| Dutch pianist, composer and bandleader Michiel Braam leads his thirteen piece big band Bik Bent Braam ("Big Band Braam") on the album 13. This album has what turns out to be a dramatic opening with a version of George Gershwin's "The Man I Love" that starts off very abstractly. Braam has slowed down the melody, with notes played by alternating instruments. Just when you think they've completely deconstructed the tune, Braam surprises you by coming in with the melody, played perfectly. From the beginning, it's clear that Braam is using very skilled musicians—they can nail their charts and play both inside and outside. The group has some excellent soloists. Braam gets a big sound from his six horns (including two tubas!) and four reeds.
Braam is a member of the younger generation of Dutch jazz musicians. He has what seem to be some common traits in Dutch jazz musicians—a sense of humor and a certain disrespect for boundaries. He has recorded at least five other albums on BVHaast, including three big band recordings and a trio record of Thelonious Monk compositions. Braam's piano playing shows the influence of both Monk and Duke Ellington. Braam's use of the baritone sax as a lead instrument on bop pianist and composer George Wallington's "Lemon Drop" (a bestseller for Gene Krupa) reminds me of Duke's use of Harry Carney. Braam also takes some elements from the days of the Cotton Club and Fletcher Henderson with some Sun Ra thrown in.
He does a version of Ellington's "Mood Indigo" which gets started after a short brassy introduction and has an interesting tenor sax solo with piano and trumpet commentary underneath. On Deep Purple's "Child in Time" features percussion, with heavy use of sticks on sides of drums and some jungle type muted trumpet. The Portegese ballad "O Pato" displays some of Braam's Monkish piano playing.
Braam's lovely, peaceful version of Prince's "Sometimes it Snows in April", with its birdcalls and animal sounds (and a gentle alto sax solo), reminds me a bit of Carla Bley's writing. He follows with Henri Mancini's "The Pink Panther Theme," where the baritone sax solo gradually pushes the song in a wilder direction before it returns to the theme.
Just before the last song, the band plays three songs from Walt Disney's The Jungle Book starting with the romp of the novelty song "Monkey Chase," followed by two Richard Sherman's songs: the gentle "Trust in Me," which has a sparse, gentle piano solo and the wild "I Wanna Be Like You." The album ends with a more serious piece, an orchestral rendition Belgian songwriter Jacques Brel's love long "Ne Me Quitte Pas" ("Don't Leave Me").
Altogether, this impressive CD, which unites a wide range of music into a beautifully arranged and played whole, is well worth seeking out. |
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