The essence of JAZZ

       As Bangkok's 11th International Festival of Dance & Music moves into October it brings to the stage a double bill: The Starch Jazz Band from Switzerland and the Beets Brothers from the Netherlands. It's an interesting combination that will have you moving from one end of the jazz scale to the other.
       Starch, a seven member group describe their music as "a highly energetic mix of different styles, based on funk but mixed up with elements of rock, hip hop and Latin". The Beets Brothers,however, believe that they were "infected with the hard bop virus. We simply love the intense swing approach of the hard bop idiom and try to get that intensity in our live shows".
       But first the Starch, who started off essentially as a funk crew, today, the seven musicians bring into play every single musical experience they have collected over the years. A first class live act, they've been playing together for more than 10 years, and have been known to rock every stage they perform on with youthful fun and untamed energy. In the line-up are leader Chris Rax, Pascal Nageli (trumpet), Simon P. Winiger (vocals and bass), Manoo Winiger (keyboard),Benjamin Stalder (guitar), Kay Rauber (drums and percussion) and Andreas Tschopp (trombone and sousaphone).
       Says band leader, vocalist and saxophone player Chris Raxx,"Starch is an authentic live band. We perform like we feel. For us it's important to get in touch with the audience and do the show with the audience together. In our music, there is always space for improvisation. So every show becomes unique. We don't like to do every show the same, so that keeps musicians and the audience happy. It's a seven musician collective with an energetic live show. In more than 10 years and lots of concerts the band grew together. It's more than just making music together. It's like a family."
       Speaking of their influences he says,"Starch composes its music bringing together influences of the seven musicians. We are influenced by rock, pop, hip hop, jazz, Latin and funk." As for the creative process,"in rehearsals the whole band jams together and each member gives his ideas. That's how we work out most of the songs.The fact that every musician has a different musical background and influences gives Starch's music a special taste. For us, melody is important.We're not into patterns. Every musician contributes his ideas and influences the Starch sound.In the process of writing music, every musician is free to give in what he feels. Once the song is set we always work on it and change things even after we have recorded it".
       As a band the Starch believes in the positivity of music. Explains Chris,"It can make you smile and dance. Starch makes a live show an event where the audience can experience something."They have played at more than 200 Swiss shows including the Jazz Festival at Montreux, and have also toured through Germany, Austria, Spain,Hungary and Croatia. The musical world of the seven musicians is full of colour and surprises as countless experiences during concerts, road trips and life in hotels meld into an energetic sound.
       The perfect example of this is their album,Music , on which they unite driving indie funk,crazy cosmopolitan rap, dizzy energetic rock
       songs and everything else they've come across in the past few years. It is also an example of how jazz has morphed and developed. Chris agrees,"Jazz will always change but you can't say in which direction it's going. The importance of rhythm has grown.Odd-metres have become more important as have the rhythmic variety of the songs and improvisations."
       Among its inspirations the seven-member crew count "lots of different musicians ... the list would be too long. Starch bases its music on funk, so James Brown, Prince, Maceo Parker and the like inspired Starch's music since the beginning".Expect to hear that in their nine-song set they have in store for audiences here.
       The second half of the evening is devoted to the Beets Brothers, a jazz-quartet set up by three brothers: Marius, Alexander, Peter Beets and a drummer-friend. With a number of albums to their credit the Beets Brothers have an easily recognisable sound that comes complete with swinging rhythmic patterns and blistering energy.The respected European music magazine Downbeat has called them a "A World Class Jazz Act". In the line-up are Marius Beets (doublebass), Peter Beets (piano), Alexander Beets (tenor saxophone), Eddie C.(percussion), Gijs Dijkhuizen (drums) and vocalist Sanna van Vliet, whose new CD,A Time For Love, Remembering Shirley Horn , is making waves. The winner of 3rd prize at the Dutch Jazz Vocalist Competition, Sanna was a member of the all-woman band, Alice in Dixieland, with which she toured Germany,Slovenia, Poland, Belgium, Tunisia, Sweden,Denmark, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Austria and the Azures.
       The three brothers play all over the world.Marius is scheduled later this year to play in Colombia and South Korea, Alexander recently gave concerts in India with Saskia Laroo and in the Dutch Antilles, and Peter is a regular visitor to the US, Japan, Poland, Spain, Romania and France, to name a few. The Beets Brothers have a number of albums to their credit as do the Peter Beets Trio and the Marius Beets Orchestra.
       The brothers - Alexander, Marius and Peter - grew up surrounded by music: their mother was a classical pianist while their father was a jazz enthusiast.
       Asked to describe their brand of music Alexander puts it in a single sentence:"The ultimate hard bop swing. We are always challenging each other on stage, for us it is all about music, so there is no pre-orchestrated show. But there is a lot to see on stage. We find that our audience gets infected by our intense way of playing. Every day is about new music, new confrontations."
       Speaking of their influences Alexander states,"I think the great jazz tradition and the Great American Songbook built the fundamentals. You begin there and then you start to work with the music yourself. Compose your own songs and mix it with influences of this time. You see jazz influences all kinds of music. From Michael Jackson to hip hop. It is no longer just a style of music; it has became the essence of music. Good jazz is universal and there are lots of places on earth to be infected with this great music."
       For the audiences in Bangkok, however, on the evening of October 1 would be the perfect place to start.
       Bangkok's 11th International Festival of Dance & Music is sponsored by Bangkok Bank, B. Grimm,'Bangkok Post', Dusit Thani Hotel, King Power Group, SCG, Thai Airways International, Tourism Authority of Thailand and Toyota Motor Thailand Co, Ltd .
       "Jazz Double Bill", Thailand Cultural Centre, October 1, at 7:30pm. Part 1: Starch Jazz Band, Switzerland.Part 2: Beets Brothers Jazz Band, the Netherlands.Tickets are 400,800,1,000,1,200,1,500 baht. Call 02-262-3456, or visit www.thaiticketmajor.com.