«I let myself be led by what touches me moment to moment. And the rest, I try to ignore.»
Jozef Dumoulin.
« KEYBOARD WIZARD » JOZEF DUMOULIN, PRESENTS HIS NEW TRIO
WITH ELLERY ESKELIN AND DAN WEISS
The Red Hill Orchestra brings together the keyboarder Jozef Dumoulin with Ellery Eskelin and Dan Weiss, two major figures of the american scene. Three artists who stand out with their capacity to combine jazz with the mastery of other musical practices, such as classical Indian music and improvised music. Together, they give life to a vivid repertoire, with songs and sonic meditations, where everyone's creativity naturally adds up. TRUST is a vast sound-poem that surprises and fascinates.
photo © julie barrau
”After having experimented extensively with the Fender Rhodes solo, and having been nurtured by numerous and divers other musical experiences, I wanted to get in contact with musical approaches that would be different and at the same time related. Ellery and Dan each distinguish themselves with a capacity to combine strong roots in the jazz and american tradition with the mastery of other musical cultures such a indian classical music or improvised music. I myself feel very linked to what is called 'jazz' here in Europe but also to other kinds of music that are remote from that. This common kind of relation to music, among other reasons, made me feel like bringing us together and play.
And after the first work-phases I'm truly delighted by the adventure. Also, I've always liked the idea of creating a musical environment in which musicians of very different horizons can move freely without having to do too much concessions. This band gives me a new opportunity for that. As for the repertoire, I opted for a mixture of songs, improvisations and more abstract sonic improvisations.
My intention has been, since the beginning, to create an approach, a dance, and a sound with the three of us, which allows to integrate all our influences by and large. To give way to evoke them at all times, without necessarily being aware, or without making them perceptible. I've always been fascinated by different sonic universes, by their interior functioning, by the way they move forward or not. Over time, I've learned that all that I listen to and practice, finds sooner or later its way when I'm playing. As of now, I trust this process and it's been a while since I stopped asking myself if this or that element has a place or not in a sound, as long as it makes sense to me. My approach to composition, to recording a disc, or lead a band, fall under the same process; what is important to me, it's the creation of a universe that is consistent and alive. I let myself be led by what touches me moment to moment. And the rest, I try to ignore.
I love working with Dré Pallemaerts when it comes to mixing, because I like a lot the warm and meticulous sound he creates a lot, and also because he's someone who understands the music I bring to him although we barely talk about it. He takes his time, in order to bring out the character of each song, without prejudice. Sometimes it shows the song through a perspective different than what I have in mind, but this is for the best, since I recognize myself in this approach, and since it's always done with love and in a very consistent way.” Jozef Dumoulin. September 2014