I did it!

After yesterday's concert with the uncomparable Rembrandt Frerichs Trio and Benjamin Glorieux during The Hague's Crossing Border Festival I finally get to rest again. I had such a great and inspiring three weeks with this group. It was fantastic to come back from another year of illness and immediately have such a series of concerts ready for me to play. It also was a test, a physical and mental one. Can I play three to four concerts a week already? Can my body deal with that? Can I mentally handle the stress? Yes and no. I am writing this while I am sick, the common cold, but it still hits me harder and more often than a couple of years ago. My body is saying 'Enough! Please sit down and breath.' On the other hand I did play the concerts, and I played well. The performances gave me so much energy and inspiration. My chops are back (on all saxes! I had the quartet on stage :-), but more importantly, this kind of music making is what I need and want from music. This is it. These guys, this way of handling music, improvisation, playing composed notes the best we can, finding the right balance between being constructively critical and positive remarks, this was just perfect. Thanks guys! Rembrandt Frerichs Vinsent Planjer Tony Overwater Benjamin Glorieux And also Hugo Ticciati Klaartje van Veldhoven