Dutch jazz, French horn, English dates as trio joins Jazz Cafe menu

(Preview by Rob Adams)
The unusually configured trio Kapok appears at the Jazz Café in Newcastle for Jazz North East on Tuesday, November 28 as part of a tour presented by the Jazz Promotion Network’s Going Dutch series in tandem with Dutch Performing Arts.

Kapok features French horn player Morris Kliphuis, guitarist Timon Koomen and drummer Remco Menting and came together by accident in 2012 when Koomen replaced another guitarist who had dropped out of a studio jam session.

Kliphuis, who is the younger brother of swing and classical violinist Tim Kliphuis, began playing classical music the age of eight but in his teens, he decided to study improvisation instead. When the trio got together, they found they had a natural chemistry that enabled them to create songs that lent themselves to group improvisation. Their first album, Flatlands, launched them on the Dutch scene and soon, having won the European Jazz Competition Award in 2013, they were getting noticed across the continent.

“We were quite surprised when Kapok became a big thing in our lives,” says Kliphuis. “We’d really just got together to jam and out of those days in the studio came Flatlands. From there we were playing not just jazz venues but also indie pop and rock places.”

After three albums they took stock, having become frustrated by the lack of bass and having only one harmony instrument but being keen to keep working as a trio. Menting added vibraphone to his one-of-a-kind drum kit. Kliphuis acquired a synthesiser and Kommen a baritone guitar. The results gave them an almost orchestral palette by comparison to their earlier work. They have since jettisoned the song structures they favoured to begin with for a more freewheeling, collective improvisational style.

“We’re very excited by the sound possibilities and being able to create something new every time we play, and we want that excitement to get across to and involve the audience,” says Kliphuis. “We’ve played at London Jazz Festival but never played outside of London in the UK. So we’re looking forward to finding out how people in the north of England respond to what we do.”

As well as appearing at the Jazz Café, the group plays Whelley Ex-Servicemen’s Club, Wigan (lunchtime) and The Cinnamon Club, Altrincham (evening) on Sunday, 26 November and the Lescar, Sheffield on Wednesday, 29 November.