Programma The Records 2025

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KEEP AN EYE THE RECORDS IN CONCERT

THE RECORDS

is an initiative of the Keep an Eye Foundation: a prize that allows three promising jazz bands to record their own music. They each receive a fully financed CD production worth € 10.000.

During The Records in Concert, the winners of 2024 will present their brand new album. In addition, the three winners of 2025 will be announced. They were selected by an independent jury out of a total of 125 entries from various Dutch Conservatories. They then have one year to realize their album.

Since five years The Records in Concert has been expanded with The Records on Tour! Through this new collaboration between Keep an Eye and the VNJJ (Vereniging van Nederlandse Jazzpodia en Jazzfestivals), the winners who release their album this year will be invited for a concert at various renowned jazz venues.

ALBUM PRESENTATIONS WINNERS 2024

Anaphora Trio • NAUSYQA • Micheal Murray’s Colourfield

FINALISTS 2025

Loek van den Berg Quintet • Jelle Willems’ Tiny Choir • Flatland Prayer • Massimo Imperatore Quartet Ludvig Søndergaard Sekstet • NOHMI • Anna Zavorina's String Quartet

The three bands will each receive an amount of € 10.000 to spend on the production of an album and the associated costs. This includes for example studio costs, cover art and the actual printing of the product. The winners also receive coaching regarding the planning of the project and the promotion of the album.

ALBUM PRESENTATION S WINNERS THE RECORDS 2024

ANAPHORA TRIO – BLOOM

Filippo Deorsola (piano, prepared piano, objects) • Jonathan Ho Chin Kiat (doublebass)

Marco Luparia (drums, objects)

After their successful debut album, there is now a second album for Anaphora trio. And what an album! The Italian, non-binary pianist and composer Filippo Deorsola was given the opportunity to present his (dream) project by winning The Records.

The result is an album with the original compositions flying around your ears.

A fascinating play of cyclical patterns, danceable grooves, gongs, techno-like beats, lyrical melodies and other intriguing sounds.

With ‘Bloom’, Anaphora trio will open doors to new meaningful sound worlds. Musical worlds that have always been there, but that are now, as it were, revealed by the interplay of the three band members. As Michelangelo said: ‘The image is already in the stone, it only needs to be freed.’

MICHEAL MURRAY’S COLOURFIELD – ROUNDED NATURE

Michael Murray (alto saxophone) • Joy Shechter (piano) • Omer Govreen (doublebass) Wouter Kühne (drums)

Rounded Nature is the debut album by Michael Murray's Colourfield, a talented group of musicians and friends led by Irish saxophonist Michael Murray. Murray was inspired for this album by the cyclical nature of life and nature. In nature, everything is right; the circle is always round. That deep connection with nature resonates in the organic rhythms and energies of the band members. If there is one thing this foursome impresses with, it is their interplay. From singable melodies and introspections to harmonious sounds that alternate between shadow and light - it all flows together effortlessly. This rock-solid band proves that music is at its best when there is room for individual expression without losing sight of the power of the group.

ALBUM PRESENTATION S WINNERS THE RECORDS 2024

NAUSYQA – PUNQ

Miguel Valente (altsaxofoon) • Antonio Moreno Glazkov (trompet/synths) • Jelle Willems (piano/synths)

Richard Nacinelli (elektrische bas) • Pedro Nobre (drums)

Five young, international mega talents together in one quintet: NAUSYQA. These musical storytellers from Portugal, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands provide a fresh buzz in the Dutch jazz scene. Saxophonist Miguel impresses with his warm tone and fiery intensity. Add to that the layered grooves of drummer Pedro, the idiosyncratic playing style of bassist Richard, the spatial sounds of pianist Jelle and the fiery Flamenco influence of trumpeter Antonio and the already rich sound has become even richer. With their second album, NAUSYQA takes you on a journey. Because that is what you can safely call the compositions: musical journeys in which you can dream away. And although the intensity can sometimes be overwhelming, the whole feels surprisingly logical and coherent. An impressive album that you can't stop listening to!

JURY

PAULA HOORN

Programmer. Paula has been programming for various special venues in and around Rotterdam since 2020, for example North Sea Round Town, North Sea Jazz Festival and Fringe Festival. Paula is fascinated by the overlap of jazz and hip-hop and is always on the lookout for interdisciplinary projects.

JESSE VAN RULLER

Guitarist. Active in the international jazz scene since 1972, Jesse started his career by winning the prestigious Thelonius Monk competition. Jesse recorded 10 albums of his own, and joined dozens of other albums since. He is a teacher at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

SUN-MI HONG

Drummer. With a signature of rooted groove in combination with well tempered outbursts, Sun-Mi has placed herself strongly in the Dutch jazz scene. Her last album won an Edison Award in 2021, and she just released a new record called BIDA Orchestra - Invisible Ropes on Bimhuis Records.

TIBOR ELFERINK

Programmer. Founder and artistic director of Common Ground Festival. He also produces various concerts throughout the year and served as creative producer and programmer for Hanze Art Station 2023. In addition to his work as a programmer and producer, Tibor Elferink is a saxophonist and lectures on the history of jazz.

MONICA AKIHARY

Vocalist. Monica has formed the duo BOI AKIH with guitarist Niels Brouwer since 1997. Their music blends jazz, improvisation, and global folk traditions, featuring self-built instruments and lyrics in English and Haruku. In 2023, Monica won the Boy Edgar Prize for her adventurous improvisation and wide vocal range, praised for surprising both musicians and audiences.

PRESENTER

GIOVANCA

Giovanca's solo debut album 'Subway Silence', which she received a Golden Record for, was released in 2008. She won several prizes, including a Buma Zilveren Harp and a 3FM Serious Talent Award. She presented the music program Vrije Geluiden on television until the end of 2019. She was co-host of the talk show OP1 for the EO, the program 'Amazing Grace' and this year the program ZING! She also has her own radio show 'Open House with Giovanca' on NPORadio5.

FINALISTS THE RECORDS 2025

These seven finalists were chosen out of 125 applications from eight different Dutch Conservatories! The jury consisted of singer Anna Serierse, bassplayer and programmer Ruud Ouwehand and bassplayer and composer Matt Pennman.

LOEK VAN DEN BERG QUINTET

JELLE WILLEMS’ TINY CHOIR

FLATLAND PRAYER

With their Edison Awarded debut-album Wayfarer the Loek van den Berg Quintet makes storytelling, imaginative jazz music. Loek’s composing style has a lot of influences from different musical cultures, which results in a modern, melodic and melancholic sound. The strength of the band lies in the interaction between the band members, as they use lots of improvisation during live concerts.

A tiny choir with a big sound: the air crackles, your eardrums flutter and you are embraced by the visceral sound of the choir. A parallel universe with music as religion and the synthesizer as church organ. On a launching pad of modern production, live tape machines, classic choir music and improvised jazz grooves, the compositions of Jelle Willems’ Tiny Choir are ready for take off.

Flatland Prayer reimagines songwriting in a free-improv context. The eclectic trio (with vocalist Līva Dumpe, trumpeter Antonio Moreno, and bassist River Adomeit) is firmly rooted in the traditions of American jazz and folk, though always with one foot forward into Amsterdam's avant-garde scene. Though their influences are broad-reaching, Flatland Prayer has a cohesive sound, with all the clarity and tenderness of the musicians behind it.

MASSIMO IMPERATORE QUARTET

Massimo Imperatore 4et is a band interested in the intersection between heartbreaking melodies, free-improv, fearless exploration and story-telling composing. Influenced by the abstract nature of expressionism, Massimo’s music incorporates unconventional structures that challenge traditional forms, aiming to blur the lines between jazz and avant-garde.

LUDVIG SØNDERGAARD SEKSTET

NOHMI

The music is composed and arranged by Ludvig Søndergaard, and is based on reflection of the world round us. Therefore it's a mix for genres and structured as one long composition with many different colors, lengths and environments. The sekstet is working with the in-between of writing material and free improvisation and create cinematic landscapes between cute and dark passages.

A band with a strong classical background, led by jazz pianist Miran Noh from South-Korea. When listening to NOHMI, it is challenging to keep deciphering the strong motive from the beginning, during its development in the composition into lots of polyphonic layers. Inspiration for their work comes from classical composers such as Ravel, Debussy, and Prokofiev, who as impressionists explored mood and atmosphere through the use of timbre, orchestration, and progressive harmonic concepts. NOHMI’s album A Bird at the Edge combined these classical influences with jazz elements. All band members are based in the Netherlands.

ANNA ZAVORINA'S STRING QUARTET

This project merges classical forms, jazz’s harmonic richness, and Russian avant-garde influences, driven by Anna's lifelong passion for both classical music and jazz. With roots in Russian choral tradition, string quartet, and double bass improvisation, she creates music that transcends boundaries, bridging genres to express universal human experiences beyond words.

DISCOGRAPHY THE RECORDS!

THESE ALBUMS WERE CREATED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE KEEP AN EYE FOUNDATION

ARE YOU A /LOOKING FOR A

Are you a student or alumnus at one the many Dutch Art Institutes? Would you like to collaborate with another student or alumnus from another Dutch Art Institution?

Submit your project at makerzoektmaker.nl & find your match!

Every six months financial support up to €3.500,-!

KEEP AN EY E FOUNDATION

The Keep an Eye Foundation is always ‘on the lookout’ for aspiring young talent, such as musicians, artists, photographers, designers, filmmakers, and performing and circus artists.

By providing grants, together with the chance of winning prizes, and by co-organising a number of shows and festivals, we enable the aspiring young talent not just to develop their skills, creating new opportunities, but also to achieve their creative goals. The Keep an Eye Foundation additionally focuses on collaborations between different creative disciplines. This way we encourage students to view their work from a new perspective.

www.keepaneye.nl

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