“The Mike Mainieri/Marnix Busstra Quartet has turned out to be a great recipe – one that makes you hungry for more.”
A recipe for an amazing jazz concert: take a splendid Dutch jazz trio and add an old American jazz hero. If there’s chemistry in that specific combination, the result will be truly awesome. That’s exactly what happened when Marnix Busstra’s trio was turned into a quartet with the input of a living legend, the American vibraphone virtuoso Mike Mainieri. The four musicians did ten shows in the Netherlands. A live CD, recorded at these memorable events, will soon be released.
‘Mike Mainieri is one of those musicians who hears everything what’s going on, when he’s playing,’ explains Marnix Busstra. ‘That forces you to play the very best you can. Having someone like Mainieri in your band adds an extraordinary dimension to the music. Also, my initial fear that the guitar and the vibraphone would be in each others way – having the same tonal range – was taken away immediately. He has so much experience that he knows exactly how to handle a situation like that.’
Busstra is right. Both live and on the studio recording Twelve Pieces it is obvious how these two solo instruments play around each other, support each other, and produce beautiful harmonies together. Those treasures to the ear are sustained by the velvety double bass of Eric van der Westen and Pieter Bast’s subtle drums. Twelve Pieces represents twelve delicacies. The Mike Mainieri/Marnix Busstra Quartet has turned out to be a great recipe – one that makes you hungry for more.