Elemental Quartet (Holland / Portugal / Switzerland)
The latest incarnation of drummer Florian Arbenz ‘Conversations’ project brings the Swiss band leader together with celebrated Dutch saxophonist Tineke Postma, Portugese accordion-virtuoso Joao Barradas and Swiss-Australian bassist Rafael Jerjen.
With a slew of awards and world-class collaborations under their belts, Elemental Quartet’s collective international reputation cannot be over-stated. Postma has appeared on two recent Grammy Award winning albums, was named ‘European Musician of the Year’ in France and was ’Downbeat Magazine’s ‘Rising Star’ of saxophone. Meanwhile, one-time child prodigy Barradas has twice won the World Accordion Prize for his playing.
The ensemble explore the realm between jazz and classical chamber music, with the players equally comfortable in both worlds. Their music shifts between tight, syncopated grooves, melancholic openness and flurries of virtuosic saxophone and powerfully dense accordion harmonies.
‘A saxophonist of the highest calibre .’
– London Jazz News (of Tineka Postma)
