‘Ruins and Remains’, the latest brainchild of Dutch pianist Wolfert Brederode, was intended to commemorate the end of World War I, at its time the most significant war in history in terms of the devastation it wrought. Sadly, it’s as relevant in the early twenty-first century as it is in the twentieth. Backed by stringsmiths Matangi Quartet and drummer Joost Lijbaart, Brederode produces a beautifully textured multi-part piece that blends melancholy with resolve. The strings enhance the pianist’s melodies without pushing them into lush territory – squeaks and drones flavor the lines as much as expertly executed legato and vibrato. Lijbaart stays subtle, giving the songs a kick when needed, but mostly delivering accents and a quiet heartbeat. Brederode himself never goes for ostentatious displays of overwrought technique, allowing the strings to pull the ear and focusing on gently propelling the tunes forward. ‘Duhra,’ ‘Cloudless’ and the multi-part ‘Ruins’ obscure the line between jazz and classical music, composition and performance, arrangement and improvisation, as if aurally representing the way life’s best-laid plans never quite unfold as one might expect – and the advantages of that cycle.
Michael Toland, The Big Takeover
As if a clock is ticking towards ignition the sombre ‘Ruins II’ is a sobering beginning and on ‘Ruins IV’ ending to this – Dutch pianist composer Wolfert Brederode’s new First World War inspired album. A string quartet and percussion in tow Brederode is with percussionist Joost Lijbaart and the Matangi Quartet. […] There is such a developmental discipline throughout built up from the rustle of Lijbaart’s brushes and carried by the hovering of strings. Dazzling pianism framed inside a transcendental dream consciousness, war in Europe whether 20th century global conflict or perilously now in Ukraine is in the mind’s eye inevitably as we listen […] Away from the main ‘Ruins’ suite there is plenty of interest so ‘Nothing for Granted’ while doleful in its martial beat has a luminous quality to it and that lustre is a characteristic so evident throughout. Flickering flames sketch the horror of war and serve as a warning to us all through the humanity of this moving vision as conscience and – to extrapolate further given such unease – soothsayer.
Stephen Graham, Marlbank
In seiner Musik geht es um Licht und Schatten, Aufbruch und Fragilität. Tiefen und Höhen sind in der Musik fließend ineinander verwoben, die Musik atmet.
Kristina Dumas, Bayerischer Rundfunk
‘Ruins and Remains’ possède un intense pouvoir d’introspection et d’expression, un riche palette d’émotions, trouvant une coherence stylistique.
Vincent Cotro, Jazz Magazine
Conceived and written as a piece for piano, string quartet and percussion the music, through numerous concert performances, taken on a life and personality of its own that is far removed from the composer/pianist’s initial concept. From being a piece to commemorate a dark period in European history, the music now takes on a broader outlook encompassing not just grief and loss but the indefatigable spirit of people across the globe, and an air of optimism and light permeates throughout. ‘Ruins and Remains’ is therefore very much an ‘evolving suite’. The beauty lies within the blending of the instruments along with their role within the music that rather than being predetermined is allowed the freedom to be in the moment. The demarcation between improvised and scored parts is in a constant state of flux, that becomes meaningless as the sonic pallete seemingly driven by the string quartet creates a soundscape for Brederode and Lijbaart to work their sounds and textures within. The music exhibits a quiet beauty as the musicians traverse between written passages and improvised textures that are subject to change within any given moment.
Nick Lea, Jazz Views
Es ist eine Musik, die mal rätselhaft verschattet, mal zart aufblühend klingt – mit feinen, ganz hoch pfeifenden Streichertönen, die sich zuweilen mosaikhaft zusammensetzen, lyrisch-sensiblen Klavierparts und leise den Raum öffnenden Schlagzeug- und Percussion-Akzenten. Auf ungewöhnliche Art schön ist diese Musik, die immer wieder zu berückenden Melodien findet. Um ‘Trauer, Verlust und das Lernen, wieder aufzustehen’ geht es laut dem Komponisten in dieser Suite, die durch die aktuellen Ereignisse beklemmende Aktualität erfährt.
Roland Spiegel, Bayerischer Rundfunk
Im Zusammenspiel mit dem Matangi-Quartett und dem Perkussionisten Joost Lijbaart schuf Brederode eine ungemein suggestive Atmosphäre, in der Figuren, die aus der Minimal Music bekannt sind, mit Methoden des Jazz neue Kontur erlangen. […] Auch klanglich ein faszinierendes Album.
Jens-Uwe Sommerschuh, Sächsische Zeitung
Resilienz sei der Schlüsselbegriff, erklärt Brederode. Tatsächlich tritt in seiner Suite vielfach, etwa dem kantablen ‘Swallow’ oder dem schwebenden ‘Cloudless’, das Tröstende vor das Schmerzliche. Selbst die vier Variationen von ‘Ruins’ beruhen auf einer zwar melancholischen, so doch tonalen Figur. […] Die Musik ist vielfach zurückgenommen, in Teilen minimalistisch, stets jedoch kammermusikalisch konzentriert, das Augenmerk der Produktion liegt auf einem intimen Interplay, das die Verschmelzung der Klangfarben in feinstofflich-mikrotonaler Konsonanz ansteuert. Ein ausgesprochen würdiges Requiem auf das Ende vom Anfang des Endes – und mitten in der Finsternis die Dimanaten ‘Ka’ und ‘Duhra’.
Harry Schmidt, Jazzthetik
The suite has come to assume great personal significance, says Brederode, because of its handling of the themes of grief, loss and renewal. Given the gravity of the subject matter few would expect anything other than a profoundly reflective piece, but for Brederode that’s comme d’habitude. Despite Brederode regarding this as an unfinished or evolving piece, it has an effortlessly natural flow. The more abstract and textural pieces such as the four Ruins and Dissolve particularly stand out, though it’s hard not to be affected by the haunting title track or the tender moves of Nothing For Granted. Moods range from the somewhat optimistic (‘Swallows’) to the utterly desolate (‘Remains’), and although some pieces carry a stronger rhythmic impetus than others (‘Clouds’), the ensemble’s dynamic range and sonic balance is remarkably even. […] ‘Ruins And Remains’ is a poignantly beautiful piece of work.
Fred Grand, Jazz Journal
Eine strenge, präzise, nüchtern-funktionale und auf das Wesentliche beschänkte Ästhetik spricht aus dieser thematisch wie stilistisch aktuellen Musik, verletzliche, dunkle, Einsamkeit verratende – und trotzdem nicht hoffnungslose Stimmungen. […] Matangi erweist sich hier, wo Improvisation und Partitur verschmelzen, als ebenso ideal wie der Drummer Joost Lijbaart, der Brederode seit 2004 genreübergreifend begleitet.
Steff Rohrbach, Jazz’n’more
