With the necessary bravado and humor, the young guitarist Reinier Baas storms the Dutch jazz scene. His talent and diversity are not in question, he himself thinks his band is the best dressed in the Netherlands (don't let Benjamin Herman hear it). The second album he releases under his own name has the contrasting title Smooth Jazz Apocalypse, but already with the opening track Squalor it seems to
… be serious: As if the group has an uncomfortable rhythm from a random song from the catalog of former smooth jazz supplier CTI Records. featuring with Baas as a soloist George Benson from hell. Special about this album is that it is definitely not a guitar record, Saxophonists Ben van Gelder and Maarten Hogenhuis and bass clarinetist Joris Roelofs invariably play proportional roles, while Epilogue is an atmospheric solo piece for piano with a guest role for classical pianist Helena Basilova. Talents tumble over each other, harmonize and dissonate and above all have fun with each other. That seems to be exactly what makes the current Dutch jazz scene so special and Smooth Jazz Apocalypse is a taste of that. (MR)more
