VIVRE
Eric Vloeimans and Jorg Brinkmann
V –Flow-Oak Music
★★★★
Dutch trumpeter Vloeimans and German cellist Brinkmann are paired for the first time on this collection. The two, both classically trained, have had diverse performance and recording careers. While they are, broadly speaking, jazz inclined, they sometimes wander into other spaces such as classical chamber, orchestral, theatre, dance and cinema music.
Vivre includes six original compositions by Vloeimans and Brinkmann, one by each of the popular 20th-century singer/songwriters Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour, two interpretations of pieces taken from Robert Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood and three from the late Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. The result is a feast of beautiful and evocative melodies that fit seamlessly.
They are elegantly played by Vloeimans’ clarion-like trumpet and Brinkmann’s cello, which is sometimes bowed and, at other times, strummed in pizzicato style, as is the case in his composition ‘Silicon Trees’.
Since his career began in 1992 Eric Vloeimans has recorded 41 albums as leader or co-leader. I also recommend his fine 2018 trio album Levanter.
Robert Vale