De Volkskrant

It is not only the interplay of Blom with the crackling and ingeniously blaring Cleaver that is great, also the way in which each one constantly challenges and lures the other with witty inventions and strange twists keeps you on your toes.

Gijsbert Kamer

Jazzenzo

Trumpeter Cleaver is perhaps the greatest talent of the young generation: he has a nice sparkling tone and post-war jazz in his back pocket. […] Cleaver makes a great impression with his lively trumpet playing and Blom is there to provide a response. A delightful production that not only embodies the best that Dutch jazz currently has to offer but also a fitting tribute to Mengelberg!

Cyriel Pluijmakers

Jazzenzo

Saxophonist Jasper Blom not only enjoys a considerable reputation as a musician and band leader, but also as a teacher. Together with three students – trumpeter Ian Cleaver, double bassist Thomas Pol and drummer Wouter Kühne – he performed regularly in café Zilt, located on the Amsterdam Zeedijk. A real Jazz place where the underworld and music meet: an environment where the primal power of this genre comes into its own, just like in New Orleans at the beginning of the last century.

The quartet has specialized in performing the repertoire of the great Misha Mengelberg, a musician who has been able to surprise audiences for decades with his orthodox approach. On their first album, which is simply called ‘ZILT’, his compositions form the main part. We also find two pieces by Duke Ellington, which of course receive a Mengelberg treatment: ‘Azalea‘ and ‘I Like The Sunrise‘.

Trumpeter Cleaver is perhaps the greatest talent of the young generation: he has a nice splashing tone and the post-war Jazz in his pocket. The structure of this production is remarkable, in which almost every performed composition is alternated by a short interlude, which is called ‘Impro‘. A spirited performance of Mengelberg’s ‘Rollo III‘ is the start: the four musicians immediately give it a lot of gas to arrive at the well-known ‘Who’s Bridge‘ via a grinding interlude, which is given a nice messy performance. Cleaver makes a big impression with his lively trumpet playing and Blom answers him. In Ellington’s classic ‘Azalea‘ the tenor saxophonist takes the lead, with a completely unsentimental approach.

Full of irony, ZILT plays ‘Rumboon‘, another piece full of jokes and pranks by the Dutch grandmaster. It is clear that his musical legacy is in the best hands with this quartet. Full of question marks is the interpretation of the enigmatic ‘Rollo II‘, another Dadaist exercise. That after the song skillfully dismantled ‘I Like The Sunrise‘ is a sign of this ensemble’s artistic audacity. It is therefore not surprising that the musicians close the album with the insane ‘Blues After Piet‘: a piece full of detours and idiotic sounds.

A wonderful production, which is not only an embodiment of the best that Dutch jazz currently has to offer, but also a fitting tribute to Mengelberg!

Cyriel Pluimakers - Source