Drogheda

From the first notes on this cd, it becomes obvious that these four musicians play the music that is their own, it is in their genes, this is what they like to play best.
Leader and bass player Koos Wiltenburg gathered a group of his eldest and dearest musical friends to perform and record his latest compositions. And what a pack of talents he has chosen! They have known each other for a long time and share their musical tastes and preferences. Their musical communication is like telepathy.
Koos and drummer Arno both studied in the seventies at the Rotterdam Conservatory and played at each others final examinations (result: cum laude), after which at the age of nineteen they formed a funk group that immediately won first prize at the Laren International Jazz Concourse. After a couple of years of playing together in that band, their professional ways separated, Koos becoming a teacher at the Groningen Conservatory and over the years playing in various other small groups, touring all over Europe with international soloists, playing clubs and big festivals, recording many albums, composing and arranging, while Arno was chosen for the much desirable permanent position of drummer of the internationally acclaimed Metropole Orchestra, doing lots of radio, television and studio work, next to his gigs with international jazz artists and his successfully teaching the younger generation.
Reed player Leo, a long time member and featured soloist of the Metropole Orchestra too, and Eef, who is an internationally acknowledged guitar legend, have been Koos’ home town neighbors for a long time. That made it easy to sit together, exchanging their musical ideas, and from time to time play gigs and concerts.
Koos and Eef also did various creative projects, for example playing world music with African musicians who, passing through Europe, visited the Netherlands.
Listen to Eef‘s fantastic virtuosity and flexibility as a soloist, both on acoustic and electric guitar, as he doubles as his own accompanist with interesting and sometimes surprising colorful harmonic choices.
Leo is a saxophonist and clarinetist who easily switches between an almost classical clarinet sound, and his more contemporary soprano and tenor sound, at one time romantic and sweet, and then again in a strong and virile neo bop style.
Of course all of this would not have been possible without the craftsmanship and energy of Koos Wiltenburg, who not only provides a very solid musical base for all this beautiful creativity, but also, with the exception of Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying, wrote and arranged all the tunes.
I hope you will enjoy this cd as much as I did.
Lodewijk Bouwens, former director general of Radio Netherlands Worldwide