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Talking Cows

Jazz is deep but you are allowed to have fun, right?

Almost Human (2012) is the third CD of Talking Cows, after Bovinity (2006) and Dairy Tales (2008).

Talking Cows was founded in 2004 by pianist Robert Jan Vermeulen and saxophonist Frans Vermeerssen. There was a bit more to it then just two musicians who liked each other’s playing. Until then they had never played together: they came from totally different areas of the Dutch jazz scene.

The idea came up to make the group ‘a celebration of differences’, so that the different backgrounds became the subject of the group’s material. In drummer Yonga Sun and bass player Dion Nijland they found the perfect rhythm section; they are very creative musicians with an open mind and experience in playing different styles.

In the ensuing seven years, the group presented concerts in clubs and at festivals in the Netherlands and abroad. They made numerous radio recordings, did some TV appearances and recorded 2 CDs. There’s been a great deal of positive feedback from audiences and press, and Talking Cows is now considered a leading exponent of Dutch jazz music. The videos about farmers, cows and jazz music in a cowshed that appeared on their website have also been received enthusiastically.

Almost Human demonstrates how the group has developed into a solid, flexible and original ensemble. While at first the different style elements were rather distinct, they have now merged into a new blend. The compositions by Vermeerssen and Vermeulen are still connected to the rich history of jazzmusic, from blues, rhythm changes, Ellington and improvised music to funk. But the group gives this music a typical ‘Talking Cows sound’.

Awards

on the list of 10 best jazz records in the Netherlands 2009/Volkskrant (nationwide newspaper)


Tags

67
Album Review

Talking Cows: Almost Human

Read "Almost Human" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Talking Cows may be the world's only bovine-themed jazz group. Titles of previous CDs include Bovinity (Morvin Records, 2006) and Dairy tales (Morvin Records, 2009). Almost Human indicates a move further in the primate direction. But where a true bovine creature may have an aspect of the ruminative in its nature, the Talking Cows does not. This Dutch quartet's music is thorny, intense, and hard to categorize--a sort of off-kilter avant-garde, mainstream brew much like that of pianist Andrew Hill ...

76
Album Review

Talking Cows: Almost Human

Read "Almost Human" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose


If there is anything better than the off-the-wall humor of the video promo that preceded this Talking Cows album, it is the actual album itself. Yet much more than the humor of it all is the spectacular seriousness of the music: deadly serious, and for those familiar with the high standards of music (and humor) in The Netherlands itself, this album will surely rate as one of the finest to come out of that country, no matter what the category. ...

320
Album Review

Talking Cows: Dairy Tales

Read "Dairy Tales" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay


When a jazz ensemble calls itself Talking Cows, the temptation to make comments about its moo-sic or its horn section is almost too great. But the temptation should be resisted, because this particular group brings much more to the contemporary jazz scene than an opportunity for cheap puns. This Dutch quartet's second CD--the follow-up to Bovinity (Morvin Records, 2006)--is full of inventive music, played with enthusiasm, technical skill and a sense of humor. Talking Cows was formed ...

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43

Radio

Rockwired.Com's All New Jazzed and Blue Podcast Profiles Talking Cows and Their New Release "Almost Human"

Rockwired.Com's All New Jazzed and Blue Podcast Profiles Talking Cows and Their New Release "Almost Human"

Source: Rockwired Media LLC

The weekly online radio series Jazzed and Blue: Profiles in Blues and Jazz is back and is now available for download at Rockwired.com and features an exclusive interview with Robert Vermeulen of the Talking Cows regarding their brand new release Almost Human. In the opening segment, Vermeulen discusses the inspiration behind the tracks of this new project, his rapport with the other members of the band including saxophonist Frans Vermeerssen, drummer Yonga Sun and bassist Dion Nijland and the lunatic ...

Almost Human is one of the finest of any idiom, from any place that this music is both played and enjoyed. (RAUL D'GAMA ROSE-Allaboutjazz.com)

...establishing irrefutably that Talking Cows - "Almost Human" is not a tome of nursery rhymes, but rather top-shelf, aged, prime cut, rawhide-tough jazz music, played by a very serious, talented, committed, professional quartet of musicians. (CJ Bond-Jazmusic.com)

Jazz from Holland, that’s exactly what Talking Cows wants to offer. This quartet has a typical Dutch view of tradition, coloured with humour, spontaneous interaction and the willingness to open up the structures of the music. The compositions …. are based on catchy, often hummable themes, that are fragmented and defragmented and flirt with chaos before taking on recognizable features once more. (Frank van Herk/Volkskrant 2010)

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Almost Human

Morvin Records
2012

buy

Dairy Tales

Morvin Records
2009

buy

Dairy Tales

Morvin Records
2008

buy

Videos

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