Culture is the quintessence

"Never waste a good crisis" - this Churchill quote was the response of one of the musicians involved when Dutch jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis asked him to join his trio (with Nigel Clark on guitar and Roy Percy on double bass) for this production. The project was created during the first lockdown in spring 2020, when the musicians' agendas emptied and all their gigs were canceled. The album was produced in studios in the Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland, largely using the playback method. The Five Elements is a reflection on how we treat our planet and an expression of the hope that we can preserve the earth as a habitat for ourselves and our descendants. The fifth element, the "quintessence", stands for culture, especially music, which reaches our innermost being and teaches us to live in harmony with our vulnerable environment.

Anyone who dismisses this program as esoteric stuff fails to appreciate the sincere commitment of the musicians involved and their high level of professionalism. Using the vocabulary of jazz, minimal music and classical elements, they have created music that captivates the listener for its entire duration. Ostinate tutti passages alternate with imaginative solos and groovy riffs. Tim Kliphuis, also known in Switzerland as an inspiring teacher through his workshops at ESTA, ZHdK, Konsi Bern and Swiss International Music Academy, moves very skillfully in this crossover area and constantly discovers new ways of combining classical, jazz and world music to create stimulating compositions. The fact that he is a virtuoso violinist and surrounds himself with equally outstanding musicians only enhances his musical message. The piece Threnody (Lament) is an improvisation on Bach's Chaconne with string quartet, which essentially follows the original and reflects on it again and again in a predominantly baroque style. Here, too, the playing is virtuosic and spotless.