"The capital city free improvisation circuit remains very much alive and interesting. The musicians who are part of it always know how to find different combinations and new musical paths, while you can often hear that the music originates from the Amsterdam scene, while that scene is by no means populated by purely original Mokummers.

Take the quintet Scrambled Harmonies, consisting of Andrius Dereviancenko (tenor saxophone), Henk Zwerver (guitar), Nico Chientaroli (piano and keyboards), Raoul van der Weide (bass, objects and squat box) and Onno Govaert (Tilburg, drums). It is certainly not a pure Randstad get-together when it comes to the origin of the musicians. Yet together they form a capital ensemble whose musicians perform (outside the corona crisis) in halls such as De Ruimte and Zaal 100.

The latter location is where Stella Art was recorded in January of this year. The album consists of six pieces, free improvisations by a quintet that puts joint improvisation first, so above the ego of the soloist. There is some isolation, but within the framework of the five. Incidentally, these frameworks are not fixed, they are not a straightjacket but a shape-changing, moving organism to which the musicians must always respond.

Besides improvising together, the experiment is also the starting point of the five improvisers. Don't expect a tight division between rhythm section and piano, guitar and sax. Every voice counts equally and every musician is an experimental part in the music. This sometimes leads to wonderfully rumbling music, such as in the opening track 'Pointing', in which the sax plays a repeating motif, on which it varies, and around which there is a coming and going of phrases that the other musicians play. The percussion is everywhere and is supported by short plucked and plucked notes from the guitar and crazy keyboard riffs. In the second part of the improvisation, Dereviancenko lets go of his motif and the game becomes almost chaotic. Almost, because no matter how individually the players are busy, the togetherness is not lost sight of.

"Sofa Spud", the longest piece on Stella Art, opens quietly with bass, drums and piano. Slowly but surely that peace is increasingly disturbed by successive short phrases of the guitar. The other musicians perceive the musical nervousness and build on it. Van der Weide and Zwerver find each other in lively play, after which Chientaroli and Dereviancenko try to restore peace. Govaert subtly and less subtly disturbs that rest on cymbals, snare and toms. This creates a game of attraction and rejection, of tension and relaxation, often in a short period of time. Around the seventh minute, Van der Weide is the one who ushers in a jazzy piece with fast bass lines, which Zwerver and Govaert immediately pick up on, followed by the others, so that we suddenly find ourselves on free jazz territory,

"Cracklescramble" is the attractive title of the third piece, in which Van der Weide's crack box appears, next to playing on his bass. This results in a somewhat peculiar sounding, playful improvisation in which the other musicians also participate, initially based on those weird sounds from that box, but increasingly looking for their own ways. The beginning of 'Extended Undertone' is heavier, which is due to the heavy drum part of Govaert. But also Zwerver and the furiously lashing out Dereviancenko are making a contribution. The strange noises are nowhere to be seen and the movement goes forward in fits and starts. Chientaroli's piano and Fender Rhodes populate the musical surface after more than four minutes and enter a quiet phase, which is partly shaped by the exciting long notes and air of the sax. Govaert and Zwerver, who is raging on his acoustic guitar, lead the piece back in more turbulent conditions.

"Skin Tone" opens with a sax solo that reveals Dereviancenko's soulful side as well as the urge to experiment. As soon as the other musicians came in, they left again for a pleasant chaotic route, which this time, however, only lasts for a short time. It closes with "Didn't We Do This Before", which has a shaky start, which only comes to an end when Chientaroli changes course with a subtle piano part. The musicians' playing is fragmented, so that one inspiration after another comes along. The piece also contains the necessary tension, especially when Dereviancenko addresses his top register, Govaert sets accents with cymbals, snare and bass drum, Chientaroli joins in with small and sometimes dissonant chords and Zwerver is busy with staccato playing.

Five musicians of different origins and ages find each other in six fantasy and colorful improvisations. With their individual voices, the musicians color the pieces in an experimental and original way. The common roads turn out to be winding paths, but the focus is maintained, no matter how crooked and crooked the music sometimes sounds. The urge for musical freedom is great, which of course is somewhat curtailed if you improvise with five musicians. Yet there is a lot of room for individual expression, although the togetherness remains the higher goal. Stella Art is a fresh and attractive improvisation album."-Opduvel, Pop Up (translated by Google)