The Arch Recording Series Vol. 5

"I hope we left you with something to put under your pillow" - Dexter Gordon

From the opening of 'Things, We Did Last Summer' to the closing of' Chelsea Bridge' the sound of Simon Rigter's tenor saxophone on these carefully selected compositions, awakes a wealth of feelings; melancholy, tenderness, compassion, and warmth. It's passion with controlled emotion, a sound somewhere between a smile and a tear, a sound that touches your heart.
The amiable comping of Vincent Koning, Karel Boehlee’s superb interplay, Cas Jiskoot, and Joost van Schaik’s compassionate rhythmic foundation, makes the required arch form; solo-duo-quartet-duo-solo, feel like a spontaneous ballad suite.


"Since I was a child music has been fascinating to me. I'm on a never-ending quest searching for the essence. I have realized that you don't have to come up with something new all the time. What’s important is that you play spontaneously. I prefer playing in small clubs where I can seek freedom and take risks, where music can be spontaneous and intimate at the same time. Jazz is 'up close & personal' music. In that respect, Studio 2 is ideal for recording. The hall’s warm and intimate sound as well as its special historic vibe practically compels spontaneous creation."
- Simon Rigter


Frans always says; "The art of recording is a question of listening and the more you listen the better you get at it."
I was curious to see how all the completely phase-coherent listening Frans had been doing creating the masters of our critically acclaimed 'One Mic' and 'One Mic+' series would affect his decisions when, following the rules of The Arch Manifesto, he would have to return to a multi-mic setup for the quartet pieces. I was not disappointed.
His excellent knowledge of mic placement and phase manipulation seemed to have grown even further. Frans has a second life as an engineer and soundscape specialist for radio plays. He has received several awards for his work, the prestigious Prix Europe 2020 being the latest.
I believe that the Frans de Rond 'Visual Sound signature'; great depth, precise placement, and an almost physical presence of the musicians, is a cross-pollination from his excellent work with radio plays.
- Peter Bjørnild


The Arch Manifesto

Each recording starts and ends with the main artist alone in the hall, the only interplay being the acoustics of the hall and his mind.
No audience is present except the ghosts from the past.
The music must create an Arch, going from the single-instrument performance to the more complex band performance and back to the last solo performance.
The same principle goes for the engineering; each recording starts out with only one Josephson C700S 3-channel stereo microphone.
As the music gains in complexity more microphones may be deployed, the only limit being the imagination and technical skills of the recording engineer.
The producer and engineer must aim to make the album have a unifying sound, despite the different recording techniques employed.
The recording took place in the now legendary Studio 2, situated in the building of the Dutch Music Center of Broadcasters (MCO).
The studio has remained in its original form since it was built in 1929.
Together with Abbey Road, it is the oldest active recording studio in the world.
It has hosted a wealth of prominent artists; Django Reinhardt was there in 1937, Jazz at the Philharmonic with Lester Young, Oscar Peterson, Roy Eldridge, and Ella Fitzgerald in 1953, and in the 1960’ Wes Montgomery and Clark Terry among others all recorded in the studio. And somehow their presence is felt.