The authoritative newspapers NRC Handelsblad and Volkskrant gave five jubilant stars to the third album by the Dutch reed player and composer Ben van Gelder. The latest newspaper even considered it the best jazz record of 2016. Van Gelder found inspiration in a painting by František Kupka when he received a writing assignment from New York's The Jazz Gallery. The result, a suite of 14 compact songs,
… he recorded with his American band. He also lived and studied in New York for some time. It is striking how not only the jazz history, but also a metropolitan feeling resonates in his compositions. Unlike his brother, pianist who embraces more the freedom of, for example, avant-garde jazz, Ben looks for the tightly composed jazz of , or . The trick is that he can make it sound fresh and contemporary. Catchy and exciting themes are thereby linked to strong collective play. This makes Among Verticals a very accessible jazz album. (MR)more