Concert review
Eemlandse Mysteriespelen
Doopsgezinde kerk, Baarn, NL
February 23, 2025
Text: Robin Boer
Photos: De Nozem Amersfoort (Peter Putters)
On Sunday, February 23, 2025, a cozy Mennonite church in Baarn hosted an unforgettable afternoon of adventurous music. Four exceptional musicians, deeply connected to the city, performed a crossover set blending jazz, improvisation, medieval, baroque, and rock influences.
The event, led by composer/pianist/author Stormvogel, combined elements of Festival De Muzen and Jazz Aan De Amer. Stormvogel, a multi-talented artist, is best known for his impressive “Drakenburger Concerto,” a fusion of jazz, rock, and baroque, which he dubs “jazzbarock.”
Joining him were drummer and conservatory professor Lucas van Merwijk, a significant figure in European jazz and Latin music; bassist Marco van Os, known for his creative contributions to Dutch jazz and remarkable albums like “Quest” and “Hybris”; and saxophonist Peter Lieberom, a versatile musician active since the 1980s, who has toured globally with the successful Dutch rock band Ten Sharp and collaborated with numerous artists, including Mike Mainieri.
The 2.5-hour program featured mainly original compositions, like the moving piece “Ianus,” incredibly rich in harmony with its inventive chord progressions and medieval melodies, or the suite “Awakening Of The Beauty,” recalling the beautiful textures of peak-era Pat Metheny Group, and quotations from Magma’s “Hhaï,” to name a few. It’s intriguing to witness that Stormvogel’s piano playing, while technically impressive, is always layered with mystique, expanding the music to become something bigger and more imaginative. The band’s performance in the final minutes of this piece was breathtaking; every performer managed to bring out the best in themselves and give it back to the music.
Van Merwijk’s drum skills are nothing short of impressive. Not only is his dynamic range huge, but his technical rhythmic skills, strong intonation, and on-the-spot innovation blend perfectly, and are perfectly complemented by Van Os’ sometimes sparing but musical bass parts, skillfully balancing between the rough edges and rhythmic accuracy.
Lieberom’s saxophone solos stand out because they are so incredibly thoughtful. Even during John Coltrane’s classic “Lonnie’s Lament,” recorded just a few months before the milestone “A Love Supreme,” instead of losing himself in dreamy freewheeling, he remains perfectly in control. Probing into the infinite, he magnificently managed to walk the perfect path where abstraction and melody could possibly meet. Truly unique. Lieberom and Stormvogel are long-time collaborators, and it’s evident that for the latter, the universe of McCoy Tyner’s quartal harmonies doesn’t hold any secrets. More than 60 years after the fact, it brings comfort to know that the original classic quartet still isn’t really far away.
Both the composed and improvised sections were interchanged with historical lectures on the Eemland region, and interviews with Lieberom and Van Merwijk. The set came to its conclusion with “One For Jacques”, another crafty Stormvogel composition, in the style of of a true American jazz-standard. It would fit perfectly in the Great American Songbook. The solos were impressive once again!
The afternoon was a testament to the musicians’ inspiration, humility, expression, and skill. The church could host a crowd of not much more than 50 people. Stormvogel embraces this concept: “After all, John Zorn, in his early days, regularly played for audiences of less than 15 people, and he dug that, since he proudly claimed that his work is intended for a small, dedicated audience. My audience is also small, but very dedicated and open-minded. That’s what matters to me.”
That being said, it is entirely fair to say that those who were absent this afternoon missed out on a lot.
The next episode of this series will take place on Sunday, March 23rd.
Concert Setlist:
- Ianus (Stormvogel) performed on grand piano
- Improv: Ag47 (Lucas van Merwijk, Stormvogel)
- Quo Vadis (Peter Lieberom), a jam around different saxophone licks, including a quotation from Michael Brecker’s solo in “The Pleasant Pheasant” from Billy Cobham’s 1974 album Crosswinds
- Lonnie’s Lament (John Coltrane)
- Awakening Parts II & III (Stormvogel)
- One For Jacques (Stormvogel)
