BV Haast 1501
Soft Nose
Eric Boeren 4tet
€17.50 (incl. shipping + tax)

 CADENCE, June 2002
On “Soft Nose” Eric Boeren tips his cornet to Ornette Coleman, not only on the five Coleman covers, but also in the spirit of the originals, most especially the twice-played title tune. Destpite the preponderance of Boeren tunes, not to mention Eubie Blake’s “Memories Of You” the Coleman renderings are close to the originals. There’s also the requisite Euro-folk flavor with implications of marches and polkas and, on the last track, Coleman’s “I Heard It Over The Radio” some delicious cowboy clippety-clop by Bennink. The percussionist is a prime mover on the date and makes me long to hear him playing with Coleman himself. Boeren’s style clearly owes a debt to Don Cherry. His work is full of blurred runs,, smears. He plays with a round almost trombone-like articulation. Moore’s sprightly play complements the leader’s brass. He favors the E-flat side of the reed equation, from alto sax and down through the clarinets starting with the high E-flat (sounding a fourth higher than the standard B-flat model) down to the alto and further down in the basement with the rarely heard contralto clarinet. By using all E-flat clarinets he achieves a unity of tone from horn to hon giving the illusion it’s all one instrument with an enormous range. His sounds on the highest horn, as demonstrated on “Memories Of You” is particularly striking and true to the character of the instrument. Similarly “Soft Nose” is true to its source of inspiration and moves the Ornette-ethos into new territory. David Dupont

DOWNBEAT, June 2002 * * * *
Ripsnorting and clean-cut, the flying Dutchmen who are invading the new jazz are musical madcaps who mix cocktails of the logical and surreal with knee-slapping swizzle sticks. Cornettist Eric Boeren’s 4tet is a multiple-personality band (with two-thirds of Clusone Trio) geared to the growing ranks of smart folks with short attention spans. Ten of the 16 pieces come in under 4:10, but most make complete statements. No big deal in pop music, but such brevity has been rare in jazz since Bird grooved bop on wax 78s. The 4tet’s direct links to Ornette Coleman’s “original” quartet are covering five tunes and capturing the spicy effects of miniature horns and concise forms. Martial touches of dry snare open “Soft Nose”, the front line (Boeren’s dry cornet as toy-like as Don Cherry’s pocket trumpet) squabble and weave on “Mr. & Mrs People” and “As We See Fit”. Whenever bassist Wilbert de Joode enters solo, watch out for skulldulgery: on “Ciz” they quickly challenge you to a match of 4-D chess, and they smear the lines phantamagorically on “Bosch”, where drummer Han Bennink daubs mid-pallette moments of ed Blackwell Nawlins street-beat. Michael Moore’s warm clarinets mute the acidic urgency (and wild intonation) of Ornette’s plastic alto, and the 4tet’s fondness for suites stretches his compactness, yet they still brew teapot tempests. “For Rosa” shows Boeren’s dance band geniality, “charmes” has that stop/start devilment of Coleman’s “Humpty Dumpty” and “Folk Tale”, the horns stretch into humorous self-caricature, while “Swizzle” slips into vaudeville breaks that drop “the other wooden shoe”. Bennink playing swizzle sticks, shifts accents and patterns as fleet as a magician palms silver dollars Fred Bouchard

Dutch Treats (review of 8 dutch cd’s) .....Michael Moore also turns up in a crucial supporting role on “Soft Nose”, the third album by cornettist Eric Boeren. As on his previous recordings, Boeren is in thrall of the music made by the classic Ornette Coleman Quartet, integrating five of his compositions here, and making strong stylistic connections with his pithy originals. But beyond the catchy melodoes and the dazzling interplay, this band speaks itsown language. At once telepathic and pleasingly loose, the communication between the horn frontline, drummer Han Bennink and bassist Wilbert de Joode allows the group to employ a playfulness redolent of the ICP; any individual can introduce material from the quartet’s book in midstream, sometimes triggering the others to join in, sometimes overlaying a line from another tune for thrilling juxtapositions. Whatever path they take, the players are always in motion, jotting off terse counterpoint, commenting on a particular phrase or jostling for position..... Peter Margasak: JAZZTIMES, August 2002

 

 

Eric Boeren cornet
Michael Moore clarinets, alto sax
Wilbert de Joode contrabass
Han Bennink drums


Track Listing:
  1. Soft nose (04.07)
  2. Ciz (05.33)
  3. Mr & Mrs People (03.24)
  4. Moon inhabitants/Memo/Memories of you/Soft nose (18.09)
  5. For Rosa (03.02)
  6. As we see fit (04.07)
  7. Bosch/Alpha (12.14)
  8. Chips (03.52)
  9. Charmes (03.09)
  10. Swizzle (03.58)
  11. Eos (03.00)
  12. I heard it over the radio (02.31)
Recorded at BIMhuis, Amsterdam in 2001; tracks 2, 4, 7 and 8 on 14 January; other tracks on 15 May.

Cover art by Han Bennink.