor sax in conversation with Carrothers' spare, wistful notes, on a tune that gathers momentum in the direction of saxophone anguish before it gives way to the piano's disconsolate mood.

The leader has assembled a distinctive sound on Starbound, one that steps out of the shadows of "Lamenting" into the bustlingly sunny "Roscopaje," with an atmosphere that brings to mind John Coltrane. On "Waves," Verheyen explores the pure-toned, flute-like upper register of his horn in front of the subtle, nuanced ensemble whisperings. "Long Island City" careens joyously through those city streets and features a rollicking Carrothers solo.

Starbound, Verheyen's Pirouet Records debut, proves to be a distinctively off-center and fully engaging set of sounds with satisfying depth.

Track Listing

On the House; Boechout; The Flight of the Eagle; Starbound; Lamenting; Roscopaje; Waves; Long Island City; Narcis; Tree Line; I Wish I Knew.

Personnel

Robin Verheyen
saxophone

Robin Verheyen: soprano and tenor saxophones; Bill Carrothers: piano; Nicolas Thys: bass; Dre Pallemaerts: drums.

Album information

Title: Starbound | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Pirouet Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.