The Vocal Years (Remembering The Skymasters) Paradox Jazz Orchestra, Jasper Staps, Anna Serierse

• 1 Beyond The Sea (Remembering The Skymasters) 03:57
• 2 It Never Entered My Mind (Remembering The Skymasters) 06:01
• 3 On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Remembering The Skymasters) 04:23
• 4 Nature Boy (Remembering The Skymasters) 04:09
• 5 Medley For GK (Remembering The Skymasters) 13:52
• 6 You Must Believe In Spring (Remembering The Skymasters) 04:14
• 7 Kim (Remembering The Skymasters) 05:07
• 8 Watch What Happens (Remembering The Skymasters) 03:15
• 9 The Way He Makes Me Feel (Remembering The Skymasters) 05:36
• 10 It's Alright With Me (Remembering The Skymasters) 03:30
• Total Runtime 54:04

Info for The Vocal Years (Remembering The Skymasters)

This year, we conclude our Skymasters trilogy with the release of The Vocal Years. After Remembering The Skymasters and Legacy, we now pay tribute to the singing tradition of this legendary orchestra.

The lead role on this album is reserved for Anna Serierse, whose warm voice bridges the gap between past and present. She honors the great vocalists who once performed with The Skymasters, including Greetje Kauffeld, Rita Reys, Rachel Gould, and Marjorie Barnes, and gives their repertoire a fresh, contemporary flair.

Renowned saxophonist/arranger Jasper Staps and trumpeter Teus Nobel founded a new jazz orchestra in 2019. In early 2020, Tilburg's Paradox jazz club gave them the freedom to try out their concept live. This led to several successful try-out concerts. This new big band owes its name to its creative home base: the Paradox Jazz Orchestra (PJO).

Press and public alike rave about the unique concept of the Paradox Jazz Orchestra. Audiences witness the process live, feeling the tension of the short preparation time and the release of that tension during the concerts. The orchestra's foundation is the session evenings at Tilburg's Paradox jazz club, its creative home base, where the orchestra experiments and explores new possibilities. Audiences are welcome from early on during these evenings: from rehearsal through to the concert itself.

Each session evening has its own theme, such as the repertoire of a renowned big band or a specific composer or arranger. For example, Buddy Rich, Duke Ellington (with his "Far East Suite"), Jerry van Rooyen, and Stan Kenton. A key theme is the tribute to THE SKYMASTERS, the renowned Dutch big band that achieved international fame in the 1980s and 1990s.

Jasper Staps: "On the one hand, we see many talented and well-trained musicians who are barely challenged technically and artistically in their bands and orchestras. On the other hand, we see amateur big bands playing repertoire that is a bit too far beyond their level. We find that an unsatisfactory result. With the Paradox Jazz Orchestra, we're trying to break through that."

Teus Nobel: "Together with Staps, I approached young talents like Koen Smits, Niek de Bruijn, and Jesse Schilderink. We paired them with more established names like Rembrandt Frerichs, Jan Menu, and Jos Machtel. When the other musicians on our wish list all enthusiastically said yes, the orchestra was complete. The musicians come from all over the Netherlands and Flanders."

Anna Serierse, vocals
Daniël Daemen, saxophone
Jan Menu, saxophone
Donald Simoen, saxophone
Jesse Schilderink, saxophone
Nils van Haften, saxophone
Alex van Abeelen, trombone
Martin van den Berg, trombone
Jan Oosting, trombone
Ron Oligschläger, trombone
Teus Nobel, trumpet
Koen Smits, trumpet
Robin Rombouts, trumpet
Serge Plume, trumpet
Dave Vreuls, trumpet
Jasper Soffers, piano
Vincent Koning, guitar
Jos Machtel, bass
Niek de Bruijn, drums
Jasper Staps, musical director

The Paradox Jazz Orchestra
was founded in 2019 by band leader, arranger and saxophone player Jasper Staps and trumpet player Teus Nobel with the aim of keeping the rich Dutch and international “big band heritage” alive as well as getting it noticed again, also by a new and young audience. The band consists of musicians at the start of their career as well as established Dutch and Belgian musicians. It was precisely this mix that the founders had in mind to pass on the repertoire as well as the knowledge, experience, tradition and passion of roughly 100 years of big band history.

This album contains no booklet.