David Dalle
Thursday November 16th, 2023 with David Dalle
post-Funding drive deep dive into two new albums with Ottawa's Atlantis Jazz Ensemble and from the Rembrandt Jazz Trio with Persian singer Mohammad Motamedi.

After funding drive Today I give speech a rest, and let us indulge in a deep dive into two wonderful new recordings. The first is a unique and exceptional album from the Rembrandt Trio with Persian singer Mohammad Motamedi. The Dutch Rembrandt Trio is an unusual jazz trio with leader Rembrandt Frerichs playing 18th century replica fortepianos instead of a modern grand piano; Tony Overwater playing the violone instead of a doublebass, and Vinsent Planjer playing his own eclectic percussion set. Besides the unusual instrumentation for a jazz trio, they have also played and recorded albums with two of the greatest Persian instrumentalists of their generation, Kayhan Kalhor and Hossein Alizadeh. The new album features Persian singer Mohammad Motamedi as well as some additional musicians on violin, cello, and clarinet. Here is Tony Overwater writing about the origin of this new collaboration: "The best friendships are formed at the kitchen table. Eating together and making music together is one of life’s great pleasures. When Mohammad Motamedi ended up at our kitchen table through a mutual friend, and my instrument, the violone, was within reach, one of the most extraordinary musical encounters in my life unfolded. Half a note was all Mohammad needed to start a musical dialogue that would be the start of many special moments together. With the Rembrandt Trio we had collaborated before with world-famous Iranian musicians such as Kayhan Kalhor and Hossein Alizadeh, but never before with a singer, while the art of singing and the use of the poetry of Hafez and Rumi are so characteristic of Persian music. Not only was Motamedi a great interpreter of classical Persian songs, he is also an outstanding improviser who adapts to the music around him with playful ease. As a trio, we are influenced by Jazz, Persian and Arabic music and classical music. A large palette that not every musician can match. Mohammad can in every way. Knows when to start and knows when to give space to others. After this ‘kitchen session’, the collaboration with the Rembrandt Trio began and we played quite a few concerts. A year later, when I was invited for a solo concert at the Show of Hands festival, Mohammad invited me to join him and his family on a trip to Kashan, his hometown. There I met his parents and friends and he showed me the beautiful old city. And we traveled into the desert where we watched the sun set over the mountains of Kashan at a small oasis. A trip I will never forget. Certainly not now that the chances of us ever being able to return to Iran seem further away than ever." https://www.justlisten-records.com/discography/intizar