Concertzender Live: Past, Present and Future on Saturday 30 December at 14:00 CET features music from the past, newly performed by the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw (JOC) with vocalist Jeangu Macrooy and music from the present from Sun-Mi Hong’s BIDA Orchestra. The music from the future is a studio recording by the group ITAKIRY (photo) with vocalist Chiara Schönfeld.
Singer-songwriter Jeangu Macrooy (Paramaribo 1993) studied for several years at the Conservatory of Suriname. In the Netherlands he continued his music studies at the ArtEZ Pop Academy. His record debut and performances at festivals, concert stages and in TV programs soon followed. He has also made tributes to a series of vocalists: Stevie Wonder, George Michael, Paul Simon and Elton John. The program Lean On Me – A Tribute To Bill Withers was created in collaboration with the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw. Listeners who want to compare Macrooys interpretations with the originals by Withers can find these on Spotify and YouTube.
The South Korean Sun-Mi Hong became fascinated with percussion at the age of twelve. Her dream of playing drums herself was blocked for years by her traditional parents who only dreamed of their daughter studying hard, getting a well-paid job and starting a family. It wasn’t until she was seventeen that she managed to take her first drum lessons, and four years later she made the big leap to the Conservatory of Amsterdam. From that moment her musical career has developed rapidly.
Fast forward to October 2023. The now very successful Sun-Mi Hong is with her new group, the BIDA Orchestra, in TivoliVredenburg – an international line-up with two saxes, trumpet, piano/synthesizer and bass. The two pieces Giants Ballet and Brown Door flow into each other. Seventeen minutes, in which ‘meditative’ and explosive fragments alternate. The music also alternates between composed sections for ensemble and solo improvisations and between fixed and free tempos. This is high quality group work that captures your attention!
Chiara Schönfeld is the composer – and vocalist – in the Swiss group ITAKIRY. Piano, bass and drums complete the line-up of the quartet. Schönfeld has a clear, sometimes fragile voice. The pieces are predominantly in slow tempos, with moments of silence and a transparent texture. The percussion adds lots of colour and the piano provides repeating motifs and harmonies. Given these general characteristics, the dynamic outburst that you hear in Sailor’s Song is exceptional.
Click here for the playlist.
Past, Present, Future is a programme by Jaap van de Klomp
