{"id":3694,"date":"2015-10-03T14:44:22","date_gmt":"2015-10-03T14:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/?p=3694"},"modified":"2015-10-03T14:46:13","modified_gmt":"2015-10-03T14:46:13","slug":"about-frim-fragile-fun-jeff-tamarkin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/about-frim-fragile-fun-jeff-tamarkin\/","title":{"rendered":"about ‘Frim, fragile, fun’ (2015) – Jeff Tamarkin"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Throughout, the musicianship is never less than top-notch. Busstra prefers single-note runs on the guitar, relegating the harmonies to Frerichs\u2019 piano…”<\/em><\/p>\n

Guitarist\/Composer Marnix Busstra to release new recording \u00a0<\/strong>\u201cFirm Fragile Fun\u201d on November 3rd<\/sup>, 2015 (BuzzMusic Records)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>When Dutch jazz guitarist and composer Marnix Busstra titled his new 11-song album Firm Fragile Fun <\/em>(Buzz Music, November 3rd<\/sup>, 2015), he wasn\u2019t plucking random words out of the air. Each of the 11 tracks on the album bears a vivid single-word title, assigned to it by non-musician friends based on their visceral response to the music. Three of those titles\u2014\u201cFirm,\u201d \u201cFragile\u201d and \u201cFun\u201d\u2014Busstra says, best \u201csum up the spectrum of feelings within the album,\u201d but he could just as easily have chosen any of the others, say \u201cCrazy,\u201d \u201cJoy\u201d and \u201cDeep.\u201d Firm Fragile Fun<\/em>\u2014which features Busstra (who plays guitars, electric sitar and bouzouki) accompanied by pianist Rembrandt Frerichs, double-bassist Arnold Dooyeweerd and drummer Pieter Bast\u2014is that kind of recording: multi-dimensional and multi-layered, its grooves packed with a vast range of emotions and textures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I am trying to communicate with this music is that anything goes and everything is allowed,\u201d says Busstra, \u201cand for me that has a few different aspects. All of the moods in this album are aspects of real life. And in my opinion, there are no forbidden areas; one mood is not better then another.\u201d As an example, he cites the lead track, \u201cStress,\u201d whose tempo changes course often, skittering from manic and fractured to swinging and driving. \u201cYou won\u2019t find a piece called \u2018Stress\u2019 on a New Age album, because that doesn\u2019t fit in the profile of New Age,\u201d Busstra says. \u201cBut to me stress is a part of life that you also have to learn to deal with. You shouldn\u2019t label it as a good or bad emotion or state of mind. Or take \u2018Firm\u2019 and \u2018Fragile\u2019; they are meant to be opposites, but each has its own value.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Frerichs, Dooyeweerd and Bast, Busstra has found the ideal collaborators for such tricky, complex navigations of this plethora of musical temperaments. Like Busstra, each is a highly respected and experienced veteran of the jazz scene in the Netherlands. While making the recording Busstra placed his absolute trust in their abilities to find the vocabulary that the music called for. \u201cI don\u2019t tell the musicians what to do before we start,\u201d he says. \u201cIn the many years that I have worked now I have learned to let go. The only thing that matters is that we take the compositions as a starting point (which takes it away from calling it \u2018free jazz\u2019). Therefore, every performance is unique in itself and a surprise, not only to the audience but also to us. Its unpredictability keeps it fresh, exciting and new. You can\u2019t be too preoccupied with what you think the composition should be or should sound like. That will only frustrate you in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he set about creating the music for Firm Fragile Fun<\/em>, Busstra kept his mind open to all possibilities. \u201cWhen I compose, there are always two phases,\u201d he says. \u201cFirst there is the idea for a new piece and then, secondly, I have to work it out. I always work in \u2018periods\u2019; in one specific period I just collect ideas and don\u2019t do anything with it. I have notes and scribbling everywhere, thoughts and ideas on little pieces of paper. Then I decide I have enough material to work on and to dig into. I start choosing the best ideas and then the hard work begins: to transform every idea into a good and solid piece.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the rough sketches for the compositions were in place, Busstra and the other members of the quartet assembled in the studio, where they recorded everything live. \u201cWe did several takes of each piece and then chose the best one,\u201d he says. \u201cThere were almost no overdubs.\u201d Busstra also prefers to record using classic analog equipment. \u201cWorking with the computer comes in very handy at times, of course, but it doesn\u2019t always have the best effect on the sounds, especially not when you work with \u2018real\u2019 instruments. So I absolutely prefer an analog sound as much as possible. I like it to be as \u2018Blue Note\u2018 as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Firm Fragile Fun<\/em> is the second release by the quartet simply dubbed the Marnix Busstra Band (one of several outfits in which Busstra is leader or participant), following 2013\u2019s Sync Dreams<\/em>. In the CD booklet, each of the four musicians offers his own take on what they\u2019ve created. Ferichs, curiously, calls the band \u201ca weird combination from the outer limits of the Dutch jazz scene.\u201d Expanding on his bandmate\u2019s statement, Busstra explains, \u201cHolland is a small country, and each jazz band has its own identity. These four musicians that I work with now each come from a different scene. We are fresh and curious about each other. I think it works very well for the four of us, and that\u2019s all I was hoping for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, that curiosity and freshness is embedded deeply within the music. From the adrenalized rush of \u201cStress\u201d through the late-night barroom ambience of \u201cSmoky\u201d to the giddiness of \u201cCrazy\u201d (\u201cI can\u2019t listen to it without laughing,\u201d Busstra says), Firm Fragile Fun <\/em>is a wild ride. \u201cJoy,\u201d the leader explains, \u201cis actually a kind of children\u2019s song, which works very well on the bouzouki. Rembrandt plays a Keith Jarrett type solo, which expresses the joy.\u201d At the other extreme are the self-explanatory \u201cMild\u201d and \u201cMoody,\u201d the latter loosely based on Wayne Shorter\u2019s \u201cFootprints.\u201d For \u201cFirm,\u201d Busstra injects a Coltrane-esque solo rare to the guitar and \u201cFragile\u201d focuses on complicated harmonics. \u201cDeep,\u201d Busstra says, \u201cis the most conceptual song on the record\u201d and \u201cGone,\u201d the closing tune, is Busstra\u2019s personal pick for strongest composition in the set. \u201cAt first I believed this track had to be the opening song on my album,\u201d he says. \u201cThe intro felt so inviting. But gradually it dawned on me that this track would work so much better as the grand finale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout, the musicianship is never less than top-notch. Busstra prefers single-note runs on the guitar, relegating the harmonies to Frerichs\u2019 piano. Busstra\u2019s melodic sense, he says, can be attributed to his study of the Indian sitar but, \u201cMy role in the music can be compared to the role of a saxophone. My basic expression lies primarily in the melody.\u201d The rhythm section, meantime, is both powerful and ever-adaptable, full of unanticipated twists that keep the listener attentive consistently.<\/p>\n

As they were recording Firm Fragile Fun<\/em>, Busstra realized that, in some ways, the \u201canything goes\u201d attitude and approach he and the band were taking to the creative process was akin to that of a group of young children at play\u2014nothing was pre-planned or calculated. \u201cToddlers are without prejudice and that is what\u2019s most important in this kind of music making,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing reckless and unpredictable? Yes, please! In a concert or on a recording you\u2019re on an adventurous journey; you take a giant leap together and you have to try and survive and make it work. That\u2019s what brings out the best in a person!\u201d And, as Firm Fragile Fun<\/em> certainly demonstrates, in a jazz quartet as well.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Throughout, the musicianship is never less than top-notch. Busstra prefers single-note runs on the guitar, relegating the harmonies to Frerichs\u2019 piano…” Guitarist\/Composer Marnix Busstra to release new recording \u00a0\u201cFirm Fragile Fun\u201d on November 3rd, 2015 (BuzzMusic Records) \u00a0When Dutch jazz guitarist and composer Marnix Busstra titled his new 11-song album Firm Fragile Fun (Buzz Music, November 3rd, 2015), he wasn\u2019t… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3694"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3696,"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3694\/revisions\/3696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marnixbusstra.nl\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}