How Flora and Fauna Became Friends

GREAT NEWS | IBBC Finalist with Codarts Big Band ft. Yiwen Fang

Playing the full How Flora and Fauna Became Friends programme with the Codarts Big Band ft. Yiwen Fang on guitar, we won second prize in the Top Class of the Corendon International Big Band Competition! A big thank you to the Codarts Big Band, and Yiwen Fang for your great work at the MeerJazz Festival, I can truly say that you rocked the jazz world.

Reinier Baas | Jesse Passenier | Codarts Big Band

Codarts Big Band Saxophones: Loek van den Berg, Paul van de Calseijde, Gijs van Oosterhout, Andrea Leone & Frank Groenendijk, Bass Clarinet: Massimiliano Dosoli, Trumpets: Bart van der List, Paolo Petrecca, Nicoló Bottasso & Rumon Hagenaars, Horn: Fanni Pósa, Trombones: Imanol Iribarren, Max Ravanello, Daniel Silva & Berend van Gurp, Piano: Daeyeon Shin, Bass: Dean Montanaro, Marijn van de Ven, Drums: Jens Meijer

Electric Guitar: Reinier Baas (soloist) Band Leader: Jesse Passenier (composer)

Composer Jesse Passenier (1985) – recent winner of the Rogier van Otterloo Award – ventures into a collaboration with double Edison Award winner Reinier Baas (1985). Featuring eight brand new compositions by Passenier, this project dives deep into the arts and skills of the challenging guest and guitar hero. The first indicator of what may be expected lies in the title ‘the uncrowned king of contemporary jazz’, which was attributed to Baas by Jazzism. The second clew we find in the fluid crossovers of Passenier, who launched his Fluid Orchestra in 2016 and is known for his skillful arranging for the Metropole Orchestra. It is therefore no coincidence that these two gentlemen met each other at this orchestra, where which sowed the seeds of this plan. And indeed with a very suitable partner in crime: the Codarts Big Band. Passenier, Baas and the big band dive into a realm with ungraspable and mythical creatures, abundant heavenly gardens and magical mysteries. Anxious fleeing, affectionate encounters, you will find it all in How Flora and Fauna Became Friends.

Passenier based the compositions on children’s drawings that were made during a workshop at Cultura Nova Festival 2017. It opened with the question: “How did Flora and Fauna become friends?” The music of that day introduced a little flower creature and the faune, and then the kids took over – they drew drawing after drawing, introducing more and more new story lines. Every day Passenier added new music, basing on the drawings of the passed day, and this was how in eight intense but cheerful workshop days, this fantastical story emerged!

Workshop Cultura Nova | Children’s Artworks!!!

In this video you find all 165 the drawings that were made during the entire workshop!

Many thanks to all the great young artists in Heerlen and to all the musicians you're hearing here:

Pola van den Brand - vocals
Esra Bastiaens - accordion
Maarten Reumkens - flute
Takuya Kuroda - trumpet
Eleonora Urbelite - violin
Magdalena Barszcz - violin
Josien Vermeeren - bass clarinet
Jesse Passenier - piano

Performed Live at the Mirror Tent
Sunday, Augustus 27th, 2017 - Cultura Nova, Heerlen

Copyright © 2017-2023 Jesse Passenier. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2017- Jesse Passenier All rights reserved.