maandag 30 mei 2011

Joshua Redman @ Bimhuis

One of my great contemporary tenor heroes is Joshua Redman. He was at the Bimhuis last night with a trio consisting of young American jazz musicians.

In 2008 I witnessed one of the most impressive jazz concerts in my life: Joshua Redman with his own trio without keys or guitar, and on drums Brian Blade. This jazz as chamber music, so dynamic and exciting. The energy and creativity were flowing freely. Yesterday however, I discovered that mr. Redman needs sidemen that can carry him. He is not Chris Potter, who can blow right through any musicians that surround him. Redman needs to have equals around him. Brian Blade is someone that can connect with Redman. Yesterday's trio wasn't. Redman is a great player, not virtuoso, not macho, no heavy sound. His music comes from below the neck.  It's not intellectual, and yesterday I thought that this quartet might have been an attempt to experiment with a more rational and macho jazz.

I hope Redman finds what he's looking for. I didn't see it (yet).

Until then, I will attend his concerts whenever I can.

woensdag 18 mei 2011

Saxophone Concerto repertoire Ties Mellema now online

Saxophone Concertos; Repertoire Ties Mellema, with orchestra

Saxophone Concertos; Repertoire Ties Mellema, with orchestra

Saxophone concertos

Berio, Luciano - Chemins for sopran saxophone and orchestra
Berio, Luciano - Chemins for alto saxophone and orchestra
Bryars, Gavin - Allegrasco for saxophone and stringorchestra
Bryars, Gavin - The Green Ray for saxophone and orchestra
Caplet, André - Légende for chamberensemble and saxophone
Debussy, Claude - Rapsody
Denisow, Edison - Concerto for saxophone and orchestra (Sikorski) 1992
Glazounow - saxophone concerto (stringorchestra)
Jacob TV - Tallahatchie Concerto
Kancheli, Giya - Night Prayers  (Strings + Prepared Tape) 20'
Larsson, Lars-Erik - Concerto for saxophone and stringorchestra (three movements)
Martin, Frank - Ballad for alto saxophone and stringorchestra
Martin, Frank - Ballad for tenor (symphony orchestra)
Mihalovici, Marcel - Chant Premier for Solo tenor (symphony orchestra)
Milhaud, Darius - Scaramouche (symphony orchestra)
Muldowney, Dominic - Concerto (chamberorchestra)
Nyman, Michael - Where the Bee dances (chamber orchestra)
Nyman, Michael - Double Concerto for saxophone and cello with orchestra
d'Rivera, Paquito - 'Conversations with Cachao' for saxophone, doublebass and orchestra, 33’
Schmitt, Florent - Légende
Torke, Michael - Saxophone concerto for saxophone and orchestra
Villa-Lobos, Heitor - Fantasia (stringorchestra + 4 hrns)
Williams, John - Escapades (dé John Williams)
Wilson, Ian - Who's afraid of red, yellow and blue (symphony orchestra)
Wilson, Ian - Sarée in Kassel, composed for Ties Mellema (chamberorchestra)

Programmes 2012-2013 now online (English)

Ties Mellema/Hans Eijsackers, recital piano/saxophone

Half Blood, the Music of Prince (with En Accord String Quartet and bassist Wilmar de Visser)

Shadows, solo saxophone with subtle electronics

Minimal Ties, minimal music now and then

2012-2013Programmes

Mellema/EijsackersDuo
recital saxophone/piano

Asaxophone and piano recital by the winner of the Dutch Music Prize,Ties Mellema, and one of the most versatile pianists of Holland, HansEijsackers. During the concert Ties and Hans will gladly tell theaudience more about the various pieces they play.
The programme isa selection of the most successful adaptations and originalcompositions for saxophone and piano from the Mellema/Eijsackersduo’s repertoire.
The Irish composer Ian Wilson and jazzdouble-bassist Tony Overwater are currently composing new work forTies and Hans for the 2012-2013 season.

Programmeproposal:

Maurice Ravel - Sonate Posthume
SergejRachmaninov - Sonate Op. 19

Interval

ClaudeDebussy/Hans Eijsackers - Syrinx
Ian Wilson - New Work
TonyOverwater - New Work
Guillermo Lago - Strong Ties

(subjectto change, final programme always by agreement)



'MinimalTies'

Ties Mellema, solosaxophone
optionally with Niels Bijl, saxophones

Minimalmusic highlights from the saxophone repertoire. Golden Oldies andcontemporary minimal music.

TerryRiley - Dorian Reeds
Philip Glass - Gradus
Ties Mellema -Minimal Impro
Ian Wilson - Ondes Ombragées
(for saxophone andLIVE recorded tape)
Eduardo Marturet - Canto Llano
(forsaxophone and tape delay)

WithNiels Bijl, saxophones
Marc Mellitis - Black
for two baritonesaxophones
Philip Glass, Music in the Shape of a Square
for twosoprano saxophones

(subjectto change, final programme always by agreement)

'Shadows'

TiesMellema, solo saxophones


Apoetical programme built up around the Irishman Ian Wilson and hisOndes Ombragées,a piece in which the saxophonist records himself in the first halfand plays together with himself in the second half. The programme isbeautifully balanced and varied through the subtle use ofelectronics.
'Shadows'is Ties Mellema’s continuing quest to take the audience with himinto his musical world. Ties is constantly looking for new pieces andsounds (for instance through the subtle use of electronics). Inaddition there are constantly composers writing for this versatilemusician. Each concert has a place in Ties’ development and growthas a musician and as a saxophonist.
Each programme is attuned tothe space in which the concert will take place. The space ispreferably used in an unconventional way.
There are two constants:the Irish composer Ian Wilson and Johann Sebastian Bach (Cello suiteno. 3 or the Partita BWV 1013)


Sampleprogramme:

EduardoMarturet (1953) - Canto Llano
for saxophone and tape delay
IanWilson (1964) - Ondes Ombragées
for saxophone and LIVE recordingand play-back
Luciano Berio (1925-2003) - Sequenza VIIb
forsolo saxophone
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Cello suite no.1, 3 and/or Partita (orig. flute)
for saxophone
Jorrit Dijkstra- new work, written for Ties Mellema
for saxophone andelectronics
Maarten Ornstein - Leap Frog (2011), written for TiesMellema
for saxophone and electronics

(subject to change, finalprogramme always by agreement)


'HalfBlood, the music of Prince'

TiesMellema, saxes
En Accord, string quartet
Wilmar de Visser,double bass

Asa saxophonist I am used to playing all kinds of styles in myconcerts. One style that I have barely played during my career, sinceI left the conservatory, is pop music, even though this type of musicformed a substantial part of my musical development as a teenager.
The most important pop artist during puberty for me, was Prince.Prince is an artist who has always fascinated me. He can suddenlychange styles, from one album to the next, from one song to the next.His compositions are a match for many a classical piece.
I haveasked composers to recompose one or more songs for saxophone andstring quartet:
David Dramm, Martin Fondse, Wijnand van Klaveren,Pieter-Jelle de Boer, Guillermo Lago, Ruud van Eeten and RenskeVrolijk.

Theresult is truly varied. Van Klaveren used the modal character ofThieves in the Temple, Purple Rain and Diamonds and Pearls and turnedit into a Suite in the style of Rachminov.
Guillermo Lagotransformed Sign o' the Times into an impressionistic poem.
DavidDramm wrote a fascinating 'medley' by putting intros to Prince songsin sequence and replacing all the original sounds by acoustic soundssuch as my saxophone, his own voice and that of Monica Germino.
Thecomposers’ were asked to ‘recompose’ and explicitly not torearrange in the usual sense. My brief to the composers was:‘Recompose this piece in your own style, making sure the melodyremains recognisable. You can run with that.’
In the end theyare all new re-compositions. With elements and melodies which willsound familiar to many, in a new context, a new perspective, with atwist and with an unexpected sound.

(subjectto change, final programme always by agreement)

Programmes 2012-2013 Now online (English): Ties Mellema/Hans Eijsackers; Half Bloof, the Music of Prince, Shadows (solo saxophone); Minimal Ties (minimal music now and then)

woensdag 4 mei 2011

Dutch Heights, Award winning Dutchmen, page 376: "Mellema consistently treats the listener to a new understanding of whatever piece he is playing, in jazz it known as improvisation, in classical it is called interpretation."

Long line

I just realized that my life nowadays is about a longer line than it used to be.

When I was in conservatory it mattered to have a routine every day, to study my scales and etudes as well as I could. Today I have to do what s necessary that day, or that period. And I sometimes forget that I am quite good at playing the saxophone already. It's not about scales and etudes anymore, at least, not all the time.
What a relief!

Nieuwsbrief programmeurs nu  online (Dutch only)

dinsdag 3 mei 2011

Programma's '12-'13 nu online

Programma's '12-'13

De programma's van Nederlandse Muziekprijswinnaar 2010, Ties Mellema zijn nu online.

Duo Mellema/Eijsackers
recital saxofoon/piano

Een saxofoon en piano recital door Nederlandse Muziekprijswinnaar Ties Mellema en één van de meest veelzijdige pianisten van Nederland, Hans Eijsackers. Ties en Hans lichten het concert graag mondeling toe op een informele manier.
Het programma is een selectie van de meest geslaagde bewerkingen en origineel werk voor saxofoon en piano uit het repertoire van het duo Mellema/Eijsackers.
Voor het seizoen '12-'13 schrijven de Ierse componist Ian Wilson en jazzbassist Tony Overwater op dit moment nieuwe werken voor Ties en Hans.

Programmavoorstel:
(onder voorbehoud, definitief programma altijd in overleg)

Maurice Ravel - Sonate Posthume
Sergej Rachmaninov - Sonate Op. 19

Pauze

Claude Debussy/Hans Eijsackers - Syrinx
Ian Wilson - Nieuw Werk
Tony Overwater - Nieuw Werk
Guillermo Lago - Strong Ties



'Minimal Ties'

Ties Mellema, solo saxofoon
optioneel met Niels Bijl, saxofoons

Minimal music highlights uit het saxofoonrepertoire. Oude krakers, en hedendaagse minimal music.

Terry Riley - Dorian Reeds
Philip Glass - Gradus
Ties Mellema - Minimal Impro
Ian Wilson - Ondes Ombragées
(voor saxofoon en LIVE recorded tape)
Eduardo Marturet - Canto Llano
(vor saxofoon en tape delay)

Met Niels Bijl, saxofoons
Marc Mellitis - Black
voor twee baritonsaxofoons
Philip Glass, Music in the Shape of a Square
voor twee sopraansaxofoons

'Shadows'

Ties Mellema, solo saxofoons

Een poëtisch programma rondom de Ier Ian Wilson en zijn Ondes Ombragées, een werk waarin de saxofonist zichzelf in de eerste helft opneemt en in de tweede helft met zichzelf samenspeelt. Het programma heeft een prachtige balans en afwisseling door het subtiele gebruik van elektronica.
'Shadows' is een continue zoektocht van Ties Mellema om het publiek mee te nemen in zijn muzikale wereld. Ties is voortdurend op zoek naar nieuwe stukken en klanken (bijvoorbeeld door het subtiele gebruik van elektronica). Bovendien zijn er altijd componisten aan het schrijven voor deze veelzijdige muzikant. Elk concert neemt een unieke plaats in in de ontwikkeling van Ties als muzikant en saxofonist.
Elk programma wordt afgestemd op de ruimte waarin het concert zal plaatsvinden. Bij voorkeur wordt de ruimte op een niet conventionele wijze gebruikt.
Er zijn twee constanten: de Ierse componist Ian Wilson en Johann Sebastian Bach (Cellosuite no. 3 of de Partita BWV 1013)

Voorbeeldprogramma:

Eduardo Marturet (1953) - Canto Llano
voor saxofoon en tape delay
Ian Wilson (1964) - Ondes Ombragées
voor saxofoon en LIVE recording en play-back
Luciano Berio (1925-2003) - Sequenza VIIb
voor solosaxofoon
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Cellosuite no. 1, 3 en/of Partita (orig. fluit)
voor saxofoon
Jorrit Dijkstra - nieuw werk, gescrheven voor Ties Mellema
voor saxofoon en elektronica
Maarten Ornstein - Leap Frog (2011), geschreven voor Ties Mellema
voor saxofoon en elektronica


'Princepiration'

Ties Mellema, saxen
En Accord, strijkkwartet
Wilmar de Visser, contrabas
"Half Blood, the music of Prince"

Ties Mellema, saxen
EnAccord strijkkwartet
Wilmar de Visser, contrabas

Als saxofonist is Ties Mellema gewend allerlei stijlen te spelen tijdens zijn concerten. Eén stijl die nog nauwelijks aan bod kwam in zijn carrière, sinds het conservatorium, is de popmuziek. Alhoewel deze muziek een wezenlijk deel uitmaakt van Mellema's muzikale ontwikkeling als puber. De belangrijkste popartiest gedurende Mellema's puberteit was Prince, de plotselinge afwisseling van stijlen, per album per nummer….ook nu Mellema al lang geen puber meer is, blijft de fascinatie voor deze grootheid. Volgens Mellema doen de composities van Prince niet onder voor menig klassiek werk.

Hedendaagse componisten als David Dramm, Martin Fondse, Wijnand van Klaveren, Guillermo Lago, Ruud van Eeten, Renske Vrolijk, Maarten van Norden gebruikten nummers als Sign 'o' the Times, Te Amo Corazon, Kiss, Purple Rain, Thieves in the Temple, Nothing Compares to you als inspiratie voor eigen originele vaak groovende en soulvolle composities. Het resultaat is herkenbare hedendaagse muziek en Prince met een twist.