Julius Rodriguez

in the bimhuis productions series reflex we invite musicians to reflect on the world and society. the curator of this edition is jamie peet, who has proven himself in the last decade as a jazz drummer for the new generation who does not eschew complexity and who embraces the music of his own time. especially for reflex he has formed a band with saxophonist ben van gelder, bassist pat cleaver and renowned american vibraphonist joel ross. drummer jamie peet is one of the most in-demand drummers in the netherlands, who has worked in both jazz and hip-hop. he has toured with gregory porter and kris bowers, and he previously performed on our stage with y-otis, jasper hoiby 3 elements &tin men and the telephone. he’s part of a new wave of musicians and bands who fuse jazz, hiphop, dance and electronics. in this context he played with the likes of jameszoo, niels broos and dolphin hyperspace. reflex is supported by ammodo art & afk.

takuya kuroda’s playing is sure-footed and pure, whether on the horn, synth or rhodes. on his new album everyday he virtually dances among the infectious rhythms of his own creation. his trumpet playing pops and weaves and rings and his melodies are, as he puts it, “singable”. in his original compositions we hear influences from jazz as well as hip-hop and neo-soul. born in japan, trumpeter takuya kurado made his american breakthrough with the album rising son on blue note records. this taut mix of jazz, funk and soul was produced by singer josé james. soon after, kuroda played in the band of hip-hop legend dj premier, formerly of gang starr. he also performed with the akoya afrobeat ensemble. influences of all these projects can be heard in his current band. as a trumpeter, takuya kuroda has clearly developed his own style, with clifford brown and roy hargrove as his main examples.