Sfeq | de

Much has happened since Sfeq won the Middelsee Jazztreffen competition in 1991 and the International European Jazz Competition a year later in Luverkusen. Six widely acclaimed cds have appeared and the group has completed several extensive international tours. In 1994 a government study grant enabled the entire group to stay in New York. Their itinerary included four gigs at the renowned Knitting Factory. In October of 1999, to mark its tenth anniversary, the band released the album “Sfeq 3000” and toured with Indian master drummer Manik Munde. In the Spring of 2000 Sfeq played music by DJ Git Hyper, aka Zimmerman. Sfeq has since been proclaimed the hippest Dutch jazz group around by the press.
In recent years Sfeq have played regularly at North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague, London’s Jazz Café and the Knitting Factory in NYC. Sfeq also played their own compositions in a concert with Vince Mendoza’s Metropole Orkest. In September 2001 Sfeq produced Sound Travelling, a composition commissioned by NPS Radio for a dance event including 16 musicians and live sound mixer, Wart Wamsteker.
Sfeq concept:Sfeq’s sound is characterized by a subtle integration of elements drawing upon all kinds of musical styles. The result is ‘Tension’ or ‘Free Beat’, which is simultaneously intense, complex and refined. Soloists Bart Suèr and Maarten Ornstein are part and parcel of the tight rhythm section. Bassist Peter Bergman and drummer Eric Hoeke are its driving force. .