Epoxy Quartet - Recollection (2025) [Hi-Res]

The debut release by the DutchEpoxy Quartet. The ensemble provides space to four award-winning musicians - Koen Gijsman (piano), Kasper Rietkerk (saxophones), Tuomas Ruokonen (drums), and Kim Jager (cello) - who are all experienced improvisers and composers in their own right.

This album consists of 9 pieces based on scenes, photos, people, and experiences from my own life, plus two free improvisations. Although they are my personal memories, we recollect these experiences collectively as we translate them into sound. I share my personal experiences with the ensemble using materials ranging from graphic scores and written melodies, to photos and stories. I invite the others to individually interpret what I offer them. These materials function as unfinished compositions and as such challenge us to creatively connect our own ideas and sounds to the music, over and over again. To deal with this freedom in a musical way, we developed strategies for collective improvisation during a two-year artistic research process focused on the Dutch tradition of free improvisation from the 1960s. This combination of recollection and improvisation has resulted in a record that is playful and personal, yet has an evocative, nostalgic, and impressionist character.

Tracklist:
1 Arecibo
2 Made
3 Mettā
4 Out of Reach
5 Shelter
6 Three Strikes Out
7 The Clearing
8 Last Chance
9 Daybreak
10 Inertia