Ahead of his debut album release later in September, Ruud Voesten’s second single released, ‘Goesting’, is a tantalizing piece of jazz with arresting textures and pervasive melancholy.
Rotterdam-based composer and bandleader Ruud Voesten has a sound that’s as haunting as it is cinematic. ‘Goesting’ is a composition that was conceived in the darkness of the pandemic, when Voesten took the time off to take a deep dive into Dante’s Inferno, part one of his Divine Comedy, allowing him to review his connections to the seven capital sins, the core element of Inferno. Voesten’s upcoming studio album is heavily influenced and inspired by this historic reading. ‘Goesting’ in particular is inspired by the ring of Lust, one of the rings of hell through which Dante descends in his writing.
‘Goesting’ is a piece of pure noir jazz at its core, with its beating heart moving from a sorrowful cello to a pair of charismatic saxophones, to a lively but eerie grand piano, and back to the sorrowful cello again. The warm mix leaves nothing to be desired, all elements are perfectly sitting in place, demanding immediate attention. The composition is tragic, fitting for one of the most intense reads in human civilization. With a truly unforgettable cello melody in the beginning that morphs into a double bass-led interlude played by Tijs Klaassen into a grand piano-led section that moves between hope, desolation, and sorrow, as Voesten’s drums break apart in the background. The piano is performed by Koen Schalkwijk, and it is a dynamic performance, nuanced and varied enough to be a sufficient vessel for all the different textures it aims to deliver during its time at the forefront of the mix. The horn-based section features a stunning duet between Mo van der Does’s alto saxophone and Wietse Voermans’s tenor one. One of the piece’s most aurally pleasing parts.
‘Goesten’ is a masterfully arranged composition. The sounds and atmospheres are truly sublime. Endlessly intricate. The invasive sadness that seeps through the piece’s different sections makes it a bit difficult to sit through, but the sheer beauty of the recording, the arrangement, and the performances, whether improvised or written, all make this piece an outstanding piece of modern, instrumental jazz.