© Gael Maleux
NOVA is an international quintet led by Belgian bassist Félix Zurstrassen. He is, in many ways, an artist apart. His rare virtuosity combines the extreme demands that his music requires and the way in which he offers it to the public: like a clear, collective and generous adventure.
His demanding approach can mostly be seen in the way he gathers around him exceptional musicians who, without him, might never have crossed paths. Alongside him, we find: the Franco-Brazilian guitarist Nelson Veras, the Dutch alto saxophonist Ben van Gelder, the Belgian drummer Antoine Pierre and for the first time in Belgium, one of the most promising of his generation the young English pianist Noah Stoneman, a former student of English pianist/organist Kit Downes. Located at the crossroads of modern and contemporary jazz, this quintet works to create lyrical, innovative music anchored with nuance and emotion in the present moment.
‘Elusive’ (Igloo Records, 02.2024)