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Late Show: María Portugal/Paul van Kemenade/Jasper van ‘t Hof

Musical chemistry between three singular players from The Netherlands and Brazil.

The expressive sound of alto saxophonist Paul van Kemenade fits comfortably within any genre, from jazz and blues to classical music. He met Brazilian drummer María Portugal at an Italian festival. Their spontaneous duo performance made a deep impression and was an overwhelming experience for Van Kemenade. Shortly after, the duo hit the studio with Jasper van ‘t Hof adding piano, keyboards and sampling at appropriate moments. Their collaborative album Daytime Sketches earned positive reviews in the international press.

Paul van Kemenade has shared the stage with international greats such as Ray Anderson, David Murray, Jorge Pardo and Majid Bekkas. María Portugal is known from the versatile band Quartabê from São Paulo, and she collaborated with Arrigo Barnabé, Dona Zica and Fernanda Takai. Jasper van ’t Hof made his mark on European jazz and fusion with the group Association P.C. and he performed with, among others, Toto Blanke, George Gruntz and Archie Shepp.

‘Van Kemenade has a touching, bittersweet tone on his alto, which works well with Portugal’s haunting drumming. Van’t Hof plays some sort of synth on the title track, getting a mesmerizing electronic sequencer-like sound. Will the world of wonders ever cease to exist? Certainly not here!’ (Downtown Music Gallery on Daytime Sketches).

BIMHUIS & Corona

 

 

Paul van Kemenade alto sax, Jasper van ‘t Hof piano / keys / pc sampling, Mariá Portugal drums/percussion