 Jazz, music in the moment; Jazz, music as a conversation; Jazz, music embedded in a strong and long tradition. Conversational protocols, common repertoire, understanding of form, affinity with the masters of the music; these are the elements that make it possible for three musicians to meet in the studio, sit down and create some coherent music together. Oh, it’s not like we didn’t play together before. A small tour with this trio a few years ago, playing mostly Kenny’s compositions; a few concerts with the legendary Toots Thielemans, where we supported the songs played by this gentle giant. Another tour with Ritchie Barshay on drums some years back. To meet in the studio in Osnabru¨ck was like a meeting of old pals. There was no need to plan much; Chris, the sound engineer, made sure the piano was in excellent shape, that we could see each other, hear each other and so we only had to trust our ears, our intuition and just observe to how the music would unfold. For so many years, as more immature players, we might think we can control the music, that we need to practice and work to know more, be more complicated. And to a certain extend we do need to grow and develop our skills to a certain level. Maybe not even to play things out, but to have the confidence to feel that one is ready to deal with things as a musician. From that confidence it becomes so important to let go, to not try to control; to look for an unconditioned response. Listening becomes a very important asset; leaving out the ego is another one. Surrendering to the music gives us the greatest chance that some real creativity might happen. Music coming out that is larger than the sum of the individual abilities. And somehow, this was what was happening on those few days in the studio. We just played. Oh, at some point Kenny pulled out a piece of sheet music (Elegante), we played a few standards; see how we could pull them apart and yet keep them together (There Will Never Be Another You). But mostly we improvised, listened, we let go of desire and just let things unfold as they wanted to unfold. Sometimes it didn’t work, sometimes it worked - and it’s the stuff we looked back on as satisfying musical conversations we put on the CD you are listening to now. We liked the process, I hope you like the result. Hein Van de Geyn
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