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DASH!

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Musician and composer Maarten Ornstein has never settled for the role of a traditional jazz artist. He is known for his work for numerous jazz and classical ensembles, as well as for his eclectic style on tenor and bass-clarinet, incorporating elements from contemporary, jazz, funk and ethic styles. Besides being an active musician, Ornstein (1967) is also widely known for his ability to organize large scale music-theatre projects, bringing together different musicians from all styles. This desire to work with a variety of performers characterizes all of Ornsteins career, it comes from a musical need to combine the strong points of all genres, to make universal music. Inspired by the likes of Eddie Harris and Gary Thomas, Maarten Ornstein picked up on the fading tradition of electric saxophone-playing. Using both vintage and modern equipment, he developed a flexible style suited for both dynamic comping and soloing. Maarten Ornsteins music is rooted in jazz, soul, slavic and contemporary music traditions. All these elements first came together in the W.A.R.P. Music Ensemble, which sported a line-up of five winds and a singer. The cd recorded by the group (1999) firmly established Ornsteins name as an artist looking for new grounds to explore, rather than operating in the mainstream. This led to numerous composition assignments, notably for the North Sea Jazz Festival, Orkater Theatre company, with Dutch bass giant Tony Overwater choreographer Anouk van Dijk, the Calefax Reed Ensemble and the New Music Choir of Amsterdam. As a soloist, Maarten Ornstein worked with the Schönberg Ensemble, the Jazzorchestra of the Concertgebouw, and appeared on concerts with Pat Metheny and David Liebman. DASH! - four singers, tenor, percussion, bass, drums- was born in 2004 out of the need to have a group with which to experiment with text and voices over transparent, funky grooves. Since the days of W.A.R.P. Ornstein developed a fascination with words and lyrics. Their rhythmic possibilities and deeper meaning are a central element in all DASH! music. The first DASH! album, released in 2006 displayed the ensemble's full potential, and received raving reviews in the dutch press. With the mixture of jazz, soul, ethnic styles and spoken word, the group defined its own genre. The stunning, sometimes very funny or cheeky lyrics are written by singers Monique de Adelhart Toorop, and Jeannine Valeriano. Vocal virtuosity is backed up by relentless grooves, and embellished by the swirling lines of the electric saxophone. The second DASH! album 'Zwaar Water' is a foray into the world of the radio-play, featuring 11 short pieces about water and food. These are performed by a number of leading dutch actors. After recording, all the pieces were put in a musical frame by Maarten Ornstein and members of DASH! These two albums perfectly demonstrate the intentions of DASH!; to produce contemporary music that moves the body and the soul, and stimulates the intellect! ..