Carmen Gomes Inc. - Bluesy May

"The musicians play to her and to each other and the ensemble is so tight that the four musicians breathe and move as one."
- Rad Bennet Sound Stage

Carmen Gomes - vocal
Folker Tettero - guitar
Peter Bjørnild - double bass
Bert Kamsteeg - drums

Total runtime: 42:35

| Pure DSD256 recording | Pure DSD256 Master |

The original high-resolution recording (DSD256) was analog mixed and mastered through an HQ analog stereo chain to a DSD256 master. 
All other formats are high-quality conversions of this master.

Bluesy May - Live

The music

 From the slow, dark shuffle of 'No Good Man', to the tender, romantic glow of 'Darker Still', celebrating the Scandinavian Mørke Time tradition, this album unfolds a passage through emotion and time.  

Ray Charles’ heartache in 'Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying' gives way to the gospel intensity of Blind Willie Johnson’s 1927 penned 'Nobody’s Fault But Mine', while 'Heard It All Before' tells the story of betrayal with wry honesty. Artie Shaw and Helen Forrest’s 'Comes Love' celebrates joy and romance, contrasting beautifully with the wistful sadness of 'I’ll Look Around' and the envy of 'My Man’s Got a Woman'. The album closes with 'Long Lost Love', a deeply personal farewell to Carmen’s late grandfather.

Despite the variety of styles and stories, the album presents it selves with remarkable cohesion, each track a vital thread in its sonic arc.

The Musicians

These musicians have reached a point where there is nothing left to prove. They no longer perform, they become the music, responding instinctively to one another and to the sound of the room itself.

Listen to Bert Kamsteeg’s introduction on 'Comes Love': he inhabits the drum kit as if seven percussionists were conversing through one voice, filling the acoustic space with color and movement. Or to Folker Tettero’s guitar replies on 'No Good Man': every note chosen with care, each phrase suggesting more than it states. Then there is Peter Bjørnild’s line on 'Heard It All Before', never intruding on the melody, yet always anchoring the song with quiet authority, stepping forward only when the space invites him.

And finally, the heart of the band,  Carmen Gomes herself. Her phrasing, her command of tone and emotion, have reached a rare level of mastery. Every word, every melodic contour seems born from years of reflection and lived experience. Carmen possesses an intuitive understanding of how much - or how little - is needed to express the true feeling of a song. Though at times, as in 'Long Lost Love', the emotion required seems almost more than even she can bear.

The Sound

This One Mic recording captures that delicate balance with stunning honesty. Captured from a single point with the Josephson C700S, a three-capsule stereo microphone, straight to DSD256, recording engineer Frans de Rond sculpted the soundstage through precise placement, guiding the musicians to move within the acoustic field rather than adjusting with electronics. A subtle touch of reverberation from the TC Electronic 6000, added via a vintage Studer 961 desk, completes the image, preserving not just the music, but the living, breathing space in which it was performed.

The session took place in Studio 2 at Heuvellaan Hilversum (former MCO), a legendary recording space that has hosted artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Lester Young, Oscar Peterson and many more. The room has remained in its original state since those golden years, its acoustics offering a natural warmth and clarity that shape the sound as much as the instruments themselves. In such an environment, equalisation becomes unnecessary,  the room provides the balance, depth and tonal richness that modern technology can only hope to emulate.

DSD256 has a character reminiscent of the finest analog tape: rich, dimensional, and organic, yet free from hiss or noise. Recorded from a single point, the session maintains complete phase coherence, preserving the natural relationships between instruments and voices, with no crosstalk to disturb the precise imaging. DSD captures every transient and harmonic nuance, making equalization and compression almost unnecessary. The music reveals its own place in the room, unfolding with the authenticity, warmth and presence of a live performance. What you hear is not a construction of sound, but the music in its truest, most honest form.

Carmen

‘Lately I find myself looking back on past moments while also leaning into what the future may bring. It feels like a pause, a breath in time, where I gather what matters most and consider how to move forward. Jazz, to me, is very much like that: presence in its purest form. Creating, sharing, listening, and responding all at once, never to be undone or repeated. Like life itself, it exists only now.

Music is a blessing. To listen is the first gift, but perhaps even greater is the chance to create, to share in the joy of discovery with fellow musicians, shaping each song together. With my friends in Carmen Gomes Inc., that joy is endless. Whether in rehearsal, on stage, or in the studio, we always give ourselves fully. I often return home with aching muscles, not only from playing, but from laughing so much with Folker, Peter, Bert and with Frans de Rond, our beloved “fifth band member”.

This album contains both old and new: songs we first played more than twenty years ago, now redressed with the colors of today, alongside new compositions reflecting on life, relationships, emotions, and the fragile beauty of the world around us. Time - the eternal thread binding us all - is a constant theme for me. These songs, each a bead on that thread of time, give me the chance to share my feelings about the beauty of the world we live in, and the importance of protecting and cherishing what we are given.

The recording itself was made live around the Josephson 700S mic. I love this completely honest way of recording, though it is very challenging: no eating beforehand, or the microphone will pick up the rumble of my stomach! If I shift my body an inch, the sound changes. Recording live with an audience adds another layer: I had to stay conscious of being in the right position to the mic and avoiding unnecessary noises, while still flying free, creating, and engaging with the audience. It was an endeavor, intimate, demanding, but ultimately, as I believe this recording shows, deeply rewarding.
Frans has shaped the flow by removing applause, creating an unbroken line from beginning to end.

I hope these songs become beads on your own thread of time, carrying some of the joy we felt while making them.

Carmen Gomes, September 27, 2025

Original Recording Format

• Recorded in: DSD256
• Mastered to: DSD256 via high-end analog chain
• All other formats: Derived directly from the original master

Recording Details

• Recording date: May 25, 2025
• Recording location: Studio 2, Heuvellaan Hilversum
• Recording, mixing, and mastering: Frans de Rond
• Producers: Peter Bjørnild & Frans de Rond
• Digital mastering: Tom Caulfield
• Cover design: Frans de Rond
  
• Cover photo: Milan Bjørnild
• Studio photography: Chris Blokhuis

High-End Audio Equipment Used

• Microphones:
  Main: Josephson C700S
  Bass: MHBO
• Speakers: Linkwitz LX521.4 & TAD Compact Evolution
  
• Power Amplifier: Moon 760A
• AD/DA converter: Merging Horus
• Mastering Headphones: Hifiman HE1000se, Sennheiser HD800S
• Cables & Power Conditioners: AudioQuest
• Network Switch: SOtM
  

Available Now – Exclusive High-Resolution Download

Bluesy May is available on Sound Liaison in ultra-high-resolution audio formats.
Discover the subtle brilliance of Europe’s finest acoustic jazz musicians.

Catalog Number: SL-1081A