Virgo
Atzko Kohashi - Tony Overwater - Angelo Verploegen
"Discovering new music, is actually a discovery of yourself. Sound and music has a straight connection to our inner emotions. If you understand that level of consciousness, you can let people enjoy music that they never thought they would like. The trick is to find the gate. A well recorded album played on a good audio system can be that gateway." - Harry van Dalen
Atzko Kohashi - piano
Tony Overwater - double bass
Angelo Verploegen - flugelhorn
01. La Pasionaria (05:16) - Charlie Haden
02. Yi Jian (04:40) - Tony Overwater
03. Hermitage (05:59) - Pat Metheny
04. The Village of the Virgins (05:03) - Duke Ellington
05. Beauty and the Beast (04:44) - Wayne Shorter
06. First Song (06:53) - Charlie Haden
07. Peau Douce (03:13) - Steve Swallow
08. Virgo (06:13) - Wayne Shorter
09. A's Blues (03:08) - Atzko Kohashi
10. Ballade for Ché (03:24) - Tony Overwater
Total time: 48:33
Read more: Virgo - Kohashi - Overwater - Verploegen
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Original recording format ANALOG 2-TRACK
All other formats are converted versions of the original.
Virgo by the KOHASHI-OVERWATER-VERPLOEGEN trio is the first release in a new series of albums licensed from RAR; Rhapsody Audiophile Recordings. RAR is an initiative of audiophile audio guru Harry van Dalen, producer and high-end tuning expert Michael van Polen and PRIX EUROPA awarded recording engineer and Frans de Rond. RAR records direct to a 2-track Studer A80 tape recorder. Using a completely analog signal chain, RAR generates an organic, natural sound with a visible sound stage.
Harry and Michel also run the Rhapsody high end music shop in Hilversum, the Netherlands. Since 1988 Rhapsody has been the expert in high-end residential audio reproduction systems. Specialized in tuning, Harry and Michael are known to be able to combine different audio components resulting in top sets exceeding all expectations. Prior to release, most Sound Liaison recordings are given a last test drive at the shop as Harry’s and Michael’s critical ears and constructive feedback continues to be of great importance to our mastering process.
So it is with great pride and joy that I welcome Rhapsody Audiophile Recordings to the Sound Liaison Label. - Peter Bjørnild
"Looking up at the night sky, we can see the Virgo constellation lies in the southern direction. Virgo is the sixth astrological sign in the Zodiac and the Goddess of Innocence and Purity in Greek mythology. The word 'Virgo' means virgin in Latin and the Virgo symbol is designed to depict Virgin- innocence and purity. Innocence and purity are also important elements for Japanese aesthetics, which generate simplicity and freshness. You see it in many classic Japanese art forms such as choreography, ink brush paintings, Ikebana (art of flower arrangement), Sado (tea ceremony), Noh (the oldest Japanese theatrical art), etc. Innocence and purity also encourage artists’ creativity and spontaneity.
Here is a well-known quote by Zeami (1363-1443), a Japanese Noh actor, playwright, poet and aesthetician, in his treatise for the sake of art Kakyo (A Mirror of the Flower). "Never forget Shoshin.” Shoshin (初心) is a word from Zen Buddhism meaning 'beginner’s mind' which refers to the initial feelings or impression at the first step. Zeami suggests that one must approach life with a beginner’s mind, with an attitude of openness, eagerness and lack of preconceptions. I think Shoshin is connected to innocence and original purity of mind. Zeami’s wisdom applies to any type of art form in the current era, of course to jazz as well. I understand this quote to mean "Never lose your initial enthusiasm. Keep your mind open just like a beginner, and renew yourself."
And here we are. For this album we have played our longtime favorite songs composed by our beloved predecessors whom we adore and have respect for. You can also hear our original songs that are deeply rooted in jazz spirit. And what is more, just like the old times, we have recorded the album on analog, which is the purest way for the recording to capture the moment. Throughout this live recording (with audience) we were forced to venture into playing no matter what happened. One shot deal. No more takes, no editing – very pure and honest, with so much presence. We hope you can enjoy our musical world view.” - Atzko Kohashi
"You need an ego, otherwise you cannot do what you do, but you must be able to put your ego aside. If you want to do things together it is necessary that a certain chemistry is created. When you start to play you have to be open for anything, whether it is emotion, excitement or surprise, it doesn't matter. The only thing that must be there is utmost concentration." - Angelo Verploegen
"What I find distinctive about jazz music is that it is so personal. It is about individual experiences and not about what the masses think, so no mass hysteria. It is about being with people with the same state of mind and then going exploring. When you dare to challenge each other and keep on keeping on, that’s when you get somewhere." - Tony Overwater
"Harry, Frans and I are big fans of Atzko Kohashi. She is all melody and music, she talks music, she thinks music, she is music! We have collaborated with her on several productions, as we find her approach to music making so in tune with our philosophy of sound. We are deeply aware that music and sound when experienced at the best possible level communicate very directly with people. As Harry always says; "If you hear music at the right moment in time, you will be touched to the depths of the Self".
For this recording we recorded straight to a Studer A80 tape recorder in front of a small select audience. Recording to tape is in my opinion the purest way to capture the moment. It sounds great and it forces the musicians to really create on the spot as it is not possible to repair mistakes. Atzko, Tony and Angelo chose a repertoire of originals and compositions by remarkable composers from the jazz tradition. It was incredible to experience first hand how the trio reshaped the songs into an organic whole, as if each song was written especially for the Virgo album. We are honored to have made this analog recording with them.” - Michael van Polen
"Making these analog tape recordings has been a revelation. When I started as a recording engineer tape was all we had. Back then I was working primarily for the Dutch radio, and I can say from experience that editing spoken words on tape can be painstaking, when digital appeared it did make everything so much easier and somehow that was all we thought about. So when Harry and Michael got me involved in RAR and I heard back the piano sound on the first recording we did, incidentally also with Atzko, it blew my mind. The warmth and immediacy of the tape sound felt so fresh and real, but also with a hint of melancholia…….this was the sound that I grew up with. I remember copying my friends LP’s to my old cassette deck and dubbing my first band’s very first performance from my Akai 1/4 inch tape deck to the guitar players Sony tape deck while double tracking the lead vocals…. This was the sound with which I learned my trade.
And now with the advantage of a superb analog recording console and a completely overhauled and adjusted Studer tape recorder, the Rolls Royce of tape recorders, the sound was incredible. It was different but at least as good as what we are doing with the Sound Liaison DXD recordings. I even mastered one of our DXD recordings (Embrace Me) to tape as I found that it gave that particular recording just that little extra mojo it needed. So being reintroduced to tape has been a very rewarding and inspiring experience". - Frans de Rond
This recording was done live in front of a small studio audience. We decided to leave out the applause as we found it disruptive to the tranquil mood of the music.
Upon request we have generated 2 Studio Masters from the analog tape. After the tape was imported into our workstation for “sweetening” we generated both a 24bit fixed point and a 32bit fix point master. The tools used for sweetening works internally in 64bit floating point but the output is always fixed 24bit or 32bit.
For more information about Rhapsody Audiphile Recordings; www.rhapsodyaudiophilerecordings.com
Recording, mixing and mastering by Michael van Polen and Frans de Rond
Recorded at MCO, Studio 2 Hilversum, The Netherlands, on March 29th 2018
Executive producer - Harry van Dalen
Piano tuning: Naomi van Schoot
Catalog Number: SL-1047A
Used equipment:
Microphones:
Main system - Josephson C617
Piano - Josephson C700S
Bass - Josephson C700A
Flugelhorn - AEA R92
Micpre's: Merging Horus
Mixing console - Studer 169
AD Converters - MSB ADC V / Merging Horus
Recorder - Studer A80
Cables by AudioQuest and Schnerzinger
Speakers: TAD Compact Evolution One
Poweramp: Moon 760A
Mixing headphones: Hifiman HE1000se / Sennheiser HD800S
Graphic design of front cover - Odesign.nl
Callligraphy of front cover - Stefan Stenudd
