NativeDSD Blog

Harmen Fraanje is a pianist-composer who, in recent years, has become more widely known outside of the Netherlands through his festival appearances and recordings on the ECM label with Norwegian composer- bassist Mats Eilertsen. Fraanje’s earlier dates for Challenge Jazz, both as a leader (“Sonatala”) and sideman (Eric Vloeimans’ “Boom Petit”), set the stage for a new recording under his leadership, “First Meeting”.

Jazz musicians forge a personal style first by imitation, then by elimination. Harmen Fraanje’s style, shaped by his studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, reflects an interest in extending back through the traditions of jazz and classical music, and forward into new directions. In Fraanje’s compositions, jazz phrasing and rhythm are refracted through the prism of a modern melodic sensibility. Now in his early 40s, Fraanje has a sound of his own, and you won’t mistake him for his keyboard contemporaries.

One of the virtues of “First Meeting” is the careful sequencing which connects the first six tracks of the album; the effect is of a coherent musical suite. The intensity of the opening track “Several” is balanced by bassist Clemens van der Feen’s meditative piece for trio and clarinet “Bread of Life”, which flows seamlessly into Fraanje’s deceptively tranquil “Pi” for unaccompanied piano. Fraanje’s arrangement of Carla Bley’s composition, “Ida Lupino” is followed by a “Fade”, a short interlude that bridges into the pastoral “A Small Ray of Light”.

In the second half of the album, the music takes on a harder edge and a darker emotional hue. American drummer Tristan Renfrow is the featured soloist on “XYZ”, a showpiece for subtle execution of intricate polyrhythms. Saxophonist Fredrik Ljunkvist’s composition “PH” recalls the post-bop of Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. Ljunkvist takes his solo ‘out’ into multiphonics on Fraanje’s free excursion “Epi”. The final two tracks, “Safe” and “Goodbye”, as their titles suggest, return to a calm, if somber, emotional ground.

Jared Sacks, known to SACD and DSD music collectors as the chief engineer for Channel Classics, is a long-time proponent of DSD recording. Sacks recorded the Harmen Fraanje group in the legendary spacious soundstage of MCO, Hilversum. The original DSD 256 recording captures every nuance of the pianist’s touch and phrasing, the depth of the standup bass, the “air” around the drums and cymbals, and the wide spectrum of saxophone tones.

Producer Jonas Sacks writes: “Recording engineer Jared Sacks created the balance on the spot by moving musicians closer or further from the mics… no post-production, mixing or editing is done.”

The mix indeed sounds exactly like the positions of the musicians as shown in the session photos included in the liner notes booklet. That speaks to a commitment by Jonas and Jared Sacks to represent the musical performance exactly as it occurred in the studio.

Play “First Meeting”, and you’ll find that you just listen.

Mark Werlin - Source

AV Magazine

As I write these notes comes the news of a new jazz recording available on the Native DSD website. I just heard a track of it and it feels really good. It is the Harmen Fraanje Trio (and guests) entitled ” First Meeting “.

The recording was made by Jared Sacks himself (whom we met and interviewed at Monaco High End, also the Managing Director of the Channel Classics label). The performers are Harmen Fraanje (Piano), Clemens van der Feen (double bass), Tristan Renfrow (drums) and Fredrik Ljungkvist (sax and clarinet).

Marco Cicogna - Source