Trio Nuevo: jazz meets tango
Michael Gustorff – violin
www.gustorff.com
Hans Sparla – accordion
Dick de Graaf – tenorsaxophone
www.dickdegraaf.com
After his acclaimed cross-over projects with the rock of Jimi Hendrix, with westafrican griots and Franz Schubert’s chamber music, saxophonist and composer Dick de Graaf, one of the original voices in European jazz is presenting Trio Nuevo.
Together with Michael Gustorff on the violin and Hans Sparla on the accordion he has started a jazz-meets-tango program with a repertoire of old and famous milongas and tangos by Astor Piazzolla, mixed with new originals by de Graaf. By its beautiful combination of acoustic instruments Trio Nuevo creates a dynamic musical landscape that leaves space for intense improvisations.
Astor Piazzolla was the creator of the Tango Nuevo. He had an open ear for all music around him and he loved to play with jazz musicians. In the seventies and eighties he made obscure records with baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and with vibraphonist Gary Burton.
Trio Nuevo takes the challenge to combine jazz and tango its own way.
With her impressive alto voice guestsinger Sandra Coelers sings lyrics by poets Horacio Ferrer and Jorge Luis Borges that were originally set by Piazzolla, in new arrangments by both Dick de Graaf and Hans Sparla.
November 2006 Trio Nuevo has released its first CD: Trio Nuevo: Jazz Meets Tango (Soundroots Records SR01) that has got positive feedback from audiences and press.
Press:
It’s like travelling to a café on the left bank in Paris, sipping café au lait while taking in the artistic sights and people. It’s like being in a small club in Buenos Aires, or riding a train up a steep South American slope.
Trio Nuevo is full of emotions and soul, while retaining its pure integrity.
Jazz Scene (Oregon USA)- Kyle O’Brian June 2007
…blending tango and jazz results in fresh fascination.
Palo Alto Daily News - Paul Freeman
…einfühlsam und sensibel…farbenreiche Klänge
Jazzpodium (D), Ilse Storb
… a fluid and flexible feeling, brimming with freedom and passion…
De Graaf ups the jazz factor considerably, with some impassioned and freewheeling blowing around the sinuous lines of the violin and sighing washes of the accordion…like a band that has been playing around the Buenos Aires nightspots together for decades. Sandra Coelers’vocals are fittingly emotion-filled.
All About Jazz (USA) – Dan McClenaghan
… there are other bands blending the exciting sounds and rhythms of tango into modern jazz. But this is one of the most interesting new efforts in the crossover direction. The accordion replaces the tango-centric bandoneon in the trio, and there's no string bass or piano. Yet the sharply rhythmic insistence of the typical tango sound is certainly here.
Audiophile Audition (USA) - John Henry
… arrangements of Piazzolla compositions blend the spirit of the originals with gifted improvisations, adding vocalist Sandra Coelers on several tracks. The trio opens the CD with a brisk, infectious rendition of "Libertango" and negotiates the tricky "Summit” with finesse. Of De Graaf's three compositions, "Sleeping Giant" especially stands out for its intricate blend of jazz and tango.
Ken Dryden, www.allmusic.com
… an intoxicating brew … filled with creativity and imagination. The musicians soar as they perform in top notch fashion, and each song is a memorable musical expression. No other group could do this in just such a fine manner as Trio Nuevo. Listen to "Milonga de Jacinto Chiclana" and you will find yourself swept up in its intricate sounds and powerful motifs.
Jazzreview (USA) – Lee Prosser