Midnight Song

About the album Pieter Bast E.S.P. Quintet - Midnight Song

It may or may not have been his initial intention, but Pieter Bast did what many musicians can only hope for: He created a band with a sound that you’ll recognize as soon as you hear the second track - and he did so on his very first album as a band leader.

Not bad for any artist, definitely not bad for a drummer, unless you know that Pieter is the kind of drummer that thinks way beyond the scope of his instrument, his sound, his technique, and his personal approach. He’s a band drummer who happens to play jazz, a drummer who is very much aware of the effect a single note may have on where the music is headed. That’s not something he learned over the years, but an essential element of what makes him the musician - and, as of now, the band leader - he simply is.

European Songbook
It has taken Pieter quite a while to come up with his first album, being way too busy as a side man for prominent musicians such as Kenny Wheeler, Charlie Mariano, Eric Vloeimans, Fay Victor, Hugh Hopper, Mike Mainieri, Marnix Busstra, and Paul van Kemenade, and as a teacher at the Brussels conservatory and other institutions. ‘I definitely wanted to make my own album, but I wanted to do it for a reason. As I have played with so many European musicians and composers, I came to realize that there’s hardly such a thing as a European songbook for jazz musicians. That’s where I found my inspiration for this band, a band that would allow me to record some of my own tunes as well.’

No need to wait
The European Songbook Project was born, the acronym ESP also referring to the famous Wayne Shorter composition, and to the extrasensory perception that’s an essential element of any jazz performance. ‘In the end, you may wonder how European our music really is, how ‘European’ jazz can really be. Of course, there are African elements all around, some of our main influences are American, and the concept of a jazz quintet is American. Our music is more introverted, more lyrical, more romantic, perhaps, than most American jazz albums from this era. We try not to play more than the music requires, but we won’t make you wait for the next note either.’

A whole lot of brass
One thing that makes for the band’s recognizable sound is the use of two brasswinds, rather than the common trumpet/saxophone line-up. What sets the sound even more apart is the way trumpeter Bert Lochs arranged the horn players’ music, writing intricate intertwining counter melodies rather than a basic, complementary second voice. Just listen to the melody in the second track, Serendipity, to hear a perfect example. ‘Rather than simply adding a bit of color, Bert turns his horn arrangements into an essential element of the composition. And yes, I guess that makes it quite a bit harder to promote these tracks as true Songbook material... Well, so be it,’ adds Pieter.

Whale
There are few acoustic quintets that use as many electronics as this band, and even less that are able to strike the perfect balance between discretion and abundance. If you find that acoustic jazz should be purely acoustic, you probably won’t be bothered by the way these guys make their effects sound as an integrated part of jazz history. And if you love electronics, you’ll be perfectly happy too. ‘The horn players and Paul, on keys, mainly use their effects when someone else is soloing. It’s an addition, rather than a focus, ranging from a trumpet that sounds three octaves below its regular pitch in King of Red, or a trombone imitating a whale getting stuck between a couple of submarines, in Low Days.’

Pieter Bast - drums
Jasper Somsen - bass
Paul Maassen - keys
Bert Lochs - trumpet
Michael Rörby - trombone