Part 5: Voids, Echoes And Whispers

Happy new year everyone! Last year I started blogging about the process of making my new recording, every blog I reveal something new. Hopefully you guys will find it interesting and maybe it'll make you eager to buy my new recording when it's released (official release date is May 10th) and visit our concerts. As you might have seen I've uploaded a preview of the album just before Christmas in which I already revealed the title and the artwork as well as some music. So, the new album is titled VOIDS, ECHOES AND WHISPERS. A title which I think says something about the sound of the band and the sound of the music, also it is the title of one of the 'key tracks' of the album. The artwork is based on a painting by Thai artist Chumpol Taksapornchai. I came across his work during my visit in Chiang Mai (Thailand). This particular painting really got to me, it's called 'Path To Nirvana' and was the inspiration for a track on the new album (which I also called 'Path To Nirvana'). This track features saxophonist Yaniv Nachum. So there you go, the title and artwork revealed! Stay tuned for more news...

14/01/2012

PREVIEW NEW ALBUM 'VOIDS, ECHOES AND WHISPERS'

Here's an exclusive preview of my new album 'Voids, Echoes And Whispers'. Available May 2012.

23/12/2012

Part 4: Master/Bimhuis

This week I received the final master of the new album! It sounds awesome. I am really proud of it! Zlaya Hadzic from LOUD!/Studio 150 in Amsterdam has mastered the album. Zlaya is known for his work with Benjamin Herman and New Cool Collective but he also worked with great rock bands like Sonic Youth and Tortoise. For those of you that don't really know what a master is; in short the master is the 'sound enhanced' final version of the album, in the right sequence, the actual album you guys are going to hear and from which the factory will press the cd's eventually. So, really there's only one way to go from here, press the cd's and upload it for the online music stores. But not before we finish the artwork, which is coming along nicely..... more about that in the next update! And... I will try to have a surprise for you by the end of the year... So keep checking in! Oh and then this: May 10th, 2012. Bimhuis. Amsterdam. THE release concert!! Get your tickets now!!

02/12/2011

Elferink Signature Guitar

I'm really proud to announce that I'm collaborating with the renowned Dutch luthier Frans Elferink of Elferink Guitars. He's currently building my very own signature Elferink guitar. The only other guitarist with a signature Elferink is master guitarist Jesse van Ruller. You can imagine I'm really proud of this. From March 2012 you'll be able to order your Elferink 'Marzio Scholten' model. More info soon. Have a look at the pictures of my guitar as it's being built as we speak!

24/11/2011

(Almost) November Tour

We have a few nice concerts coming up with the Marzio Scholten Quartet in November (and almost November... October)!! Come out and hear this band!!

30/10, Zizo, Meppel (matinee - SOLD OUT)
19/11, Iskra Jazzclub, Castricum *
23/11, Museum Het Domein, Sittard **
26/11, Regentenkamer, Den Haag **

* Martijn Vink - drums
** Kristijan Krajncan - drums

P.S. Unfortunately the Marzio Scholten Group concert of 29/11 in Amstelveen has been cancelled!

18/10/2011

Part 3: Album Mixed

Last update I told you guys that we were going to have the album mixed by engineer Chris Weeda. Well, he did... and how! It was such a pleasure spending the day with Chris at his mixing studio. He made the recordings sound exactly how I wanted it to sound. I'm really excited with the results and can't wait to share it with you guys! The next step is to decide on the right track order and have the album mastered. Meanwhile a fantastic illustrator has begun on the artwork... more about that later...

07/10/2011

New album update (Part 2)

After having finished the recordings the next step is to select the takes that will end up on the actual album. I took a while off from listening to it and started freshly again last week. It's funny how differently you hear things after not having heard it for a while. After a few days of intensive listening, lots of notes and lots of coffee, I finally selected the best takes for the album. So now we are ready for mixing. Next week I will spend a day in the studio in Amsterdam with Chris Weeda, a fantastic engineer and a sound genius. He recorded and mixed tons of records and is Toots Thielemans' live sound engineer. Can't wait to hear what Chris will do with this recording. I will definitely keep you guys posted!

10/09/2011

New album update (Part 1)

The recordings for the new album went very well! We had a wonderful and relaxed time at the luxurious studio in Germany and recorded nine tracks in two days. Right now I'm in the process of listening to different takes and deciding which takes will eventually end up on the album. Next month we will be mixing the tracks. This is all very exciting, because this album is the first album I'm releasing independently. Oh.. and the first album release concert is booked already... Grab pen and paper (or your smartphone): May 10th, 2012. BIMHUIS!!!

29/08/2011

RECORDING NEW ALBUM!

I'm proud to announce that on August 14th and 15th I will be recording my new album, which is due for release in May 2012! I'm really excited about this recording which I'm doing with my steady group consisting of my friends and colleagues Yaniv Nachum (sax), Randal Corsen (piano), Stefan Lievestro (double bass) and Mark Schilders (drums). We are recording this album in the Fattoria Musica Recording Studios in Osnabruck, Germany. We are also working on a new website on which I will keep you informed regularly about the new album and give you detailed updates about the recording, mixing and mastering process! So be sure to check this website regularly and sign up to my newsletter.

08/08/2011

Stay tuned...

In May we were featured on Dutch national television! We played two tunes. In case you missed it, here are the videos. Enjoy! And stay tuned for some great news this summer...

14/07/2011

Live In Your Living Room!

On Tuesday July 5th we will give an intimate living room concert for 'Live In Your Living Room' during North Sea Round Town in Rotterdam. This exclusive concert will start around 8:30 p.m. and really is a unique opportunity to catch this band up close. The address of where the concert will take place is Doezastraat 16A in Rotterdam . Entrance is free, but seats are very limited! So be sure to reserve your seat here (click on July 5th on the agenda on the right)! See you there!

09/06/2011

Thank you, Greece!

Here are some pictures of our recent tour in Greece! We had a fantastic time over there!

02/06/2011

Greece Tour

Next week the quartet will head out to Greece for a five-day tour, where we will play on a couple of jazz festivals. We can't wait to get back to southern Europe, our last tour there was in Spain in March and was fantastic. We are really looking forward to do this tour in Greece! Here are the dates and festivals where we will be playing. I'll try to post some pictures or footage while were there. And if you happen to be there... come check us out!

27/5 European Jazz Festival, Athens
28/5 Preveza Jazz Festival, Preveza
30/5 Ermoupolis Jazz Festival, Ermoupolis (Syros)

18/05/2011

World Of Thought

It has been a few months since World Of Thought came out. Thanks to those of you that bought or downloaded the album! For those of you who haven't yet, buy it now at Bol.com or O.A.P. Records, or download it from iTunes.

07/05/2011

My debut on national TV!

Finally it is there... my debut on national television! This Sunday (May 8th) at 10:30 in the morning I will appear on Dutch television in the tv program Vrije Geluiden (VPRO) on NED1. We will play two tunes with the Marzio Scholten Group and there will be a short interview with me. There will be two more guests on the show, so I don't know exactly at what time our item will air, but be sure to watch between 10:30 and 11:30 (AM). Also, at 17:00 on that same day (May 8th), we will play with the Marzio Scholten Group at Projekt 072 in Alkmaar. So if you like what you see on TV then come and check us out live that same afternoon!

02/05/2011

A Million Ways Of Thinking/Voids, Echoes And Whispers

For everyone who missed our show last Thursday, here are the two opening tunes of the set. Around 30 minutes of music for you for free! Enjoy!



(Credits go to Marlon Domingus for recording and posting this. Thanks for the support!)

23/04/2011

Marzio Scholten Group in Holland

In the coming weeks we will play a few concerts in Holland with the complete Marzio Scholten Group (with Yaniv Nachum, Randal Corsen, Stefan Lievestro and Mark Schilders)! I'm really excited about playing with the entire band again. We will play new material, but also some tunes from World Of Thought. After these concerts we will leave for a tour in Greece with the quartet, I will keep you posted about this tour. Here are the dates for the upcoming concerts. For ticket information click on the links.

April 17th, De Fuut, The Hague
April 21st, Badcuyp, Amsterdam
May 8th, Projekt 072, Alkmaar

08/04/2011

Tour pictures

We just got back from a fantastic tour in Spain, where we played for great audiences in Gijon, Bilbao and Girona (photo above). We can't wait to get back there next year. Here are some photo's taken during the tour. Now we're looking forward to some concerts in the Netherlands and our upcoming tour in Greece. Also we will be in a national Dutch television show very soon......

14/03/2011

Spain!

Next month we'll be in Spain for a few concerts with my quartet, with Yaniv Nachum (sax), Stefan Lievestro (bass) and Mark Schilders (drums). I'm really excited about this tour! So, if you live nearby or if you are on holiday over there, then go check out this band. This is our tour schedule. Hasta pronto!!

09/3   Jazz en el Centro, Gijon
10/3   Bilbaina Jazz Club, Bilbao
11/3   Centro Municipal del Begoña, Bilbao
12/3   Sunset Jazz Club, Girona

16/02/2011

Newsletter! Sign up now and receive a free track!

Yes, I have a newsletter, subscribe to it and not only will you receive the latest news regarding my music, I will also keep you posted on special offers, new projects, exclusive live tracks, unreleased music, photos and more. Sign up now and you'll receive an exclusive free download of a live track, recorded during our last tour! Subscribe on this page.

03/02/2011

A Million Ways Of Thinking

A Million Ways Of Thinking by marzioscholten

Here's a live recording of another unreleased track. It was recorded at a concert in Jazzpodium DJS in Dordrecht (Netherlands) during our 'World Of Thought' release tour. Hope you like it. Share it, download it and spread the word! Oh, and please show support by visiting our concerts and buying and/or downloading my albums!

26/01/2011

Another great review for World Of Thought

Dutch music blog Draaiomjeoren published a fantastic review of my latest album World Of Thought last week. Beautifully written and very flattering! Read the review here or download it here. (In Dutch only, sorry, but you can 'Google Translate' it if you want...)

23/01/2011

Coming up...

Here's a heads up on some cool stuff coming up in this coming period. On February 6th the Marzio Scholten Quartet will be playing at P60 in Amstelveen. On February 26th the great Dutch saxophone player Benjamin Herman and I are teaming for an exclusive concert at the 'Special In A Cabin With Houseparty'. Very excited about this!! Other bands will be playing as well. In March we'll be heading to Spain with the Marzio Scholten Quartet for a four-day tour. We'll be playing in Gijon, Bilbao and Gerona. Really looking forward to that one. So there's lots of great stuff coming up this year and heading your way; lots of music, ideas and concerts. For a complete list check the tour page. Stay tuned for more info and check the site regularly for updates. Have a great year!

15/01/2011

What a year! (+ FREE new live track)

2010 has been a great year for me; I married my beautiful wife, my new album came out (which is getting awesome reviews), I've played with so many fantastic and inspiring musicians, we had a great album release tour and so much more. I'd like to thank all of you - friends, fans and colleagues - that made this year so special for me. I'm really inspired to make more music and can't wait for the new year to start! Here's a live track of a new composition called 'Voids, Echoes and Whispers'. It was recorded during the World Of Thought release tour and features a guitar solo, and a saxophone solo by Yaniv Nachum. This is my way to say 'thank you'. I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas.

Voids, Echoes and Whispers by marzioscholten

22/12/2010

Best Of 2010 (All About Jazz)

All About Jazz' managing editor John Kelman has selected World Of Thought as one of the best albums of 2010 in the category 'new discoveries'! A great honour! Check it out here. John Kelman wrote a great review of World Of Thought earlier this year as well.

16/12/2010

Marzio Scholten Group @ Paradox (Tilburg)

Coming Friday December 3rd we will play at Paradox in Tilburg for the final concert of our World Of Thought Release Tour! It will be your last chance this year to see the Marzio Scholten Group in its complete line-up featuring Randal Corsen, Yaniv Nachum, Stefan Lievestro and Mark Schilders. It has been a great tour so far and we would like to end it with a blast. Show starts at 21:00 and entrance is only €10,-. Get your tickets here. We hope to see you there!

27/11/2010

World Of Thought in Volkskrant Top 10 year list

I'm very proud to announce that World Of Thought has been awarded the number 6 spot on the Volkskrant Top 10 year list for the best jazz albums of 2010!

22/11/2010

Coming up this weekend

We have two great gigs coming up this weekend during our World Of Thought Release Tour! Saturday evening we will be playing at Jazzpodium DJS in Dordrecht. We will start playing around 10 p.m. Tickets are € 10,-. On Sunday we will play at the Jazz International Rotterdam Festival in De Doelen. A great festival with a very promising line-up (Michiel Borstlap, Cedar Walton and more). Our concert starts at 6 p.m. Be sure to be on time. Tickets for this festival are € 27,-.

18/11/2010

On camera

A beautiful picture made by Theo van Mourik during our concert in Heerlen last Tuesday.

12/11/2010

Listen to the new album online

You now have the opportunity to stream World Of Thought in its entirety. For a limited time only, the new album will be available for listening online, for free, at Radio 6. If you like what you hear, then be sure to support us by picking up your copy!

09/11/2010

Stunning review on All About Jazz

The leading U.S. jazz e-magazine All About Jazz published a stunning review - written by John Kelman - of World Of Thought. Read it here and download the title track of the new album for free (for a limited time only).

01/11/2010

Amazing reviews for World of Thought!

I'm very proud that in the last few weeks World Of Thought has been receiving amazing reviews. The Dutch and international press is unanimously praising the new album and I am really thankful for it. Amongst many others, Dutch national newspapers Trouw, Parool and Volkskrant published excellent reviews. Frank Huser from Jazzflits gave a very detailed review on my playing, read that one out here. For a complete list of reviews visit the press page on this site.

25/10/2010

Marzio Scholten Group @ Meneer De Wit, Amsterdam

Coming Saturday, October 23rd, we will hit Amsterdam during our 'World Of Thought' release tour. We will play at a new venue called 'Meneer De Wit' (Baarsjesweg 202, Amsterdam). Doors open at 20:00. Show starts at 21:00. Entrance is only € 8,-. As usual we have a great line-up with Randal Corsen (piano), Yaniv Nachum (sax), Stefan Lievestro (bass), Mark Schilders (drums) and myself. We hope to see you there. Don't miss this one!

18/10/2010

Excellent review in Trouw

Last week Dutch newspaper Trouw published an excellent review of World Of Thought.

11/10/2010

All About Jazz: Take Five With...

Recently the renowned website All About Jazz published an article about me: Take Five With Marzio Scholten. Read the entire article here!

04/10/2010

WORLD OF THOUGHT OUT NOW

Proud to announce that my new album World Of Thought was just released! Find it at your local record store or online through iTunes, BOL.com, Amazon and many more. Enjoy the album, let me know what you think of it and we hope to see you on the road!

01/10/2010

First review of new album

Renowned Dutch jazz journalist Bert Jansma wrote the first review for World Of Thought. Extremely happy with it! Read it here. In Dutch only, sorry.

29/09/2010

'World Of Thought' Release Tour

15/10 - Jazzpodium De Tor, Enschede
23/10 - Meneer De Wit, Amsterdam
04/11 - Jazz At The Crow, Eindhoven
09/11 - Heerlen Jazzzt..., Heerlen
13/11 - Ajazz, Assen
20/11 - Jazzpodium DJS, Dordrecht
21/11 - Festival Jazz International Rotterdam, Rotterdam
03/12 - Paradox, Tilburg

25/09/2010

NEW RELEASE - WORLD OF THOUGHT

I'm very proud to announce that my new album 'World Of Thought' will be released on October 2nd 2010 on O.A.P. Records. 'World Of Thought' contains nine new tracks and features Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Yaniv Nachum (tenor sax), Randal Corsen (piano), Stefan Lievestro (bass) and Bob Roos (drums). From September on we will start promoting the new album and in October, November and December we will hit the road with the 'World Of Thought' Release Tour. For dates check out the tour page. Music and more info will be online soon. Stay tuned!!

20/08/2010

Trio photo

Me at a small, but very nice gig, trying out some stuff. More pictures at the bottom of this page.

27/07/2010

New videos

From now on, every now and then, I will be posting videos on Vimeo. Videos of concerts, interviews, promo stuff and things I like; starting with four clips of a concert we did in Mexico-City a few months ago. We had a great time over there and now this concert is partly available for all of you to enjoy. So, enjoy!

World Of Thought - Marzio Scholten Quartet - Live @ Eurojazz 2010 from Marzio Scholten on Vimeo.

19/07/2010

North Sea Jazz 2010

Coming week I will be playing at both the world renowned North Sea Jazz Festival as well as the North Sea Round Town festival, both in Rotterdam. On Monday, July 5th at 22 hrs, you will find me playing in Dizzy with Iman Spaargaren's European Union Quartet during North Sea Round Town. On Friday, July 9th (17:45 hrs), I am playing at the North Sea Jazz Festival (stage: Volga) with the Marike van Dijk Quintet (w/ Franz von Chossy, Ruben Samama and Joost Kroon). After last year's performance at NSJ with my own band, it is a great honour to be playing on this wonderful festival again. Looking forward to it and hope to see you there!

03/07/2010

Rehearsing

A few weeks ago One Note Europe shot some footage at a rehearsal of ours for their documentary about European music.

21/06/2010

On mixing/mastering, North Sea Jazz and climate shifts

My new album has been mixed and is being mastered in New York as we speak. We are aiming for an October release. Very, very excited to get this music out! Please check the tour page for the release concerts. I will keep you informed on this website as well. Also, coming months a few concerts with alto sax player Marike van Dijk are up. Marike just released her debut album 'Patches Of Blue' on which I am featured as well. With this band we will also play on the famous North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam on July 9th. An honour and a real pleasure to play there again. On a more serious note, however; yesterdays elections here in Holland showed a massive move to the right. I feel the need to say that as a human being and as an artist, I am very disappointed in this political climate shift.

10/06/2010

Marzio Scholten Group at Drommedaris, Enkhuizen

Coming Saturday June 5th the Marzio Scholten Group will perform at Cultural Centre 'Drommedaris' in Enkhuizen. Show starts at 21:30 hrs. Tickets are € 5,-. Click here for more information (in Dutch).

30/05/2010

Welcome!

Hi. Welcome on my new website. Here's where I'll post updates regularly and where you'll find all the information you need. I hope you will enjoy it. Oh, before I forget, the background photo was made by Esther van Nes.

12/05/2010

New website and the Mexico concerts

Lately I haven't posted any news because we are pretty busy setting up the new website. You can expect it to be online very soon. Last month we were in Mexico-City for some concerts. We had a great time over there and had some great shows. Especially the Eurojazz festival was fantastic. 3500 people came to visit our concert there. A truly unique experience. Thanks Mexico! The new album is coming along great as well. More info about that soon...

25/04/2010

Eurojazz (Mexico)

Next week we are touring in Mexico! For complete schedule, please visit the tour page on this website.

05/03/2010

Germany and Mexico

Coming months we will be touring abroad with the Marzio Scholten Quartet. First up is a small tour in Germany which will start coming Friday 19 February in Hamburg and will go to Leipzig (20/2) and Berlin (21/2). This tour will be with Tony Roe on piano, Lucas Dols on bass and Bob Roos on drums. In March we are invited by the prestigious Eurojazz festival in Mexico-City. We will play two other concerts in Mexico-City. This tour will feature Yaniv Nachum on saxophone, Stefan Lievestro on bass and Bob Roos on drums. Check the tour page for details.

13/02/2010

Exclusive behind the scenes photos of recording session

Last week I have been recording my new album,with Randal Corsen, Stefan Lievestro, Yaniv Nachum, Bob Roos and Ambrose Akinmusire. I am really proud of the result and can't wait for you guys to hear it. You will have to wait, the release of this album is due for the fall this year. I will be mixing and mastering in the coming months and will keep you updated along the way. But what I can do is give you an exclusive look behind the scenes; the making of the new album. Click here for the photos!

24/01/2010

Follow the recordings on Twitter

Hi! These coming days I will be reporting the recording process of the new album live on Twitter as much as I can with updates, photos and videos. Follow me on Twitter!

14/01/2010

NEW ALBUM RECORDING (with new line-up)!!

2010 is starting with a blast: next week I will be recording my new album, which is going to be released on O.A.P. Records this coming fall. The new album will contain eight new compositions of mine, some of which you already might have heard on tour and some brand new ones. The line-up on this recording will be Yaniv Nachum on tenor saxophone, Randal Corsen on piano, Stefan Lievestro on double bass, Bob Roos on drums, and - all the way from New York - Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet!! I'm really excited about this album and can't wait for you guys to hear it! I will keep you updated on the recording progress, so be sure to check this website out regularly. Thanks!

05/01/2010