The American artist Kenturah Davis draws layer over layer with words and sentences until a work of art appears. The captivating music created by the jazz trio, Kenturah’s Kitchen, named after her, is rooted in the same magical mechanism. Rhymthic in form, chords, colour, mood, melodic insight: they roll over and lie on top of each other until they shine in the foreground as refrain singers in a tight but light-footed composition, transparently improvised, popular. Brewing in the ‘Kitchen’ are the spiced ingredients from the world of pop, Latin and jazz. Reflect on the breath in Ahmad Jamal’s piano playing, the vocal sound of bassist Charlie Haden, the intriguing simplicity of the band Coldplay, the progressive R&B of the singer Beyoncé: powerful melodies, compelling songs. A bold choice for simplicity is the key signature of pianist Ed Baatsen, who heads up the trio: dismantle, build and lay bare. For contrabassist Han Slinger, groove is more sacred than food, colour more important than water. Drummer Bert Kamsteeg juggles playfully and humorously with his unique timing. Kenturah’s Kitchen — six hands, one trio, making real music. Whether it be a deconstructed cover version or their own composition, what unfolds each time is a multi-layered narrative that draws you in. Listening, you can zoom in and out. From a distance, the tune you hear is strong, an earworm, even. Tune in deeper, and you fathom its dynamic. Just like looking at a Stuart Davis painting. Yes, there are more bands who share these qualities. What then makes this trio so unique? The incredible breadth of contexts to which the music adapts while sounding nothing less than outstanding and exquisite. And how important that is in these days of tearing down playgrounds! This is a ‘must’. Kenturah’s Kitchen crackles just as cool on the pop music stage, on the boards of the theatre, in jazz joints, as at home, couch surfing on a trip with what Baatsen calls: “music of the here and now”. Armand Serpenti