BAYACHRIMAE

A combination of Bayaka and Lachrimae.

Both a source of inspiration: the music of the Bayaka people from Central Africa, and the piece Lachrimae from English Renaissance composer John Dowland. Both are musical cultures where single lines are at the core of things.

Cultures where the whole in many cases is a consequence of these individual lines, and not the other way around. For us, Estafest means profound musical freedom. Any source of inspiration or personal colour can be introduced at all times. Our compositions are incentives for dialogue. From the first tone we all jump in, together.

A mentor once described music as circles constantly moving from and towards each other. The circles represent the individual players, each player with their own specific set of frequencies. Sometimes floating apart, sometimes overlapping. Always portraying one image.


ESTAFEST!

Estafest consists of four of the most eccentric improvisers on the Dutch music scene. Three of them won the VPRO Boy Edgar Prize, a prestigious jazz music award. All of them are constantly creating highly original music in diverse national and international projects. In Estafest everything collides: four headstrong players challenging each other in a mostly improvised musical dialogue. Estafest was initated in 2009 as a result of all four members having been engaged in duo concerts with each other in different formations. So why not combine forces and form a quartet in which these duos can be a part of the whole composition? The original idea was to alternate different duos in a kind of tag team musical estafette, a musical party, a fest. But from the first note this idea was abandoned: they immediately felt that the strength of the quartet was playing within fluid forms, no rules, just listening. Estafest orchestrates on the spot, every version of a song has a different improvised arrangement. This process creates a specific feel in which the audience is dragged into: we are playing, here and now, no fear, we trip and get back on our feet, and we are having fun doing it.

Estafest’s vibrant energy appeals to audiences worldwide. The quartet was selected to play at Jazzahead! in Bremen, and subsequently played concerts at international festivals and clubs such as the London Jazz Festival or the Porgy & Bess in Vienna. Estafest recorded its first album raw and uncut: Estafest Live! (Challenge, 2011). Their second album was a more produced studio album recorded in Fattoria de Musica in Germany: Eno Supo (Challenge, 2014). Bayachrimae (BMC, 2017) is their third album, some songs recorded in the beautiful concert hall of the Budapest Music Centre, and one song recorded live at the Opus Jazz Club of BMC.

estafest.com 

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METE ERKER
(soprano and tenor saxophone)
Is known for his work with the Artvark Saxophone Quartet and the Mete Erker Trio. He is considered one of Holland’s most distinctive saxophonists, playing concerts with an impressive list of greats, among others the Dave Liebman Group, piano virtuoso Simon Nabatov, and Senegalese master drummer Doudou N’Diaye Rose.

mete.nl


ANTON GOUDSMIT
(guitar)
Is known for his work with New Cool Collective and his own band The Ploctones. In 2010 he received the prestigious Dutch Jazz award: the VPRO Boy Edgar Prize. Also in 2010 he won the Duiveltje Pop Award for Best Guitarist.

antongoudsmit.nl


OENE VAN GEEL
(viola and cajon)
Is known as a composer and for his work with the contemporary string quartet ZAPP4, The Nordanians and OOOO. In 2011 Oene was selected to join Take Five Europe, a residency for ten of the most distinctive improvisers emerging on the European jazz scene. In 2013 Oene was awarded the VPRO Boy Edgar Prize.

oenevangeel.com


JEROEN VAN VLIET
(piano)
Is known as a composer, for his work with trumpeter Eric Vloeimans, and for a wide array of solo projects. In 2008 he was selected for the North Sea Jazz Festival Composition Assignment. In 2015 Jeroen received the prestigious VPRO Boy Edgar Prize.

jeroenvanvliet.com