The Ludvig Søndergaard Sekstet, Flatland Prayer and NOHMI are the winners of Keep an Eye The Records 2025, which took place on 23 January 2025. All three bands win €10,000 to be put towards an album production. The three winners of last year's edition, NAUSYQA, Anaphora and Micheal Murray's Colourfield, presented their brand new albums this evening. For them, this was the kickoff of The Records on Tour: an album-release tour of Dutch jazz venues.
For this edition of The Records there was a record of no less than 125 applications from Dutch conservatoires, from which seven finalists were chosen. Members of the final jury were Paula Hoorn, Tibor Elferink, Sun-Mi Hong, Monica Akihary and Jesse van Ruller.
The jury was full of praise for the Ludvig Søndergaard Sekstet - consisting of CvA master's students and alumni Ketija Ringa, flute; Micheal Murray, alto saxophone; Chaerin Im, piano; Aleksander Sever, vibraphone; Samuel Kiel, double bass, and Ludvig Søndergaard, drums. ‘We found the band sound very urgent, sincere and energetic. We consider the bandleader to be a real artist. The sound they create together is unique and we see a lot of possibilities. There was a nice balance between written material and improvisation. More is more, and less is more.’
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The judges were also positively surprised by Flatland Prayer, consisting of CvA alumni Līva Dumpe, vocals; Antonio Moreno, trumpet, and River Adomeit, double bass. ‘Not only were the players individually very strong, they also had a great band sound. We thought the group sounded beautiful in its simplicity and vulnerability. They devote themselves 100% to the music.’
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NOHMI, featuring CvA alumnus Auke de Vries, also garnered praise: 'We were impressed to hear the way they implemented classical influences with a more traditional jazz sound. They experiment with form and orchestration in a highly original way. Their music is complex in a good way and still resonates with the listener and stays accessible.’
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