Onno Govaert, Martina Verhoeven & Dirk S — Twofold

Twofold is a double CD set which finds Dutch jazz drummer/ percussionist Onno Govaert pairing up with two players, for two fairly varied improv sets. For the first CD, he is joined by Belgian Pianist Martina Verhoeven for three around fifteen-minute tracks. And for the second he’s joined by Dirk Serries, whose also from Belgian and plays amplified acoustic guitar- on a single forty-two-minute track.

The double CD set appears on Antwerpen’s based New Wave of Jazz-presented in a mini gatefold, featuring the label minimal house style grey boxes against a white background look. With a write-up about the players and the two sets by Guy Peters. This release is Ltd to just 200 copies. It can be purchased here  

Govaert has been active since the early 2000’s both releasing solo/ collabs, as well as being part of projects such as free jazz/ improv trio Cactus Truck,  free improv five piece In Layers, and around five or six other projects.

So on the first CD, he is joined Martina Verhoeven, for three around fifteen-minute untitled tracks. The first track opens with just Govaert- with a complex & darting blend of cymbal snap ‘n’ dart, skittering drum smashes, and tom smashes. Fairly soon Verhoeven piano work appears, and it’s just as complex 'n' darting, mixing rapid bounds, rolling cascades and fraught mid to high key flits ‘n’ flirts. As the track moves on, we get sudden breaks in the type of percussion, moving from rim hits, chime smashes, wood snares, etc. As Verhoeven mirrors these shifts with low-end clunk ‘n’ bound, and sudden racing key runs.

The second untitled track opens with set spotting high note keys, and fairly rapidly this is joined by different types of percussion darts- as the piano playing opens up into more varied clusters of notation runs. Later on, we move into busier and very cymbal-heavy runs, which are matched by rolling reels of key bound 'n' race.

The third track begins with just playful jerking key clusters, within the first minute these are joined by equally playful, and at points quirky mixed percussion snaps ‘n’ darts. As the track continues both the key and percussion become wonderful manically jaunting in their attack. Before reducing down to just stark key hints and light percussion rustles. 

 

Moving onto the second disc and Govaert is joined by Mr Serries for a single forty-one-minute track. It opens with a blend of tight cymbal smarts ‘n’ runs, which are joined by jagged guitar strums ‘n’ chugs. As the track moves into its sixth minute more woozy neck jigs are added into the mix, as the percussion becomes slightly loose 'n' spread- yet these are no less tight. By around the mid-way point, the guitar has become bluntly bounding in its strums, with stray string scarps- as Govaert builds a shifting flow of different percussion hits 'n' darts. As we move towards the end of the track the percussion has become way more rapid crashing in its rolling folds, and Serries wild scrubs ‘n’ strums his guitar.

 

Twofold highlights both Govaert's detailed and at times complex percussion craft, as well as his ability to interact with these two great players in an invigorating and vivid manner. All told two most worthy improv sets, and another great release from the New Wave Of Jazz.