Gidon Nunes Vaz Quartet - Ebb Tide

But best of all it sounds so real, making it a joy to listen to-just sink into the performance and relish every moment.
- HifiNews & Record

The Arch Recording Series vol 1.

Gidon Nunes Vaz - trumpet / flugelhorn
Timothy Banchet - piano
Cas Jiskoot - double bass
Yoràn Vroom - drums


Total time: 47:09

Original studio master recording format DXD 352kHz.
All other formats are conversion of the original studio master.

"Also unfulfilled love shows you what love is...."
- Gidon Nunes Vaz


As the waves rush in and dissolve on the shore, the tide retreats as part of the cycle. The attractive power of the sun and the moon make the tidal cycles of the ocean. I found great philosophical meaning in the working of the water tide, as it can be seen as a symbolic metaphor for different periods in one’s life. The retreating waves mark an ending of what has been and out of the remaining emptiness arises space for something new.

The making of this album reflects such a cycle for me. Closing a chapter and the start of something new, while being thankful for what has been and at the same time opening up for the unknown.

The pieces selected for this album connect to this process. I found great joy in the beauty of these compositions. The recordings of Frank Sinatra were another inspiration for picking these songs. He inspires me to approach the music in a way a singer would do, to play the trumpet in a more vocal manner and to connect with and portray the essence of the song.

I would like to thank the musicians for their contributions in creating this album: Timothy, Cas and Yoràn. Peter Bjørnild & Frans de Rond for our cooperation and capturing the sound of the musicians in such a natural way. Ruud Breuls for the beautiful photographs that connect with the atmosphere of the music and for your continuous friendship, support and inspiration over the years. Takao Fujioka for creating such beautiful designs. Willem van der Vliet, my teacher over the last years, for your wisdom, sharing, support and friendship. Thomas Lubitz (Yamaha Flugelhorns) for helping me with my instrument. And everybody else involved.
- Gidon 


The Arch Manifesto

Each recording starts and ends with the main artist alone in the hall, the only interplay being the acoustics of the hall and his own mind. No audience is present except the ghosts from the past.
When the band enters the music must create an Arch, going from the single instrument performance to the more complex band performance and back to the last solo performance.
The same principle goes for the engineering; each recording starts out with only one microphone (stereo) microphone. As the music gains in complexity more microphones may be deployed, the only limit being the imagination and technical skills of the recording engineer. The producer and engineer must make the album feel as one, it should have a unifying 'sound', despite the different recording techniques employed. 

All Sound Liaison albums have the Frans de Rond Visual Sound signature; great depth, clear placement and an almost physical presence of the musicians.
Especially our One Mic recording series has been noticed in the world of audio recording. When the Josephson C700S microphone is used to its fullest, the result is a completely phase coherent recording with placement depth and superior realism.
And indeed the critical acclaim we have received for our One Mic series have been very flattering; 

"One microphone straight to DXD recording – and it’s totally enchanting".... Hifi Critic
"Fabulous....challenging the possibilities of current recording technology” .... Inner-magazines 

Frans always says; "the art of recording is a question of listening and the more you listen the better you get at it."

I was curious to see how all the completely phase coherent listening Frans had been doing creating the masters of the ‘One Mic’ and ‘One Mic+’ series would affect his decisions when giving him almost free rein with a multi mic setup. I was not disappointed. His great knowledge of mic placement and phase manipulation seemed to have grown even further.
Frans has a second life as engineer and sound scape specialist for radio plays. He has received several awards for his work, the prestigious Prix Europe 2020 being the latest.
I believe that his unique ability to make the sound of the instruments real and visual is a cross-pollination from his excellent work with Radio plays.
For each piece of music we would ask the band to play it through once and there after deploy the microphones needed. Oftentimes the musicians on hearing the playback would suggest small alterations in the music to make the music fit the sound.

We were trying to create a sound that would fit the music and the musicians got inspired by the sound to develop the music even further.
The circle was complete.
- Peter Bjørnild

Recording, mixing and mastering by Frans de Rond
Recorded in MCO Studio 2, Hilversum on November 22, 2020.
Produced by Peter Bjørnild & Gidon Nunes Vaz

Piano tuning: Charles Rademaker

Used equipment:

Microphones Solo:
Trumpet - Josephson C700S

Microphones Duo:
Trumpet - Josephson C700S
Piano - Josephson C700S

Microphones Quartet: 
Trumpet and drums - Josephson C700S & DPA 4006 (2x)
Double bass - Josephson C700A
Piano - Josephson C716 (2x)

Micpre's: Merging Horus
Cables by AudioQuest
Speakers: TAD Compact Evolution One
Poweramp: Moon 760A
Mixing headphones: Hifiman HE1000se / Sennheiser HD800S

Photo cover - Ruud Breuls
Video - Chris Blokhuis

Catalog Number: SL-1050A