Saxkartel

Three men & one woman unite their airstreams and become one instrument, a saxophone turbine. Together they make a quartet with a propelling power, with a groove. A quartet with the energy of young lions combined with the insight and ripeness of experienced jazz musicians

Saxkartel plays jazz and modern music in a less usual way. They bring a chamber-like music with only 4 saxophones without the accompaniment of a rhythm section. This group can best be compared to a string quartet, although they make a completely different and clear choice of repertoire: jazz is their starting point, and besides a lot of composed material, the elements ‘groove’, ‘swing’ and improvisation are the most important ingredients of the music they make. And the intimacy and vulnerability of this setup disguises of course their real force.

In springtime of 2006, Saxkartel passed the Belgian and the final selection of the Tremplin Jazz competition in Avignon. They performed in Avignon the 3rd of august 2006 and received the “Grand Prix du Jury”, awarded by a jury that consisted of amongst others master-musicians Eric Legnini, Flavio Boltro and Pierrick Pedron, of Jazzman-editor Franck Bergerot and of Willy Schuiten of De Werf. As a consequence they have played the opening concert of next year’s edition at the Palais des Papes, and they are granted a studio session of three days at one of France finest recording studios, Studio La Buissonne in Pernes-les-Fontaines, near Avignon. It was the resulting recorded, which was edited and mixed at La Buanderie by Pieter Apers and Tom Van Dyck. Mastering duties were performed at Wisseloord Mastering by Darius van Helfteren