Martina Verhoeven
Tryptophan Suite
*200 copies limited edition* Our 2nd release in the Axis series, graced with the beautiful b&w photography of Martina Verhoeven, is a special one. When José Lencastre came over last year for a recording with Dirk Serries (a pending release somewhere), we did this last-minute trio concert for the Jazzblazzt series in The Netherlands. With Martina Verhoeven on the electric crumar piano, this trio became something else. Tryptophan Suite represents the very first notes this new trio played togeth…
Density Dots
*200 copies limited edition* Impetus Group is Dirk Serries’ big band formation. The band name naturally refers to the Latin meaning: urgency, driving force, but even more spiritually to the moving language and strength of each musician in the ensemble to realize this free improvisational music. Impetus group is also a tribute to the improvisation scene of the sixties and seventies, more specifically the London scene led by guitarist Derek Bailey with his Company group.
The group has a fluctuatin…
Oud Klooster
Tip! Release on Raw Tonk Records.
Colin Webster - Baritone SaxophoneDirk Serries - Acoustic GuitarEmilie Škrijelj - AccordionMartina Verhoeven - Double BassTom Malmendier - Percussion
Recorded at Oud Klooster, Brecht, Belgium on 5th May 2022. Mixed and mastered by Dirk Serries
Twofold
*In process of stocking* "Onno Govaert. Now here is a guy who deserves to be in the spotlights. Verhoeven and Govaert form a beautiful musical partnership that thrives on abundant dynamics and colourful interaction. Whether it is the subtle ripostes or the unanimous cadences that develop throughout their improvisations, there is always a crisp and natural affinity at the core of their partnership. With Dirk Serries, Govaert alters his approach. The combination with the amplified acoustic guitar…
Today And All The Tomorrows
"Today and all the tomorrows is one of those releases that sounds like cinema for the ears, despite the fact that the ‘song’ order might seem random and that it might be hard to find a general arc. Verhoeven firmly stands at the center of this music, flanked by two guitarists that get caught up in six three-way conversations. There is no agreed method or set of expectations and fixed ideas, but listen carefully, and you will notice how each piece has its own characteristics and turns the combina…
Cure And Mound
“Thanks to Anton Mobin and his ‘prepared chamber’, a wooden box with strings, objects, and amplification. An instrument not unlike Tore H. Boe’s ‘acoustic laptop’. It is also an instrument for which we don’t know what it will sound like, unlike the piano, played by Martina Verhoeven, even when she plays the piano less traditionally; techniques that go back to John Cage and his prepared piano. Verhoeven divides her attention to both the keys and the inside of the piano. In the prepared chamber of…
Imaginary Junction
Performed by Cath Roberts (bariton saxophone and objects), Dirk Serries (acoustic guitar), Martina Verhoeven (piano), Tom Ward (flute, clarinet and bass clarinet) on July 18th 2020. This music was recorded simultaneously in two locations - Brockley and Sint-Lenaarts - using the JackTrip software to transmit/receive the live sound via the internet. The musicians could hear each other at studio quality in near-realtime, despite the physical distance separating them.
Praxis
**300 copies** "It’s the classic 'the journey, not the destination' attitude. Dealing with the moment. Dirk Serries, Martina Verhoeven and Colin Webster have a refreshing take on that. They use instruments, but it feels as if they are playing with wood and metal. With breath and touch. They caress, pluck, sigh, thump, blow, push, creak, sputter. There is no obvious order to what they are doing, yet you are aware of a certain concord, an understanding below the surface of what’s there. The openne…
An Evening at Jazzblazzt
**300 copies** "Another special such place, situated in Holland, but only a few hundred meters from the Belgian border, is JazzBlazzt. It is as homely as can get - basically a garage turned into a small concert venue - but at the same time a miraculous place, where many artists that have appeared on this label have performed." - Guy Peters"Dirk Serries, still on acoustic guitar, meets again violist Benedict Taylor, and pianist Martina Verhoeven (she plays only on the second set) in a live perfor…
Gratitude
Martina Verhoeven has been working on the development of her own photographic style for about 20 years, almost parallel to this process Martina took up the electric fretless bass when recording the two criticaly-acclaimed 3 Seconds Of Air albums (with Dirk Serries). As her photography continues to grow, expand and develop, slowly mutating into collages on canvas, so does her approach to music. Switching from electric bass to double bass to piano, she slowly mastered a technique that's exceptiona…
Impetus
**300 copies** "Dirk Serries (acoustic guitars), Kris Vanderstraeten (percussion) and Martina Verhoeven (piano) – these are three featured figures of international avant-garde jazz scene. Musicians are playing and collaborating with dozens of other famous jazz masters. Their music is played with expression, drive, creativity and energy. All three musicians have their own style of improvising, sparkling virtuosity and the will to create new, exciting and modern sound. All their music is usually b…
Innocent as Virgin Wood
**300 copies, 2019 stock** "In its essence, free improvisation is a leap into the unknown. A question mark. And while it is possible to reproduce previously used ideas, in its purest sense it takes balls to accept its challenges, for the simple fact that the performer is out there alone, even when playing with others. Free Improvisation is being naked on a stage. The unavailability of form and reassurance about what is happening next cannot be underestimated. In improvised music, the musician is…
Cinépalace
**300 copies, 2019 stock** "Dirk Serries and his wife, double bass player Martina Verhoeven, meet British tenor sax player Colin Webster, who also participated in the Dead Neanderthals’ Endless Voids, for a live improvisation, recorded at the DIY club Cinépalace in Kortrijk, Belgium in May 2015. A month earlier Serries performed with Webster in a quartet that was recorded as Live at Cafe Oto, and released on Webster’s Raw Tonk label. This recording, titled after the club name, highlights the hig…