Tag: Jazz

What’s in a name? 3’Ain عين🎵

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What’s in a name?

3’Ain! عينWhere west joins east in sea(s) of stories. Narrated by a jazztrio on point.

(Re)discover our interviewee Piet Maris (accordion), founder of Jaune Toujours and 3’Ain, surrounded by his fellow-bandmembers Otto Kint (double bass) and Yamen Martini (trumpet)
-picture by Diana Takcsova-

“Reversed three”

AC: Very important first question! Inspired by the eighteenth letter of the arabic alphabet, how do you pronounce the name of your newest band ? عين Because reportedly for western people it seems almost impossible to pronounce…

Piet: (laughs) Actually that’s what Wikipedia says, it’s more of a story than a reality. I played in a trio before with a Syrian cello player. Really eager to do something similar, I wanted to continue in a trio formula. Searching for a name, I really wanted it to refer to us as a trio and to our cultural bagage. Including our middle eastern influences through Yamen.

So I came up with this character as a reversed three, which is actually some sort of sign: عين

In Arabic chat and sms conversation , the AIN is often represented by a 3, sometimes explicitly mentioned as 3ain. So here comes in this 3 AIN.

Piet Maris

That was a good starting point for me. You should pronounce it a bit in the back of the throat. Ch ain, Three like in English, ein like in German if you want…:)

AC: Makes you wonder how does that go when announced on stage?

Piet: They always ask the question, how do we pronounce it? Actually it’s not so hard but it creates a story indeed. Although I wasn’t aware of that in the very beginning.

“Instant click”

AC: You met Yamen while making music for a play?

Piet: We actually met amidst the asylum crisis of 2016. Yamen had arrived in Belgium earlier but at some sort of manifestation, making a solidarity demo for refugees, we were kind of put together as musicians. “You will blend well” they said. Luckily we actually did;).

We instantly clicked. From that moment on, I started to involve him in my on going projects. Like this very special one in Mortsel. Initiated by Caroline Rottier. She’s a theatre maker, known for her inclusive work. In which she also involves people with disabilities. She asked me to do the music for this piece called “Move”. About people on the move. A very nice play and open project, offering a lot of artistic freedom.

We rehearsed with the actors. At first just me as a musician, to get the inspiration. At a certain point I pulled in Yamen, and the other cello-player to collaborate. This was our first creation together.

“Scrambled Ensor”

AC: Sounds really cool indeed. But so does your working space where 3’Ain gets inspired by all kinds of boats passing by… 🛥🚢⛴🛳

Piet: We have this huge privilege to be able to rehearse in the port of Ostend, in the quarters of a social artistic work place called O666, at the site of Fort Napoleon. (Picture by Diana Takacsova)

Being one of the very few places over there with a very ancient character to it, quite the contrast with all those posh new built projects in the neighbourhood.

It has a recording studio, which we use as a rehearsing room. It happens to have a big window with a magnificent view to the boats passing by.

Like the BZ189🎶🛥, spotted while looking outside pretty randomly: which-boat-is-here? Songs, titles and tracks are born here. This is where our first EP was made. Clearly 🙂

Piet: Sea of Stories, our recent album, still contains references to the sea but less literally. For instance, there is a song called: Scrambled Ensor.

AC: Great title.

Piet: Actually we didn’t invent it ourselves. During a livestream in confinement, playing some sort of première of the song, we asked our virtual audience to come up with a title.

Everyone had a strong souvenir of the period you weren’t allowed to go the seaside etc. Possibly they were inspired by former works of us. Explaining why the Ostend-reference is still there.

Piet Maris

“Exchange between cultures”

AC: 3’Ain tends to reach a large audience ?

Piet: I also find it very charming to see a punkrock band in concert. They tend to reach a more specific audience. But a lot of music is broading up these days. I like to keep the music accessible in all my projects. Always seeking common ground. For 3‘Ain, in different fields of western music, going in dialogue with middle eastern traditions.

Nor me, nor the bass player Otto, are very familiar with all those traditions. In that way Yamen is facilitating our exchange between cultures.

Our song “Meeting Issues” represents his feeling of being “wired”, how hard it is missing his family all over the world…

ArtistCongratz’ cue to make y’all experience this narrative sound of 3’Ain in even more intriguing titles like Tango Soleil du Nord🎶 Listen below 🤳👇

Want to experience Sea of Stories by 3’Ain live? Go see this trio in concert coming 🔜 all over Belgium⬇️
  • September 9th: Sjruur, Maaseik
  • October 24th: Entr (De Centrale), Gent
  • January 14th: Jazzy Sunday (Leietheater), Deinze
  • January 19th: Cinéma Le Parc (Les Grignoux), Luik (Liège)
(c) Diana Takcsova

Don Marsh V, Narrators by notes 🎼 Discover “Marshland”

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Who doesn’t like it cosy when winter approaches. And some storytelling through jazzy vibes from a brand-new Belgian album to go with it. Thank you Don Marsh to treat us to your debut called Marshland!🎼

Congratz first of all! Must be exciting to release your firstborn in front of a live audience 🙌By now there have been quite a few occasions to play. Tell us how that went.

Yes very excited indeed! We played some small try-out concerts before, but it’s the first time for me leading the band for a bigger audience.

We played a few outdoor festivals & some clubs, which made me realize again how different the music comes across in those settings. Because of the broad stylistic palette there is not one ideal concert experience, but I look forward to playing in medium-size halls with some more natural reverberation which will be great for the chamber-like music we play.

Anyway, it’s a real blessing to play my own music with these great musicians. It’s something that I have been looking forward to for a long time.

We’re also curious what the rhythm section has to say. How are they involved in the creation process for instance?

Our bass player Janos Bruneel has written some compositions for the group, so that’s an obvious contribution. On rehearsals he often pinpoints weak spots in my compositions and he helps to think about arrangements. His clear lines bring a direction to the music that is really helpful for keeping the whole thing together. This direction is important as the music often shifts between composition and improvisation, and it can be hard to keep track of the bigger structure that I want to convey.

Picture by Jonas Commere

Our drummer Matthias is more pragmatic. He will try to understand what I want the music to say and make his contributions along the way. Matthias has a very broad taste and that’s something you can hear in his playing. He can be a supportive player, adding colors, but there are enough moments where he takes the front stage as an improviser too.

Can you tell us about the first bricks of this record? Which track came first and triggered all the others?

Not all compositions are linked to each other. Some pieces were written years ago (Very Late & ILVM I-II), when we first started playing with the band as a quartet. Somewhat later – when I was very much into the music of Mingus- I wrote some swinging pieces (Rhytmicus & Bermuda). This was when I really heard an extra horn in my head, so I got the idea to add at trumpet to the group, which offered more arranging possibilities. The idea for the sonata came later. I already wrote the track “Dawn” without having the intention of making it part of a multi-movement work. It was clearly a different side of my musical identity, one that I wanted to explore more.

The mentioning of the name Beethoven in the bio kind of stayed with us…What exactly inspires you within this classic grandmaster?

During the covid- lockdown, I got a little bit discouraged playing jazz and improvising. For me, the most important aspect of this music is the rhythmic interaction with other musicians, and with that absent I just wanted to play aesthetically pleasing music. I was drawn to classical repertoire and especially the Beethoven sonata’s.

What I like about this music so much is the intricate architecture and the storytelling on a bigger scale, which is rarely present in jazz. It made me wonder if I could combine this kind of narrative with my own musical language.

Wouter Van den Broeck, pianist/composer and founder of the acoustic quintet Don Marsh V
Don Marsh V in complete line up

There were a lot of challenges, for example as how to find spots for improvisation and spontaneity, but in the end I’m quite happy with the result. It’s still a work in progress however. My understanding of Beethoven’s music and the sonata form is still basic and I will probably never perform any of the sonata’s for an audience. But that’s part of the fun for me, having this new world to discover.

Other music heroes who made you grow as artists?

Most of my influences are Black American artists. My first hero was Ray Charles. Oscar Peterson was a big reference for swing feel and a meticulous execution. Bud Powell was the blueprint for my bebop language, I like his ‘in the moment’- playing and raw energy. I love Mingus for his use of form and the historical awareness in his music.There are countless others of course..

What can we expect from don Marsh V in the months ahead? And 2023?

We are finishing the first part of our tour in October. In November me & my wife are expecting our first child, so I didn’t plan any concerts then. We start playing again in February 2023. We hope to play some summer festivals and I would like to start writing a second album, probably expanding on the idea of this ‘jazz sonata’. Maybe I would like to add other musicians, but we have to see if it’s doable.

What would you say to convince new (international) potential listeners and audiences To come and check you out live?

The band consists of some of the finest improvisational talent Belgium has to offer. I already talked about the rhythm section, but the horn section alone would be enough to attract curious music- fans. Saxophonist Warre Van de Putte is the youngster of the group and still a well- hidden secret in the Belgian scene. He has incredible technique and imagination and he plays with a maturity far beyond his years. Jean-Paul Estiévenart on the trumpet is a fantastic player at home in lot’s of different musical styles. He just released a record with the ensemble ‘Il Gardellino’, playing music of J.S. Bach. You should definitely check that out as well!

In What kind of ways you are able to promote a debut album? Do you feel you get enough support from organisations?

I contacted label manager Joshua Dellaert from Solidude records for the release of the album. He helped to get me some financial support from Sabam for Culture (Belgian supportsystem for creators ed. note), which gave me the opportunity to work with promotor Bram Moony (Vermeersch). He’s doing a fine job bringing the music to a broader audience, but of course it’s not an easy task these days. Budgets are tighter than ever, concert spots are scarce and there is a growing pool of excellent musicians who are eager to bring their project to the limelight. I’m aware that my music is not the next ‘hip thing’ and that it’s not for a niche audience, but I just want to make music that makes me feel good. Honesty to oneself is the most important thing in the long run I think.

Marshland is released by Solidude Records.

Discover Don Marsh V live in Belgium on these dates⬇️

February 16, 2023

Academiezaal, St-Truiden, 20:30 pm

February 23, 2023

CC Mol, 20:30 pm

February 26, 2023

Maene HQ, Ruiselede, 11H