Rating: a fairly recent live date by Michiel Braam's Bik Bent Braam reveals that over the years Braam has not only learned to get his joyous musical message across to countless number of the Netherland's finest musicians, but also to get them to offer it up and live as well. Drawing on his entire compositional career, Braam has rehearsed this band to move through all of his musical mutations in one night's sitting. Given how wide his palette reaches, this is no small accomplishment. Bramm's band with soloists such as Wilbert de Joode on bass, Walter Weirbos on trombone, Patric Votrian on bass tuba, and Frank Nielander on saxophones cranks through the entire jazz tradition from Jelly Roll Morton and Fats Waller through to Ellington, Jobim, Kenton, and Braxton. On this night, the Bik Bent wailed through Braam classics such as "Therapy," "Blue Garage Door," "Netherlands-Brazil" -- easily the most satisfying thing here with its multi-textured tonal clusters and chromatic lyricism contrasting tight, stylized European arrangements with Brazilian time signatures and subtle melodic nuances. Another stunning moment is the musical acrobatic workout the band gets in "Racecourse." Here, three different pitches are assigned throughout the band, and six contrapuntal exercises happen in each simultaneously and then rotate around the orchestra at increasing tempos. By the time the band reaches "Grande Dessert" -- a cacophonous orchestral roar of triumph -- and the medley of "The Bell" that transforms into a restatement of the opening theme, "Therapy," the listener is happily exhausted; the inclusion of "Ski Lift" as an encore is purely for academic and documentary consideration. A fine set by one of Europe's greatest bands; what more can one ask for from a listening experience?
© Thom Jurek /TiVo