Deadeye
18. Kasseler JazzFrühling
DEADEYE: IN ORBIT
First of all, there are already five stars for the very beautiful artwork of the digipak, for which Juliane Schütz was responsible. Because it arouses curiosity about the audible content. From the very first note, it proves to be highly energetic and delights also with several references to one of the most important ensembles of jazz-rock crossover in the late 1960s: drummer Tony Williams' band Lifetime, featuring Larry Young and John McLaughlin. These icons are honored here by guitarist Reinier Baas, drummer Jonas Burgwinkel, and Kit Downes on the Hammond organ – while all three, as individual musicians, have their own distinctive styles that make the compositions, predominantly by Baas and Downes, bloom extraordinarily. In particular, Reinier Baas (*1985 in Hilversum) shines here with a very idiosyncratic, edgy playing approach, integrating noises and arpeggios into his often rough, sometimes lyrical guitar playing. Fred Frith, James Blood Ulmer, Reinier Baas – I especially feel this connection in Skip James' "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues." And Baas is an absolutely unique guitarist whose often very rustic licks, lines, and accompaniment techniques produce a distinctly unique kind of energy. And this intensity is still present when he significantly pulls back, as for example in the track "Michelangelo Antonioni" by Caetano Veloso or in his own composition, the album finale "Low Gravity Gospel"; and in "Deadeye’s Day Off," his guitar lines in the theme and solo have a bit of Attila Zoller flair. Many names, okay – but how else can I explain that I feel completely at home in this music? And Reinier Baas undoubtedly is a guitar original with an expressive personal style amidst all these subjectively perceived nuances. I am listening to In Orbit for the fourth time now and getting closer and closer to the music. The band is welcome to move in with me.
His 2016 released "instrumental opera" titled "Reinier Baas vs. Princess Discombobulatrix" and his album Mostly Improvised Instrumental Indie Music (2012) were each awarded an Edison Award. Baas has also composed and played for the WDR Big Band, the Metropole Orkest, and the Pynarello Symphony Orchestra, is a member of saxophonist Benjamin Hermans' punk-jazz band Bughouse, operates a duo project with saxophonist Ben van Gelder, and has played with free-jazz legend Han Bennink, among others. His Deadeye bandmates, the Brit Kit Downes (*1986) and Jonas Burgwinkel (*1981), born in Aachen, are similarly sought-after musicians of the same generation – and here, without a doubt, the right ones have come together. Because In Orbit is an absolutely fantastic, wonderfully weird album, recorded in Cologne's smallest yet most original club Salon De Jazz, captured by Clemens Orth over two days in January 2025.
Lothar Trampert gave 5 stars in JAZZTHETIK magazine
Reinier Baas – guitar
Kit Downes – Hammond
Jonas Burgwinkel – drums
Doors open one hour before the start
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
