Eric Vloeimans (b. 1963) is widely recognized as one of Europe’s best and most versatile performers. As a composer he has conceived an evocative, harmonic language of his own. His writing is fresh and creative, yet with great feeling and respect for tradition. Vloeimans is unique among many of Holland’s top international jazz artists in that he does not shy away from playing beautifully. He is a rare musician that has mastered the complete range of the trumpet, from the energy laden high notes to the soft, velvety, almost wooden sounds. That talent and the expressive power of Vloeimans’ music have been honoured by his winning the Dutch Edison Award four times, the Elly Ameling Prize of the City of Rotterdam, the Boy Edgar Award and the prestigious Bird Award at the North Sea Jazz Festival. He also received the Oeuvre Prize of the Province of South Holland in 2011, and won the “Gouden Notenkraker 2011” (Golden Nutcracker), a coveted award voted for by his peers in music and television....
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Eric Vloeimans (b. 1963) is widely recognized as one of Europe’s best and most versatile performers. As a composer he has conceived an evocative, harmonic language of his own. His writing is fresh and creative, yet with great feeling and respect for tradition. Vloeimans is unique among many of Holland’s top international jazz artists in that he does not shy away from playing beautifully. He is a rare musician that has mastered the complete range of the trumpet, from the energy laden high notes to the soft, velvety, almost wooden sounds. That talent and the expressive power of Vloeimans’ music have been honoured by his winning the Dutch Edison Award four times, the Elly Ameling Prize of the City of Rotterdam, the Boy Edgar Award and the prestigious Bird Award at the North Sea Jazz Festival. He also received the Oeuvre Prize of the Province of South Holland in 2011, and won the “Gouden Notenkraker 2011” (Golden Nutcracker), a coveted award voted for by his peers in music and television.
Frank Van Herk writes, “The music of Eric Vloeimans is about beauty. This poet of the trumpet is not a slave to tradition, not a macho stuntman. No ironic deconstructionism, no post-modern comments on conventions: his instrument sings about joy and sadness, touching your heart and making no apologies about it. His sound and style transcend genres, labels won't stick to him, he's in the business of being Eric Vloeimans and becoming even more so… Vloeimans' style is a perfect example of the current state of jazz, for want of a better word. Although its esthetic is shared by some American artists as well, such as his exact contemporary Dave Douglas, it's pre-eminently a European style, a reflection of jazz not as a specific genre tied to a certain time or place, but as a universal language, an approach to making music.”
Florian Weber began taking private lessons at age 4, and by the time he graduated from high school he had participated in both classical and jazz ensembles, winning 1st place competition prizes and had the opportunity to tour as a soloist with various philharmonic orchestras. Since recommitting himself to music after turning down a scholarship at Berklee, Florian has studied with luminaries such as Lee Konitz and won the Steinway & Sons prize at the Montreaux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition, the Gotrian Steinweg prize of Weimar, 1st Prize at the Jazzcompetition Monaco and the award of the german critics. He has performed or recorded with Eddy Henderson, Konitz, Pat Metheny, Ralph Alessi and more. With his group Minsarah and other projects, Weber has toured in America, all over Europe, Asia, South America and Japan. Today Florian splits his time between Cologne, German and New York, and his latest project Biosphere was released this past September on Enja Records.
John Kelman of All About Jazz wrote, “Vloeimans and Weber share a bond that transcends simply interpreting the written page. Live at the Concertgebouw, the trumpeter’s first-recorded encounter with German pianist Florian Weber, the future is already looking more than fine.”
Hailed as a “virtuoso” by the New York Times, clarinetist Kinan Azmeh is one of Syria’s rising stars. Born in Damascus, Kinan was the first Arab to win the premier prize at the Nicolai Rubinstein International Competition in 1997. A graduate of Juilliard, Kinan is currently finishing his doctoral work at the City University of New York. Kinan has appeared worldwide as a soloist, composer and improviser he has performed across the world, capable of mixing classical and jazz genres, with leading names such as Marcel Khalife, Daniel Barenboim, Zakir Hussein Francois Rabbath, members of the Berlin Philharmonic and more. His discography includes three albums with his ensemble HEWAR, several soundtracks for film and dance and a duo album with pianist Dinuk Wijeratne. Azmeh currently serves as artistic director of the Damascus Festival Chamber Music Orchestra, with whom he has released an album of contemporary Syrian chamber music.
A performance by the three of them will surely be a magic carpet ride -
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