Maison Moderne
‘Maison Moderne’ at the Zomer Jazz Fietstour 2023 (photo Olga Beumer)
Maison Moderne (NL/FR)
Steven Kamperman – alto clarinet, compositions (NL) • Oene van Geel – viola (NL) • Paul Jarret – electric guitar (FR) • Albert van Veenendaal – piano (NL)
Upcoming concerts: THU March 21 Brebl Nijmegen, FRI March 22 TivoliVredenburg Utrecht, SAT March 23 Plusetage Baarle-Nassau, SUN 24 Bimhuis Amsterdam, MON March 25 De Pletterij Haarlem.
First Dutch reviews of Maison Moderne!
“The result is a challenging album on which the four musicians bring a very surprising palette of sounds and convey their joy of playing so convincingly and infectiously that the listener automatically becomes cheerful.” national newspaper Trouw, CD review 3/10/23
“The Maison Moderne project represents one of the most important Dutch music events of the moment.” Jazzenzo, review Zomer Jazz Fietstour
“Maison Moderne is a highlight in a body of work that is already characterized by a combination of versatility and recognizability.” Jazzflits, CD review
“A fantastic suite, passionately performed by four sublime musicians, who clearly enjoyed playing together beyond measure.” Moorsmagazine, CD review
“The CD was presented during the Summer Jazz Bicycle Tour, and after the first of the two sets, the sixty CDs Kamperman had brought with him had almost all been sold, to Steven’s mild dismay: “Who buys CDs these days?” Answer: that’s how good the concert was.” Moorsmagazine, review Zomer Jazz Fietstour
Maison Moderne
Composer/clarinetist Steven Kamperman combines a taste for musical adventure with a soulful urgency. His suite Maison Moderne is inspired by painter and architect Theo van Doesburg, a highly influential figure in the 1920s European art scene (De Stijl, Bauhaus, Dada). Kamperman composed his music during a four-month residency in the Maison Van Doesburg in Paris in 2023 and recorded it there with some of Netherlands’s and France’s finest improvisers: violinist Oene van Geel, pianist Albert van Veenendaal, and guitarist Paul Jarret.
The music balances stylistically between jazz and contemporary composed music, with a wide dynamic range from chamber music to rock. It takes the listener on a musical tour through the house, from ‘L’entrée’ via the ‘Grand atelier’ to the machines of the heating room in ‘La Chaufferie.’ In between, there are intermezzos about essential events in Van Doesburg’s life, like his friendship with painter and impassioned dancer Piet Mondrian. Some small anecdotes and beautiful large pictures support the live performance.
Maison van Doesburg is the only realized building conceived by multi-talent Theo van Doesburg (1883-1931), who, besides being an architect, was also a painter, poet, art theoretician, stained-glass artist, and typographer. Dating from the 1930s, the construction is one of the finest examples of modern De Stijl architecture.
Paying true hommage to the house, the musicians recorded the suite on location, using several of its rooms. Please remove your shoes to enter a universe of its own, in Maison Moderne.
(More videos below)
1 La Façade & 2 L’Entrée
4 AusBauH
10 La Chaufferie
