Free Three

Teun Verbruggen

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Artistes

Serge Lazarevitch Guitar
Nicolas Thys Double bass
Teun Verbruggen Drums, electronics

About

“Free Three” brings together three key musicians from the Belgian jazz scene. Serge Lazarevitch, Nicolas Thys and Teun Verbruggen share the same musical tastes and cross stylistic borders to explore the moving landscapes of jazz and improvisation.

"Let's just play what we feel, what we like... What we feel like playing..." This phrase perfectly sums up the musical spark that ignited Serge, Nicolas and Teun from their first concerts together and which naturally grew during the recording sessions.

Eight joint compositions and eight from guitarist Nic Thys from a total of seventeen, mostly composed as miniatures of under three minutes that travel through soundscapes that the guitarist loves and are known to the others. The aptly-named “One More Time” opens the album in a folk mood, whereas “Mid Life Crisis” and “Time to Wake Up” have a rock vibe. “Cats in the Garden” echoes the inspiration and style of Bill Frisell in his trio with Tony Scherr and Kenny Wollesen. “One for Snowden” bursts into free improvisation. The Thys-composed “Long Island City” has a Thelonian feel. The soothing “It Should Have Been a Normal Day” pays homage to the victims of the Paris attacks in January and November 2015, whereas “See You Later” makes me unmistakably think of the harmonic variations of Pierre Van Dormael. This wide range of climates does not affect the cohesion of this brilliant album on which the musicians’ inspiration is always present. The superb natural sound and elegance of the protagonists sets the tone throughout the seventeen pieces. (Jean-Pierre Goffin)