Ig Henneman
Ig Henneman Sextet
Duo Baars Henneman
Queen Mab Trio
Henneman String Quartet
TOTALLY HENNEMAN'S OWN MUSIC
Ig Henneman "Outside the Rain Has Stopped" ****
Few people dare to be as extreme in their musical choices as composer and viola player Ig Henneman. Her oeuvre, revealing an immense drive, is uncompromising and above all totally individual in an unruly way. However angular and steep the rhythms and melodies often are, this is music that communicates almost in spite of itself, that never makes it easy for the listener, but at the same time always reaches out. It is music that, precisely because Henneman does not seem at all intent on it, often touches the listener particularly deeply. In honour of Henneman's 75th birthday, "Outside the Rain Has Stopped" once again brings together her interests and qualities. For instance, her love of poetry is contained in a piece based on a poem by the equally unruly poet Emily Dickinson and two readings by Dutch poet Anneke Brassinga.
The six musical works are mutually distinct. Yet you can immediately hear Henneman's hand in them. Organs play a major role in half of the pieces. A golden touch, because the organ, grand and elusive, is right up her street. Just take the unforgettable opening piece "Galina U", an ode to Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006). After just a few notes, you know you've never heard anything like this before.
--Mischa Andriessen, Trouw 30 September 2022[...]
Ig Henneman has discovered a third route, a fusion of the Lied's finesse with the straightforwardness of a jam session. Her Solo Songs for bassoon, bass clarinet, violin, viola and cello trace a semi-improvised road towards song, starting from an instrument. The musician plays, and plays on, till a tipping point is reached where text presents itself as an answer to the questions uttered by the notes as they were groping, searching, dancing, growling, whining. At this point, replete with climactic musical energy, the musician starts to sing, pressed by an urgency too strong for the voice to withhold: it must speak out. It is the turning point. The words of Ingeborg Bachmann, Anneke Brassinga, Emily Dickinson, Sarah Lawson and Nanao Sakaki provide first aid, in magical ambiguity. [...]
-Bas van Putten
There is a constant dialogue in the work of Ig Henneman that makes her music extraordinarily exciting. On the one hand the will to find the ultimate consequence of a musical thought. On the other hand the ability to accept the opportunities and limitations of the moment. Together this means that you will not be overheard on these five solo pieces for cello, violin, bass clarinet, viola and bassoon.
--Mischa Andriessen Dutch daily paper Trouw
[…] Excited episodes are followed by calm, relaxation, pauses, sections of almost unearthly beauty and great, strange expression, purity.
--(haun) freistil Magazine Austria 2021
Dear Ignatine Hermina Maria, how beautiful the CD is. This is how an inspiration comes to life! Such music did not exist yet.
--poet Anneke Brassinga
For Solo Songs for Instruments, Dutch violist/composer Ig Henneman forged a new standard in the integration of artform, with each selection viscerally inspired by works of international literature. […] however it’s clear that each instrumental work, all of which incorporate improvisation, were shaped as much about the performer as writer.
--John Pietaro NewYorkCityJazzRecords 2021
[…] inspired and very close to perfect compositions and performances.
--Eyal Hareuveni Salt Peanuts 2021
(...) The music Henneman creates is indescribable. Contrary, dissonant, always changing shape. (...) It’s music without a home. (...) you hear how imagination works. Something lodges in your brain like a germ cell - Schubert, Ustvolskaya, a sound, a rhythm – and haunts you until it flows out in an uncontrolled zigzag movement, jerking and bumpy; or on a fast ride, interrupted on the way or thrown off course by the counter forces of yet other objets trouvés that have developed their own dynamic in the stream of consciousness.
A journey like that yields a pseudo anarchic genesis, avoiding discipline and without destination, full of side paths among which the free spirit can always see an exit. This is music of resistance and you hear what resonates in it: contrariness, curiosity, a healthy avant-garde mentality that, against all current notions of beauty, also just happens to soothe the soul.
--Bas van Putten
(…) There are a number of great viola players currently around, however Ig Henneman remains one of the best. She is in especially fine form here, weaving her lines amongst the two spirited reeds and organic, distinctive drumming of Mr. Rainey. This is a most extraordinary quartet, one of the finest improvising units of the year.
— Bruce Lee Gallanter DMG (NY) CD Perch Hen Brock & Rain Live @ The Jazz Happening Tampere RPR 1051, Wig 26 (2016)
(...) In this way Henneman developed a complete own language that shines with purity and authenticity (...) the six members own strong personalities that they like to show with guts, patience and measured discretion.
--Tim Sprangers Jazzinternationalrotterdam.nl CD Ig Henneman Sextet Live@ The Ironworks Vancouver Wig 22 (2012)
(...) Just like Ustvolskya Henneman asks a fearless attitude from the listener. One who listens attentively will be rewarded with sharp, uncommon colored music.
--Mischa Andriessen Trouw Januari 18, 2013 CD Ig Henneman Sextet Live@ The Ironworks Vancouver Wig 22 (2012)
(...) Dat ze er na een prachtig parcours nog altijd in slaagt om te blijven pieken is dan ook een hele mooie bonus. Daar heeft ze ook een pracht van een band voor uitgekozen. Niet te missen voor muzikale avonturiers.
--Guy Peters Enola.be CD Ig Henneman Sextet Live@ The Ironworks Vancouver Wig 22 (2012)
(...) 'Cut a Caper' by Ig Henneman is an album brilliantly composed, performed by a stellar ensemble and executed with staggering passion. Adventurous, captivating, demanding and rewarding.
--Jazz Alchemist Best Albums of 2011 nr.2 (PL) CD Ig Henneman Sextet 'Cut a Caper' Wig 19 (2011)
(...) Des compositions qui ménagent le passage de l’un à l’autre, des discours reliés étrangement, comme des passages de relais sans but. On ne va nulle part : on compose. Une composition toute en digressions. Une harmonie sans modèle. Une indifférence à la dynamique, au temps. Un rêve intime transcrit en musique.
--Noël Tachet Improjazz Januari 2012 (FR) CD Ig Henneman Sextet 'Cut a Caper' Wig 19 (2011)
(...) Henneman sabe jugar en sus composiciones tanto con la melodía como con la abstracción. Por momentos su música suena a clásica contemporánea, mientras que en otros la libertad dada a todos sus acompañantes la aproxima a la libre improvisación. A su vez hay espacio para recordar a algún clásico del jazz como sucede nada más iniciarse el CD con los aromas monkianos que se respiran en "Moot".
--Pachi Tapiz, Tomajazz 22-11-2011 CD Ig Henneman Sextet 'Cut a Caper' Wig 19 (2011)
reviews Ig Henneman period 1986-2009
(…) Henneman skirts the fringes of tempered notes, her time just nicks the edges of meter, so that on “Zee-Engel” everything is just off-center from where it should be. Her sound lets you hear how she makes music, you’re aware of the friction of bow against string, of flesh against string, of the physical impact of a snapped string hitting wood. It’s a very honest sound, beautiful, but not in any conventional sense.
--Ed Hazell Point of Departure August 2009
(…) Altvioliste Ig Henneman is een constante in de geschiedenis van de Nederlandse improvisatiemuziek. Of moet je zeggen eigentijdse muziek? In een wereld die wordt gedomineerd door mannen, gaat de Nederlandse volstrekt haar eigen gang, doet geen enkele concessie, maakt kortom haar eigen muziek.
--Rinus van der Heijden Brabants Dagblad 1 juli 2005
(…) Ce travail représente une réussite d'autant plus exceptionnelle que Henneman parvient à faire entrer les trois autres musiciens dans le processus avec une liberté et un naturel confondants. Cette musique fascine par un mixte indécidable d'ancien et de nouveau. Dans le même mouvement elle rend dissonnant et problèmatique le passé trop univoque construit par l'histoire et les traditions et donne au présent un cohérence plus grande que celle de l'ahurissant vécu instantané. Dans ce temps musical les émotions humaines s'ébattent comme les pensionnaires de la Thélème de Rabelais.
--Noël Tachet Improjazz 2002
(…) dat de 40-jarige Amsterdamse altvioliste Ig Henneman tegen de stroom inzwemt is dus duidelijk. Nadat zij met de popgroep F.C.Gerania vooral compositorisch van zich deed spreken, durft zij met haar jazzkwintet alle aandacht op te eisen voor de melodische mogelijkheden van de altviool. (…) Nog overtuigender kwam zij echter voor de dag in de kleinere bezettingen, waarin zij enig pathos niet schuwde.
--Frans van Leeuwen NRC 22-3-1986
(...) Im Spannungsfeld von Komposition und Improvisation, und von Tradition und Innovation entsteht eine spannende und ungewöhnliche Musik, die in der zeitgenössischen Jazzmusik kaum etwas vergleichbares kennt.
--Emanuel Wenger about Henneman String Quartet, Jazz Live 131/2003
(…) Henneman is fel en scherp, zij zegt niet veel, elke opmerking is niettemin raak geplaatst.
--Mischa Andriessen Jazzenzo 1 Juli 2009
(…) Henneman brings her considerable experience as an improvisor, a noteworthy composer and leader of her own string quartet to this group, and gels extremely well with the established Queen Mab approach.
--Julian Cowley the Wire UK September 2005
(…) In al haar muziek durft Henneman zachte, ingetogen passages af te zetten tegen fel contrasterende, al dan niet collectieve improvisaties. Haar pregnante vakkundig gearrangeerde stukken bieden daartoe alle mogelijkheden.
--Kees Polling Trouw 23-10-1989
(...) As the evening progressed the Dutch Henneman String Quartet winded it’s way surprisingly into very interesting string-music routes like classic, Italian folklore, jazz or improvisation.
--sura, Kitzbüheler Anzeiger 13 Februar 2003-
(…) Vijf opmerkelijke muzikale solsiten vormen een hecht kwintet dat binnen de boeiende kaders van Ig Hennemans compositorische kwaliteiten een pittig pleidooi voert voor hedendaagse improvisatie-muziek.
--De Gelderlander 18-05-1990
(...) The difficult task of integrating composition and improvisation is carried out with aplomb by this group: they actually make it sound easy. (…)The players are comfortable working in a traditional, melodic, and harmonic manner but also can and do go way out. Everything that happens makes logical sense, and this is music that reveals rich layers of detail upon repeated listenings.
--Eugene Chadbourne, about Pes Wig 05, All Music Guide -
(…) Though they are closer in temperament to 20th-century string quartet literature than the jazz tradition, Henneman’s works incorporate improvisation, which yields unexpected pleasures; the notated passages veer and change gears like an improvisation in mid-flight.
--Bill Shoemaker Strings Magazine about Pes Wig 05 May/June 2000
(…) Her compositions inspire performances which are anything but ordinary, the collective improvising often breathtaking. The balance between melody and abstraction, rhythmic drive and ballad tones, keeps it all sounding brilliantly right.
--Doug Lang Coda Magazine juli/augustus 1999
(…) Henneman, ooit lid van popgroep FC Gerania, en via de ensembles van Nedly Elstak en Misha Mengelberg thuis geraakt in de geïmproviseerde muziek, baseert haar composities op het princie van de reductie. Een tot de kern teruggebrachte expressie, die in schaduwen en halftinten een emotioneel effect krijgt. Het is een veeleisend procédé, dat soms tot voorzichting-ingehouden musiceren leidt, maar als het raak is (die vioolsolo Violaceo) een wonderlijke magie oproept.
--Erik van de Berg Volkskrant 05-03-1991
(…) La ricerca musicale di Ig Henneman, compositrice e solista di viola nata ad Haarlem (Olanda) sessant'anni fa, e' quanto mai interessante per i cultori della musica improvvisata e della classica contemporanea. Il suo e' un sorprendente percorso in cui troviamo l'austerita' della ricerca accademica, la ricchezza ritmico-timbrica del jazz storico, la spinta visionaria dell'improvised music olandese, in una trama giocata sul contrasto tra scrittura e oralita': atmosfere cameristiche si legano a momenti d'intensita' lacerante, in cui e' evidente il legame con l'estetica free e le sue diramazioni.
--Angelo Leonardi All about jazz.italy 2005
(…) Leidster Henneman, die zelf nadrukkelijk op de achtergrond acteert, heeft een schrijftrant die meer aansluit bij moderne ‘comprovisatiemuziek’ dan bij de traditie van Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker. Toch is ‘bird the word’ in het fascinerende en veelkleurige vogelrijk dat de altvioliste heeft gecreëerd.
--John van Merriënboer De Gelderlander 18-05-1995
(…) Henneman, who has performed at the festival before, substituted New York bassist Mark Helias in this edition of her quartet, which played a suite of rhythmically vigorous, muscular, thematically juicy compositions inspired by Italian music and culture. That rare composer who can explore the conceptual nature of her instrument — the "string-ness," if you will, of the violin family — while also offering witty structures and evocative sonic textures, Henneman offered the most memorable concert in a weekend of strong performances.
--Paul de Barros Seattle Times jazz critic July 2004 USA
(…) Henneman schöpft die Möglichkeiten ihres Instruments in extremer Weise aus, während Ab Baars immerhin zwischen den verschiedenen Instrumenten wechseln kann, Tenorsaxophon, Klarinette wie auch asiatischen Flöten, die sich bei diesen Klanggemälden als sehr hilfreich erweisen.
Eine außergewöhnliche Aufnahme, die eigentlich nur beim New Dutch Swing und seinen schier unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten entstehen können.
--Hans-Jürgen von Osterhausen Jazz Podium September 2007
(…) Met ‘Dickinson’, Hennemans meest ambitieuze onderneming tot nu toe, laat de Amsterdamse componiste (47) zich kennen als iemand met wie evenzeer rekening gehouden dient te worden als met succesvolle generatiegenoten als Maarten Altena, Guus Janssen en Ab Baars.
--Kees Polling Trouw 04-01-1993
(…) "Vehement" is aptly titled as it is an intense, tight piece with quick, complex lines intersecting each other. Boisterous bass clarinet, spiraling viola and stark, dark piano weave together most impressively. The composing on the piece "Drums and Trumpets" (by Ms. Henneman) is most impressive as it makes Lori almost speak through her bass clarinet, reaching out most expressively. (…) On Ig's "Fluette et Legere", it is Marilyn's grand piano that is the most startling part of the trio. Each piece on this marvelous disc is a thoughtful and provocative work, endlessly fascinating in many ways.
--BLGallanter Downtown Music Galler NY February 17 2007
(…) Het werk van Henneman biedt veel boeiends in dit klankpalet dat hedendaagse componisten kleuren, maar doet niet onvoorwaardelijk afstand van een heldere structuur en herkenbaarheid van stemmingen. Men blijft muzikaal veelzeggend mededeelzaam in een veelal elders zo weinig toegankelijke klankwereld.
--Willem van Koppenhagen Gelderlander 18-05-1990
Ig Henneman "Outside the Rain Has Stopped" ****
Few people dare to be as extreme in their musical choices as composer and viola player Ig Henneman. Her oeuvre, revealing an immense drive, is uncompromising and above all totally individual in an unruly way. However angular and steep the rhythms and melodies often are, this is music that communicates almost in spite of itself, that never makes it easy for the listener, but at the same time always reaches out. It is music that, precisely because Henneman does not seem at all intent on it, often touches the listener particularly deeply. In honour of Henneman's 75th birthday, "Outside the Rain Has Stopped" once again brings together her interests and qualities. For instance, her love of poetry is contained in a piece based on a poem by the equally unruly poet Emily Dickinson and two readings by Dutch poet Anneke Brassinga.
The six musical works are mutually distinct. Yet you can immediately hear Henneman's hand in them. Organs play a major role in half of the pieces. A golden touch, because the organ, grand and elusive, is right up her street. Just take the unforgettable opening piece "Galina U", an ode to Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006). After just a few notes, you know you've never heard anything like this before.
--Mischa Andriessen, Trouw 30 September 2022[...]
Ig Henneman has discovered a third route, a fusion of the Lied's finesse with the straightforwardness of a jam session. Her Solo Songs for bassoon, bass clarinet, violin, viola and cello trace a semi-improvised road towards song, starting from an instrument. The musician plays, and plays on, till a tipping point is reached where text presents itself as an answer to the questions uttered by the notes as they were groping, searching, dancing, growling, whining. At this point, replete with climactic musical energy, the musician starts to sing, pressed by an urgency too strong for the voice to withhold: it must speak out. It is the turning point. The words of Ingeborg Bachmann, Anneke Brassinga, Emily Dickinson, Sarah Lawson and Nanao Sakaki provide first aid, in magical ambiguity. [...]
-Bas van Putten
There is a constant dialogue in the work of Ig Henneman that makes her music extraordinarily exciting. On the one hand the will to find the ultimate consequence of a musical thought. On the other hand the ability to accept the opportunities and limitations of the moment. Together this means that you will not be overheard on these five solo pieces for cello, violin, bass clarinet, viola and bassoon.
--Mischa Andriessen Dutch daily paper Trouw
[…] Excited episodes are followed by calm, relaxation, pauses, sections of almost unearthly beauty and great, strange expression, purity.
--(haun) freistil Magazine Austria 2021
Dear Ignatine Hermina Maria, how beautiful the CD is. This is how an inspiration comes to life! Such music did not exist yet.
--poet Anneke Brassinga
For Solo Songs for Instruments, Dutch violist/composer Ig Henneman forged a new standard in the integration of artform, with each selection viscerally inspired by works of international literature. […] however it’s clear that each instrumental work, all of which incorporate improvisation, were shaped as much about the performer as writer.
--John Pietaro NewYorkCityJazzRecords 2021
[…] inspired and very close to perfect compositions and performances.
--Eyal Hareuveni Salt Peanuts 2021
(...) The music Henneman creates is indescribable. Contrary, dissonant, always changing shape. (...) It’s music without a home. (...) you hear how imagination works. Something lodges in your brain like a germ cell - Schubert, Ustvolskaya, a sound, a rhythm – and haunts you until it flows out in an uncontrolled zigzag movement, jerking and bumpy; or on a fast ride, interrupted on the way or thrown off course by the counter forces of yet other objets trouvés that have developed their own dynamic in the stream of consciousness.
A journey like that yields a pseudo anarchic genesis, avoiding discipline and without destination, full of side paths among which the free spirit can always see an exit. This is music of resistance and you hear what resonates in it: contrariness, curiosity, a healthy avant-garde mentality that, against all current notions of beauty, also just happens to soothe the soul.
--Bas van Putten
(…) There are a number of great viola players currently around, however Ig Henneman remains one of the best. She is in especially fine form here, weaving her lines amongst the two spirited reeds and organic, distinctive drumming of Mr. Rainey. This is a most extraordinary quartet, one of the finest improvising units of the year.
— Bruce Lee Gallanter DMG (NY) CD Perch Hen Brock & Rain Live @ The Jazz Happening Tampere RPR 1051, Wig 26 (2016)
(...) In this way Henneman developed a complete own language that shines with purity and authenticity (...) the six members own strong personalities that they like to show with guts, patience and measured discretion.
--Tim Sprangers Jazzinternationalrotterdam.nl CD Ig Henneman Sextet Live@ The Ironworks Vancouver Wig 22 (2012)
(...) Just like Ustvolskya Henneman asks a fearless attitude from the listener. One who listens attentively will be rewarded with sharp, uncommon colored music.
--Mischa Andriessen Trouw Januari 18, 2013 CD Ig Henneman Sextet Live@ The Ironworks Vancouver Wig 22 (2012)
(...) Dat ze er na een prachtig parcours nog altijd in slaagt om te blijven pieken is dan ook een hele mooie bonus. Daar heeft ze ook een pracht van een band voor uitgekozen. Niet te missen voor muzikale avonturiers.
--Guy Peters Enola.be CD Ig Henneman Sextet Live@ The Ironworks Vancouver Wig 22 (2012)
(...) 'Cut a Caper' by Ig Henneman is an album brilliantly composed, performed by a stellar ensemble and executed with staggering passion. Adventurous, captivating, demanding and rewarding.
--Jazz Alchemist Best Albums of 2011 nr.2 (PL) CD Ig Henneman Sextet 'Cut a Caper' Wig 19 (2011)
(...) Des compositions qui ménagent le passage de l’un à l’autre, des discours reliés étrangement, comme des passages de relais sans but. On ne va nulle part : on compose. Une composition toute en digressions. Une harmonie sans modèle. Une indifférence à la dynamique, au temps. Un rêve intime transcrit en musique.
--Noël Tachet Improjazz Januari 2012 (FR) CD Ig Henneman Sextet 'Cut a Caper' Wig 19 (2011)
(...) Henneman sabe jugar en sus composiciones tanto con la melodía como con la abstracción. Por momentos su música suena a clásica contemporánea, mientras que en otros la libertad dada a todos sus acompañantes la aproxima a la libre improvisación. A su vez hay espacio para recordar a algún clásico del jazz como sucede nada más iniciarse el CD con los aromas monkianos que se respiran en "Moot".
--Pachi Tapiz, Tomajazz 22-11-2011 CD Ig Henneman Sextet 'Cut a Caper' Wig 19 (2011)
reviews Ig Henneman period 1986-2009
(…) Henneman skirts the fringes of tempered notes, her time just nicks the edges of meter, so that on “Zee-Engel” everything is just off-center from where it should be. Her sound lets you hear how she makes music, you’re aware of the friction of bow against string, of flesh against string, of the physical impact of a snapped string hitting wood. It’s a very honest sound, beautiful, but not in any conventional sense.
--Ed Hazell Point of Departure August 2009
(…) Altvioliste Ig Henneman is een constante in de geschiedenis van de Nederlandse improvisatiemuziek. Of moet je zeggen eigentijdse muziek? In een wereld die wordt gedomineerd door mannen, gaat de Nederlandse volstrekt haar eigen gang, doet geen enkele concessie, maakt kortom haar eigen muziek.
--Rinus van der Heijden Brabants Dagblad 1 juli 2005
(…) Ce travail représente une réussite d'autant plus exceptionnelle que Henneman parvient à faire entrer les trois autres musiciens dans le processus avec une liberté et un naturel confondants. Cette musique fascine par un mixte indécidable d'ancien et de nouveau. Dans le même mouvement elle rend dissonnant et problèmatique le passé trop univoque construit par l'histoire et les traditions et donne au présent un cohérence plus grande que celle de l'ahurissant vécu instantané. Dans ce temps musical les émotions humaines s'ébattent comme les pensionnaires de la Thélème de Rabelais.
--Noël Tachet Improjazz 2002
(…) dat de 40-jarige Amsterdamse altvioliste Ig Henneman tegen de stroom inzwemt is dus duidelijk. Nadat zij met de popgroep F.C.Gerania vooral compositorisch van zich deed spreken, durft zij met haar jazzkwintet alle aandacht op te eisen voor de melodische mogelijkheden van de altviool. (…) Nog overtuigender kwam zij echter voor de dag in de kleinere bezettingen, waarin zij enig pathos niet schuwde.
--Frans van Leeuwen NRC 22-3-1986
(...) Im Spannungsfeld von Komposition und Improvisation, und von Tradition und Innovation entsteht eine spannende und ungewöhnliche Musik, die in der zeitgenössischen Jazzmusik kaum etwas vergleichbares kennt.
--Emanuel Wenger about Henneman String Quartet, Jazz Live 131/2003
(…) Henneman is fel en scherp, zij zegt niet veel, elke opmerking is niettemin raak geplaatst.
--Mischa Andriessen Jazzenzo 1 Juli 2009
(…) Henneman brings her considerable experience as an improvisor, a noteworthy composer and leader of her own string quartet to this group, and gels extremely well with the established Queen Mab approach.
--Julian Cowley the Wire UK September 2005
(…) In al haar muziek durft Henneman zachte, ingetogen passages af te zetten tegen fel contrasterende, al dan niet collectieve improvisaties. Haar pregnante vakkundig gearrangeerde stukken bieden daartoe alle mogelijkheden.
--Kees Polling Trouw 23-10-1989
(...) As the evening progressed the Dutch Henneman String Quartet winded it’s way surprisingly into very interesting string-music routes like classic, Italian folklore, jazz or improvisation.
--sura, Kitzbüheler Anzeiger 13 Februar 2003-
(…) Vijf opmerkelijke muzikale solsiten vormen een hecht kwintet dat binnen de boeiende kaders van Ig Hennemans compositorische kwaliteiten een pittig pleidooi voert voor hedendaagse improvisatie-muziek.
--De Gelderlander 18-05-1990
(...) The difficult task of integrating composition and improvisation is carried out with aplomb by this group: they actually make it sound easy. (…)The players are comfortable working in a traditional, melodic, and harmonic manner but also can and do go way out. Everything that happens makes logical sense, and this is music that reveals rich layers of detail upon repeated listenings.
--Eugene Chadbourne, about Pes Wig 05, All Music Guide -
(…) Though they are closer in temperament to 20th-century string quartet literature than the jazz tradition, Henneman’s works incorporate improvisation, which yields unexpected pleasures; the notated passages veer and change gears like an improvisation in mid-flight.
--Bill Shoemaker Strings Magazine about Pes Wig 05 May/June 2000
(…) Her compositions inspire performances which are anything but ordinary, the collective improvising often breathtaking. The balance between melody and abstraction, rhythmic drive and ballad tones, keeps it all sounding brilliantly right.
--Doug Lang Coda Magazine juli/augustus 1999
(…) Henneman, ooit lid van popgroep FC Gerania, en via de ensembles van Nedly Elstak en Misha Mengelberg thuis geraakt in de geïmproviseerde muziek, baseert haar composities op het princie van de reductie. Een tot de kern teruggebrachte expressie, die in schaduwen en halftinten een emotioneel effect krijgt. Het is een veeleisend procédé, dat soms tot voorzichting-ingehouden musiceren leidt, maar als het raak is (die vioolsolo Violaceo) een wonderlijke magie oproept.
--Erik van de Berg Volkskrant 05-03-1991
(…) La ricerca musicale di Ig Henneman, compositrice e solista di viola nata ad Haarlem (Olanda) sessant'anni fa, e' quanto mai interessante per i cultori della musica improvvisata e della classica contemporanea. Il suo e' un sorprendente percorso in cui troviamo l'austerita' della ricerca accademica, la ricchezza ritmico-timbrica del jazz storico, la spinta visionaria dell'improvised music olandese, in una trama giocata sul contrasto tra scrittura e oralita': atmosfere cameristiche si legano a momenti d'intensita' lacerante, in cui e' evidente il legame con l'estetica free e le sue diramazioni.
--Angelo Leonardi All about jazz.italy 2005
(…) Leidster Henneman, die zelf nadrukkelijk op de achtergrond acteert, heeft een schrijftrant die meer aansluit bij moderne ‘comprovisatiemuziek’ dan bij de traditie van Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker. Toch is ‘bird the word’ in het fascinerende en veelkleurige vogelrijk dat de altvioliste heeft gecreëerd.
--John van Merriënboer De Gelderlander 18-05-1995
(…) Henneman, who has performed at the festival before, substituted New York bassist Mark Helias in this edition of her quartet, which played a suite of rhythmically vigorous, muscular, thematically juicy compositions inspired by Italian music and culture. That rare composer who can explore the conceptual nature of her instrument — the "string-ness," if you will, of the violin family — while also offering witty structures and evocative sonic textures, Henneman offered the most memorable concert in a weekend of strong performances.
--Paul de Barros Seattle Times jazz critic July 2004 USA
(…) Henneman schöpft die Möglichkeiten ihres Instruments in extremer Weise aus, während Ab Baars immerhin zwischen den verschiedenen Instrumenten wechseln kann, Tenorsaxophon, Klarinette wie auch asiatischen Flöten, die sich bei diesen Klanggemälden als sehr hilfreich erweisen.
Eine außergewöhnliche Aufnahme, die eigentlich nur beim New Dutch Swing und seinen schier unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten entstehen können.
--Hans-Jürgen von Osterhausen Jazz Podium September 2007
(…) Met ‘Dickinson’, Hennemans meest ambitieuze onderneming tot nu toe, laat de Amsterdamse componiste (47) zich kennen als iemand met wie evenzeer rekening gehouden dient te worden als met succesvolle generatiegenoten als Maarten Altena, Guus Janssen en Ab Baars.
--Kees Polling Trouw 04-01-1993
(…) "Vehement" is aptly titled as it is an intense, tight piece with quick, complex lines intersecting each other. Boisterous bass clarinet, spiraling viola and stark, dark piano weave together most impressively. The composing on the piece "Drums and Trumpets" (by Ms. Henneman) is most impressive as it makes Lori almost speak through her bass clarinet, reaching out most expressively. (…) On Ig's "Fluette et Legere", it is Marilyn's grand piano that is the most startling part of the trio. Each piece on this marvelous disc is a thoughtful and provocative work, endlessly fascinating in many ways.
--BLGallanter Downtown Music Galler NY February 17 2007
(…) Het werk van Henneman biedt veel boeiends in dit klankpalet dat hedendaagse componisten kleuren, maar doet niet onvoorwaardelijk afstand van een heldere structuur en herkenbaarheid van stemmingen. Men blijft muzikaal veelzeggend mededeelzaam in een veelal elders zo weinig toegankelijke klankwereld.
--Willem van Koppenhagen Gelderlander 18-05-1990
about Ig Henneman Sextet Live@The Ironworks Vancouver Wig 21 (2012)
(...) Ig Henneman's compositions are not jazz. "Prelude...", as well as other pieces like "Bold Swagger" present a vision of music that yields toward freedom and expressivity of radical improvisation but are born from the classical sensibility of XXth century avant-guarde music (...) "Live @ the Ironworks Vancouver" takes the best of both musical worlds with staggering results.
---Jazzowy Alchemik April 19, 2013
Dutch Improvisational Reinventions
(...) It might seem odd to write elaborate, chamber-ish compositions when your band includes top-flight improvisers like trumpeter Axel Dörner and reedist Ab Baars, but violist Ig Henneman strikes a meticulous balance with her sextet on Live @ the Ironworks Vancouver (Wig21; 48:25****), where the personnel brings electricity to her writing. At its best the group–which also includes bassist de Joode, clarinetist Lori Freedman and pianist Marilyn Lerner–dissolves the lines where the austere arrangements and post-Morton Feldman composing ends and the improvisations begins.
--Peter Margasak Downbeat February 2013
(...) In this way Henneman developed a complete own language that shines with purity and authenticity (...) the six members own strong personalities that they like to show with guts, patience and measured discretion.
--Tim Sprangers Jazzinternationalrotterdam.nl
(...) Just like Ustvolskya Henneman asks a fearless attitude from the listener. One who listens attentively will be rewarded with sharp, uncommon colored music.
--Mischa Andriessen Trouw Januari 18, 2013
(...) Ognuno dei 6 titoli fa cronaca a se, in ‘een verhaal’ comunque coerente che dalla prefazione percussiva di Tracks si spinge fino alle atmosfere psycho-cinematografiche di A ‘n B.
Del resto in tutte e 6 le improvvisazioni soffia aria di destrutturazione / strutturazione, con flash improvvisi - e spesso imprevisti - che comprendono ‘europese echo's’ alla Altena, onomatopeie in stile Mingus e vagiti ancestrali di fiati come comanderebbe, se fosse vivo, nonno Ayler.
Una grattatina di ostinati psicotici, qualche scorza di puntillismo, un po’ d’ambient quartomondista, e il brodetto è pronto per essere servito.
È compito vostro fargli festa.
e.g.(no ©) 10-1-2013 Sands-Zine
--Etero Genio (no ©) 10-1-2013 Sands-Zine
(…)The absence of a drummer makes that the six musicians cannot lean backwards. The intern rhythmic motor has to turn in the overdrive now and that makes a highest concentration that gives a fascinating earplay for the full 48 minutes
Herman te Loo Jazzflits 22 oktober 2012
The Sextet's chamber works, such as these composed tracks, paired with the restrained and disciplined improvising of virtuoso performers makes for a great experience.
--Mark Corroto allaboutjazz.com January 25, 2013
Before we say goodbye to 2012
(...) Dat ze er na een prachtig parcours nog altijd in slaagt om te blijven pieken is dan ook een hele mooie bonus. Daar heeft ze ook een pracht van een band voor uitgekozen. Niet te missen voor muzikale avonturiers.
--Guy Peters Enola.be
I n r e c e n t y e a r s o n e o f m y p e a k m u s i c a l e x p e r i e n c e s h a s b e e n h e a r i n g t h e I g H e n n e m a n S e x t e t's G u e l p h , O n t a r i o p e r f o r m a n c e o n M a y 2 0 , 2 0 1 1 . O n e m i g h t d e s c r i b e t h e e n s e m b l e a s a n i m p r o v i s i n g c h a m b e r g r o u p ; c e r t a i n l y t h e i n t e n t i o n o f H e n n e m a n's c o m p o s i t i o n s i s t o e n h a n c e t h e d y n a m i c b e t w e e n t h e m u s i c a s w r i t t e n , a n d t h e d i s t i n c t i m p r o v i s i n g s t y l e s o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l p e r f o r m e r s . I t i s a m u s i c t h a t c r a c k l e s w i t h s u r p r i s e , y e t r a d i a t e s t h e a u d i e n c e w i t h t h e g l o w o f i t s a c o u s t i c t i m b r e s .
- - D a v i d L e e , a u t h o r o f T h e B a t t l e o f t h e F i v e S p o t : O r n e t t e C o l e m a n a n d t h e N e w Y o r k J a z z F i e l d a n d S t o p p i n g T i m e : P a u l B l e y a n d t h e T r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f J a z z .
F I M A V f e s t i v a l V i c t o r i a v i l l e 2 0 1 1
(... ) " I t w a s n ' t j a z z , i t w a s n ' t m o d e r n c l a s s i c a l , i t w a s c o o l . "
- - B r u c e L e e G a l l a n t e r ( D o w n t o w n M u s i c G a l l e r y , N Y ) i n t h e M o n t r e a l G a z e t t e M a y 2 4 , 2 0 1 1
( . . . ) T h e p i e c e s w o r k e d l i k e p o l a r i z e d t h e m e s a n d s o l o s , c a l l s a n d r e s p o n s e s , c r e a t i n g l a y e r s t h a t w e r e t h e n s k i l l f u l l y l a i d o v e r o n e a n o t h e r o r a l o n g s i d e o n e a n o t h e r w i t h n o l o s s o f c l a r i t y .
- - K u r t G o t t s c h a l k a l l a b o u t j a z z J u n e 3 , 2 0 1 1
G r o n i n g e n , G r a n d T h e a t r e I g H e n n e m a n S e x t e t K i n d r e d S p i r i t s d e c 2 0 1 0
D e s t u k k e n v a n a l t v i o l i s t e I g H e n n e m a n l o s s e n v a a k i j l o p i n d e e t h e r e n v e r v o l g e n s b l i j f t h e t d a n n o g e e n p a a r s e c o n d e n s t i l . J e z o u h e t b i j n a a l s e e n s t a t e m e n t k u n n e n o p v a t t e n . D a t e t h e r i s c h k a r a k t e r i s k a r a k t e r i s t i e k ; e r z i t v e e l l u c h t i n h a a r w e r k . S o m s z i t t e n w e t e g e n d e g r e n s d a t j e j e e i g e n b l o e d b a a n h o o r t r u i s e n e n d e m o l e c u l e n i n j e o o r s t o e i e n . E n d a t v a c u üm d a t r e s t e e r t a l s d e n o t e n z i j n v e r s t o r v e n i s h e t w i t w a a r b i n n e n h e t g e d i c h t g e d i j t , d e l i j s t w a a r i n d e t e k e n i n g s p r e e k t .
- - E d d y D e t e r m e y e r D r a a i o m j e o r e n d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0
'Cut a Caper' by Ig Henneman is an album brilliantly composed, performed by a stellar ensemble and executed with staggering passion. Adventurous, captivating, demanding and rewarding.
--Jazz Alchemist Best Albums of 2011 nr.2 (PL)
Cut A Caper biedt een gulle greep uit de werelden van avant-garde, improvisatie en kamermuziek door in te zetten op troeven die veel bands in die werelden naar voor schuiven — empathie, dynamiek, vrijheid — maar weinigen met zo’n klasse kunnen en durven uitwerken. Het programma waarmee Henneman & co de baan op gingen heette “Kindred Spirits”. Achteraf bekeken is dat ook perfect van toepassing op dit prachtige ensemble.
--Guy Peters Goddeau 10 best of 2011 op nr 3 (B)
(…) Une luxuriance réduite à l’épure, des résonances de matières, et une ironie calme qui plane. Des thèmes de peu de notes, des oppositions tranchées. Des solos qui font dans le son, pas dans la note, une utilisation de l’orchestre rarement dans son entier. Une prise de chaque musicien pour ce qu’il ou elle est. Des compositions qui ménagent le passage de l’un à l’autre, des discours reliés étrangement, comme des passages de relais sans but. On ne va nulle part : on compose. Une composition toute en digressions. Une harmonie sans modèle. Une indifférence à la dynamique, au temps. Un rêve intime transcrit en musique.
--Noël Tachet Improjazz Januari 2012 (FR)
(...) Ig Henneman's compositions are not jazz. "Prelude...", as well as other pieces like "Bold Swagger" present a vision of music that yields toward freedom and expressivity of radical improvisation but are born from the classical sensibility of XXth century avant-guarde music (...) "Live @ the Ironworks Vancouver" takes the best of both musical worlds with staggering results.
---Jazzowy Alchemik April 19, 2013
Dutch Improvisational Reinventions
(...) It might seem odd to write elaborate, chamber-ish compositions when your band includes top-flight improvisers like trumpeter Axel Dörner and reedist Ab Baars, but violist Ig Henneman strikes a meticulous balance with her sextet on Live @ the Ironworks Vancouver (Wig21; 48:25****), where the personnel brings electricity to her writing. At its best the group–which also includes bassist de Joode, clarinetist Lori Freedman and pianist Marilyn Lerner–dissolves the lines where the austere arrangements and post-Morton Feldman composing ends and the improvisations begins.
--Peter Margasak Downbeat February 2013
(...) In this way Henneman developed a complete own language that shines with purity and authenticity (...) the six members own strong personalities that they like to show with guts, patience and measured discretion.
--Tim Sprangers Jazzinternationalrotterdam.nl
(...) Just like Ustvolskya Henneman asks a fearless attitude from the listener. One who listens attentively will be rewarded with sharp, uncommon colored music.
--Mischa Andriessen Trouw Januari 18, 2013
(...) Ognuno dei 6 titoli fa cronaca a se, in ‘een verhaal’ comunque coerente che dalla prefazione percussiva di Tracks si spinge fino alle atmosfere psycho-cinematografiche di A ‘n B.
Del resto in tutte e 6 le improvvisazioni soffia aria di destrutturazione / strutturazione, con flash improvvisi - e spesso imprevisti - che comprendono ‘europese echo's’ alla Altena, onomatopeie in stile Mingus e vagiti ancestrali di fiati come comanderebbe, se fosse vivo, nonno Ayler.
Una grattatina di ostinati psicotici, qualche scorza di puntillismo, un po’ d’ambient quartomondista, e il brodetto è pronto per essere servito.
È compito vostro fargli festa.
e.g.(no ©) 10-1-2013 Sands-Zine
--Etero Genio (no ©) 10-1-2013 Sands-Zine
(…)The absence of a drummer makes that the six musicians cannot lean backwards. The intern rhythmic motor has to turn in the overdrive now and that makes a highest concentration that gives a fascinating earplay for the full 48 minutes
Herman te Loo Jazzflits 22 oktober 2012
The Sextet's chamber works, such as these composed tracks, paired with the restrained and disciplined improvising of virtuoso performers makes for a great experience.
--Mark Corroto allaboutjazz.com January 25, 2013
Before we say goodbye to 2012
(...) Dat ze er na een prachtig parcours nog altijd in slaagt om te blijven pieken is dan ook een hele mooie bonus. Daar heeft ze ook een pracht van een band voor uitgekozen. Niet te missen voor muzikale avonturiers.
--Guy Peters Enola.be
I n r e c e n t y e a r s o n e o f m y p e a k m u s i c a l e x p e r i e n c e s h a s b e e n h e a r i n g t h e I g H e n n e m a n S e x t e t's G u e l p h , O n t a r i o p e r f o r m a n c e o n M a y 2 0 , 2 0 1 1 . O n e m i g h t d e s c r i b e t h e e n s e m b l e a s a n i m p r o v i s i n g c h a m b e r g r o u p ; c e r t a i n l y t h e i n t e n t i o n o f H e n n e m a n's c o m p o s i t i o n s i s t o e n h a n c e t h e d y n a m i c b e t w e e n t h e m u s i c a s w r i t t e n , a n d t h e d i s t i n c t i m p r o v i s i n g s t y l e s o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l p e r f o r m e r s . I t i s a m u s i c t h a t c r a c k l e s w i t h s u r p r i s e , y e t r a d i a t e s t h e a u d i e n c e w i t h t h e g l o w o f i t s a c o u s t i c t i m b r e s .
- - D a v i d L e e , a u t h o r o f T h e B a t t l e o f t h e F i v e S p o t : O r n e t t e C o l e m a n a n d t h e N e w Y o r k J a z z F i e l d a n d S t o p p i n g T i m e : P a u l B l e y a n d t h e T r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f J a z z .
F I M A V f e s t i v a l V i c t o r i a v i l l e 2 0 1 1
(... ) " I t w a s n ' t j a z z , i t w a s n ' t m o d e r n c l a s s i c a l , i t w a s c o o l . "
- - B r u c e L e e G a l l a n t e r ( D o w n t o w n M u s i c G a l l e r y , N Y ) i n t h e M o n t r e a l G a z e t t e M a y 2 4 , 2 0 1 1
( . . . ) T h e p i e c e s w o r k e d l i k e p o l a r i z e d t h e m e s a n d s o l o s , c a l l s a n d r e s p o n s e s , c r e a t i n g l a y e r s t h a t w e r e t h e n s k i l l f u l l y l a i d o v e r o n e a n o t h e r o r a l o n g s i d e o n e a n o t h e r w i t h n o l o s s o f c l a r i t y .
- - K u r t G o t t s c h a l k a l l a b o u t j a z z J u n e 3 , 2 0 1 1
G r o n i n g e n , G r a n d T h e a t r e I g H e n n e m a n S e x t e t K i n d r e d S p i r i t s d e c 2 0 1 0
D e s t u k k e n v a n a l t v i o l i s t e I g H e n n e m a n l o s s e n v a a k i j l o p i n d e e t h e r e n v e r v o l g e n s b l i j f t h e t d a n n o g e e n p a a r s e c o n d e n s t i l . J e z o u h e t b i j n a a l s e e n s t a t e m e n t k u n n e n o p v a t t e n . D a t e t h e r i s c h k a r a k t e r i s k a r a k t e r i s t i e k ; e r z i t v e e l l u c h t i n h a a r w e r k . S o m s z i t t e n w e t e g e n d e g r e n s d a t j e j e e i g e n b l o e d b a a n h o o r t r u i s e n e n d e m o l e c u l e n i n j e o o r s t o e i e n . E n d a t v a c u üm d a t r e s t e e r t a l s d e n o t e n z i j n v e r s t o r v e n i s h e t w i t w a a r b i n n e n h e t g e d i c h t g e d i j t , d e l i j s t w a a r i n d e t e k e n i n g s p r e e k t .
- - E d d y D e t e r m e y e r D r a a i o m j e o r e n d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0
'Cut a Caper' by Ig Henneman is an album brilliantly composed, performed by a stellar ensemble and executed with staggering passion. Adventurous, captivating, demanding and rewarding.
--Jazz Alchemist Best Albums of 2011 nr.2 (PL)
Cut A Caper biedt een gulle greep uit de werelden van avant-garde, improvisatie en kamermuziek door in te zetten op troeven die veel bands in die werelden naar voor schuiven — empathie, dynamiek, vrijheid — maar weinigen met zo’n klasse kunnen en durven uitwerken. Het programma waarmee Henneman & co de baan op gingen heette “Kindred Spirits”. Achteraf bekeken is dat ook perfect van toepassing op dit prachtige ensemble.
--Guy Peters Goddeau 10 best of 2011 op nr 3 (B)
(…) Une luxuriance réduite à l’épure, des résonances de matières, et une ironie calme qui plane. Des thèmes de peu de notes, des oppositions tranchées. Des solos qui font dans le son, pas dans la note, une utilisation de l’orchestre rarement dans son entier. Une prise de chaque musicien pour ce qu’il ou elle est. Des compositions qui ménagent le passage de l’un à l’autre, des discours reliés étrangement, comme des passages de relais sans but. On ne va nulle part : on compose. Une composition toute en digressions. Une harmonie sans modèle. Une indifférence à la dynamique, au temps. Un rêve intime transcrit en musique.
--Noël Tachet Improjazz Januari 2012 (FR)
Duo Baars-Henneman 'Autumn Songs' (Wig 22, 2013)
(...) Ten well-proportioned improvisations, often of a lyrical nature. Delicate and touching, with Baars en Henneman taking different roles in each piece. Full-grown music that does not want to impress, but invites the listener to discover its beauty.
--Dolf Mulder Vital Weekly 884 2013
(...) I dare you to draw a clear line between what is written and what is not. Even in free improvisation mode, this duo is in sync. That, and the unique melodicism arising from their duets, are what makes Autumn Songs an artistic success, an example of musical perfection.
--Francois Couture Listening Diary monsieurdelire.com 2013
(...) So manche Atonalität wird geschickt und souverän eingebaut, klingt nur selten ein wenig zickig und aufgesetzt. Gern greift Baars auch zur Klarinette oder zur japanischen Flöte Shakuhachi, exemplarisch bei Winter comes to hush her Song, ein Lied, das durch Charles Ives inspiriert wurde, ganz in sich ruhend, sehr, sehr schön.
--Christoph Haunschmid Freistil#49 Juni/Juli 2013
(...) The two musicians play with the most beautiful palette of colors. They play with the same grace as the movement of waterfowl, such as on ‘Nine and Fifty Swans’. ‘Autumn Songs’ invites you into a cultural bath which quietly yet intensely engulfs the listener in a sound world of images and emotions. (…) The content and technique stand strongly together, that’s what we call class.
--Danny de Bock jassepoes.be
(…) There’s a breathless tension and expectation in these musical dialogues, as if neither participant has any idea what is coming next and the music trembles on the edge of revelation. It has no need for any of the trappings of jazz or classical or any other kind of music. It is sound discovered and organized with no preconceived notions and it is both incredibly touching and intellectually thrilling at the same time.
--Ed Hazell Signal to Noise #61 Spring 2011
(…) The music is often rarefied and brittle, so distinctly stripped back to the essence of air and friction but also materialised. The pieces have not been left as invasive flashes, nor are they a succession of unrelated ideas; they are recognisable attempts to construct something from nothing or almost nothing, to create on the spot, as well as to understand, support and where necessary contradict one’s fellow performer in that creative process. What resonates is two voices that belong together without being completely subsumed by the other; they literally play with one another.
--Mischa Andriessen Ig Henneman 65, 2010
Festival International de Jazz de Montreal 2008
(...) The show was an intimate look at two distinct, creative voices in the Dutch scene. Sometimes it was frighteningly harsh, as when Baars chose to camp out in the highest register he’s capable of for a couple of minutes. Other times, it was stark and disarmingly beautiful, with a lyrical saxophone exchanging lines with a sensitive viola.
--Adam Kinner The Montreal Gazette June 2008
The Vancouver International Jazz Festival 2008
(...) Vancouver specializes in avant-garde New Dutch Swing, and two of its most compelling practitioners — reed man Ab Baars and his wife, violist Ig Henneman — performed twice. Saturday, they collaborated in mix-and-match permutations with Norwegians Inbebrigt Håker Flaten (bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) at the Performance Center at the Roundhouse, veering from careful sound explorations to frenetic conversations. Baars and Henneman duetted Sunday at the Western Front, offering a model of intimate, witty "handmade" music, as Baars' flannel, low-register clarinet blended gorgeously with Henneman's viola. Baars also recited haiku and played the shakuhachi, a difficult end-blown Japanese flute. He acknowledged his shakuhachi teacher, Vancouverite Takeo Yamashiro, who was in the audience.
Vancouver International Jazz Festival hits all the right notes
--Paul de Barros Seattle Times June 2008
(…) On the longest piece “Stof-to Eiske”, the duo move from slightly frenetic to embracing empty space. Their patience with sounds expresses a sense that pay no heed to any audience, as if they have nothing to prove. Depth is almost effortlessly- which is quite impressive.
--Bruce Carnavale Coda 33 May/June 2007
A poetic soundscape, a musical fairy tale, a walk without a key map; this CD is as intangible and ambiguous as the little word "stof".
--Frans van Leeuwen NRC Handelsblad11 April 2007
Well, here's proof that Wittgenstein was wrong: yes, there is such a thing as a private language – or at least one that's a very well-kept secret between two people. The first names of husband and wife team of Ab Baars (tenor sax, clarinet, shakuhachi, noh-kan) and Ig Henneman (viola) suggest characters out of Endgame, and indeed Beckett might have appreciated this duo, both for the aphasic, waterdrops-wearing-down-a-stone obsessiveness with which they pick at a note, and for the bleak, directionless playfulness which takes the place of an actual sense of humour.
--DWParis Trans Atlantic February 2007
(…) Check the almost rural melody painted by the noh-kan, with a raw-sounding viola opposing it, in Tackety Dancing Shoes. Or the many registers of the tenor, and the viola forming mournful airs, in Violetto Rossastro. The hushed tones of the shakuachi in Giallo di Napoli. The track for viola solo, Whirligig, where some thematic variations are quite easy to perceive, and where there is a beautiful musical episode with long, held notes with vibrato before the theme at the end. Or Ruby Slippers, chamber-like with clarinet, one of the pieces I liked the best on the CD. The strong, repeated, rhythmic figures by the viola, played pizzicato, and the "cool" tenor sax, blown, in Castle Walk In Herringbone Suit. The homage to Stravinsky in Igor's Bransle. The meditative and microtonal Grigio Perla Per Noguchi. Or the ever-changing long track, Stof - To Eiske, which has its start in the body of the viola being hit and arrives at a point where the viola gives pedal points to a "cool" clarinet sounding quite Ellington-like.
--Beppe Colli CloudsandClocks.net | Catania (I) Jan. 7, 2007
(…) Si tratta di un percorso fatto di gesti sonori minimali, isolati, in diversi rapporti di dipendenza fra di loro; un percorso alla ricerca di una dimensione introversa, di un dialogo intimo, a tratti più pensato che parlato. Prevalgono quindi le ricercatezze timbriche: squittii, sospiri, soffi, strozzature, flebili frasi melodiche, rimasticazioni, insistenze, sospensioni, reticenze... (…)
--Libero Farnè Allaboutjazzitaly 29-12-2006
(…) You asked if I “liked” the music, separate from what I wrote. Very much.
For one thing, I like the reduced instrumentation, two “single line” instruments. I like counterpoint, and the ways you create a dramatic setting without the usual chordal accompaniment. Several of the solutions you used, usually involving a thinning and thickening of lines, I often relate to in visual ways. A duo like this of course fits into the undefined area between classical and jazz, which I’m also interested in. Also, I liked the open improvisational process, melodic but with surprising curves and textures that define the drama. And I appreciate brevity.
--Art Lange, Chicago september 27 2006
(...) Ten well-proportioned improvisations, often of a lyrical nature. Delicate and touching, with Baars en Henneman taking different roles in each piece. Full-grown music that does not want to impress, but invites the listener to discover its beauty.
--Dolf Mulder Vital Weekly 884 2013
(...) I dare you to draw a clear line between what is written and what is not. Even in free improvisation mode, this duo is in sync. That, and the unique melodicism arising from their duets, are what makes Autumn Songs an artistic success, an example of musical perfection.
--Francois Couture Listening Diary monsieurdelire.com 2013
(...) So manche Atonalität wird geschickt und souverän eingebaut, klingt nur selten ein wenig zickig und aufgesetzt. Gern greift Baars auch zur Klarinette oder zur japanischen Flöte Shakuhachi, exemplarisch bei Winter comes to hush her Song, ein Lied, das durch Charles Ives inspiriert wurde, ganz in sich ruhend, sehr, sehr schön.
--Christoph Haunschmid Freistil#49 Juni/Juli 2013
(...) The two musicians play with the most beautiful palette of colors. They play with the same grace as the movement of waterfowl, such as on ‘Nine and Fifty Swans’. ‘Autumn Songs’ invites you into a cultural bath which quietly yet intensely engulfs the listener in a sound world of images and emotions. (…) The content and technique stand strongly together, that’s what we call class.
--Danny de Bock jassepoes.be
(…) There’s a breathless tension and expectation in these musical dialogues, as if neither participant has any idea what is coming next and the music trembles on the edge of revelation. It has no need for any of the trappings of jazz or classical or any other kind of music. It is sound discovered and organized with no preconceived notions and it is both incredibly touching and intellectually thrilling at the same time.
--Ed Hazell Signal to Noise #61 Spring 2011
(…) The music is often rarefied and brittle, so distinctly stripped back to the essence of air and friction but also materialised. The pieces have not been left as invasive flashes, nor are they a succession of unrelated ideas; they are recognisable attempts to construct something from nothing or almost nothing, to create on the spot, as well as to understand, support and where necessary contradict one’s fellow performer in that creative process. What resonates is two voices that belong together without being completely subsumed by the other; they literally play with one another.
--Mischa Andriessen Ig Henneman 65, 2010
Festival International de Jazz de Montreal 2008
(...) The show was an intimate look at two distinct, creative voices in the Dutch scene. Sometimes it was frighteningly harsh, as when Baars chose to camp out in the highest register he’s capable of for a couple of minutes. Other times, it was stark and disarmingly beautiful, with a lyrical saxophone exchanging lines with a sensitive viola.
--Adam Kinner The Montreal Gazette June 2008
The Vancouver International Jazz Festival 2008
(...) Vancouver specializes in avant-garde New Dutch Swing, and two of its most compelling practitioners — reed man Ab Baars and his wife, violist Ig Henneman — performed twice. Saturday, they collaborated in mix-and-match permutations with Norwegians Inbebrigt Håker Flaten (bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) at the Performance Center at the Roundhouse, veering from careful sound explorations to frenetic conversations. Baars and Henneman duetted Sunday at the Western Front, offering a model of intimate, witty "handmade" music, as Baars' flannel, low-register clarinet blended gorgeously with Henneman's viola. Baars also recited haiku and played the shakuhachi, a difficult end-blown Japanese flute. He acknowledged his shakuhachi teacher, Vancouverite Takeo Yamashiro, who was in the audience.
Vancouver International Jazz Festival hits all the right notes
--Paul de Barros Seattle Times June 2008
(…) On the longest piece “Stof-to Eiske”, the duo move from slightly frenetic to embracing empty space. Their patience with sounds expresses a sense that pay no heed to any audience, as if they have nothing to prove. Depth is almost effortlessly- which is quite impressive.
--Bruce Carnavale Coda 33 May/June 2007
A poetic soundscape, a musical fairy tale, a walk without a key map; this CD is as intangible and ambiguous as the little word "stof".
--Frans van Leeuwen NRC Handelsblad11 April 2007
Well, here's proof that Wittgenstein was wrong: yes, there is such a thing as a private language – or at least one that's a very well-kept secret between two people. The first names of husband and wife team of Ab Baars (tenor sax, clarinet, shakuhachi, noh-kan) and Ig Henneman (viola) suggest characters out of Endgame, and indeed Beckett might have appreciated this duo, both for the aphasic, waterdrops-wearing-down-a-stone obsessiveness with which they pick at a note, and for the bleak, directionless playfulness which takes the place of an actual sense of humour.
--DWParis Trans Atlantic February 2007
(…) Check the almost rural melody painted by the noh-kan, with a raw-sounding viola opposing it, in Tackety Dancing Shoes. Or the many registers of the tenor, and the viola forming mournful airs, in Violetto Rossastro. The hushed tones of the shakuachi in Giallo di Napoli. The track for viola solo, Whirligig, where some thematic variations are quite easy to perceive, and where there is a beautiful musical episode with long, held notes with vibrato before the theme at the end. Or Ruby Slippers, chamber-like with clarinet, one of the pieces I liked the best on the CD. The strong, repeated, rhythmic figures by the viola, played pizzicato, and the "cool" tenor sax, blown, in Castle Walk In Herringbone Suit. The homage to Stravinsky in Igor's Bransle. The meditative and microtonal Grigio Perla Per Noguchi. Or the ever-changing long track, Stof - To Eiske, which has its start in the body of the viola being hit and arrives at a point where the viola gives pedal points to a "cool" clarinet sounding quite Ellington-like.
--Beppe Colli CloudsandClocks.net | Catania (I) Jan. 7, 2007
(…) Si tratta di un percorso fatto di gesti sonori minimali, isolati, in diversi rapporti di dipendenza fra di loro; un percorso alla ricerca di una dimensione introversa, di un dialogo intimo, a tratti più pensato che parlato. Prevalgono quindi le ricercatezze timbriche: squittii, sospiri, soffi, strozzature, flebili frasi melodiche, rimasticazioni, insistenze, sospensioni, reticenze... (…)
--Libero Farnè Allaboutjazzitaly 29-12-2006
(…) You asked if I “liked” the music, separate from what I wrote. Very much.
For one thing, I like the reduced instrumentation, two “single line” instruments. I like counterpoint, and the ways you create a dramatic setting without the usual chordal accompaniment. Several of the solutions you used, usually involving a thinning and thickening of lines, I often relate to in visual ways. A duo like this of course fits into the undefined area between classical and jazz, which I’m also interested in. Also, I liked the open improvisational process, melodic but with surprising curves and textures that define the drama. And I appreciate brevity.
--Art Lange, Chicago september 27 2006
Thin Air (WIG 14)
From the Reviews:
about CD ‘Thin Air’ (Wig 14) 2006
This international trio’s newest disc is as exciting and diverse as the music on which it is loosely based. (…) Each track mixes conventionalities with the recent codified language of Eurofree improv, and the juxtapositions prove that these three musicians are as comfortable “in the tradition” as with the full range of sonic possibilities their chosen instruments offer. The brevity of the dics is welcome, only as it cuts down on the chances of aimless meandering that can cloud otherwise succesful improvised music. While many have approached the classics in the spirit of decomposition and failed, Thin Air is a sprightly and continuously engaging achievement.
--Marc Medwin Cadence May 2007
(…) As the longstanding duo Queen Mab, bass clarinetist Lori Freedman and pianist Marilyn Lerner have developed an unique rapport that is both rigorous and nurturing. They hold each other’s feet to the fire in their exacting ensembles, but there is also the palpable sense that they have each other’s back when they go out on a limb in an improvisation. It’s a very specific chemistry that Henneman supplements rather than disrupts, even when the two Canadians are at their most explosive, an occasional occurrence over the course of this scintillating album.
--Bill Shoemaker www.pointofdeparture.org Issue 9 - January 2007
(…) Something is up. I listen to the piece a few more times and at every turn I’m surprised at how easily they shift between styles. They’re like a sly fox who’s trying to outrun a wolf. Throughout the record, they take sudden shifts in direction at least half a dozen times. Every time this happens, you’re left with a question mark smack in front of your face. Is theirs an exercise in confusion or are they deliberately playing every imaginable style of sound they can get their hands on? Regardless, interplay with each other is marvellously stated. From the crow-like clarinet guffaws, through to the pointed viola clicks, through to the understated piano caresses, these women are working on a higher plane in terms of communication.
--Tom Sekowski thewholenote.com/discoveries_march 2007
This is a fabulous trio of two Canadians and one Amsterdam native. Made up mostly of carefully composed pieces that shift textures and feature intricate group interplay, “Thin Air” is a great example of how many musical situations are possible with only three creative musicians.
--Picks of the week for January 29, 2007 Chicago Sound Radio WNU
Each piece on this marvelous disc is a thoughtful and provocative work, endlessly fascinating in many ways. -
--Downtown Music Gallery NY February 17 2007 BLGallanter
(…) With several records already in their discography this band's compositional style is strong, as is the communication between the players, making for an excellent and recommended release.
--Unusual & Experimental Music www.squidco.com
See Saw (WIG 11)
From the Reviews:
Portland May 13, 2005
(...) a magnificent improvising chamber trio of the highest order. Utilizing ideas and energies from a wide array of musical disciplines they presented an exciting program which was very original and accomplished.
--Brad Winter Cadence July 2005
Seattle May 14, 2005
(…) One of the beauties of this band is that it combines qualities stereotypically associated with women - cooperation, deference and blending in - with ones assigned to men - aggression, structural rigor and a lack of sentimentality. It's an unbeatable combination.
--Paul de Barros Seattle Times May 2005
Ottawa Jazz Festival July 1, 2005
(…) At times intensely cerebral, elsewhere more purely visceral, Queen Mab was an interesting counterpoint to Evan Parker's waves of sound and Roscoe Mitchell's more Afro-centric quintet performance. A fitting conclusion to a short but intriguing series that has hopefully been successful enough to encourage festival organizers to continue bringing this kind of left-of-centre music to the festival in future years.
--John Kelman All About Jazz
Montreal Festival International de Jazz July 4, 2005
(...) Other festival highlights included Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava's radiant Quintet, Zakir Hussain's stunning duets with guitarist John McLaughlin, Randy Weston's trio, and the exquisitely edgy Queen Mab Trio.
--Larry Appelbaum Jazznin Japan
(...) Questions of composition and improvisation aside, what defines See Saw is the level of minute interactions, the devastating passion motivating each note, and the number of ideas per minute, all key traits of Queen Mab's music.
--François Couture All-Music Guide
(…) Queen Mab Trio have a well-defined identity, yet the music is continuously allusive, evoking diverse compositional styles extending from Erik Satie to Louis Andriessen, suggesting awareness too of non-European musical traditions. There's an indebtedness to free jazz energies and techniques as well as more preconceived jazz structures and conditions of virtuosity.
--Julian Cowley The Wire September 2005
(...) Pour évoquer ce qu'on entend là j'aimerais convoquer Gérard de Nerval dans son poème le plus célébre, parlant des "soupirs de la sainte et les cris de la fée".
--Noël Tachet ImproJazz Mai 2005
(...) Queen Mab is famous for raising eyebrows. In their ten year existence, they have solidified themselves as a driving force in the Canadian avant-garde music scene.
--Sarah Petrescu, the Martlet, November 2002
(...) Henneman fits nicely into this modest, though skillful scheme of things (...) she draws a useful variety of unconventional sounds with the gentle bounce, scrape and stroke of her bow. Some are scrawny, some have a Dietrich-like smokiness. Some sound like a squadron of mosquitos, some create tension with their flirtatious intonation.
--Mark Miller, The Globe and Mail, November 4, 2002
From the Reviews:
about CD ‘Thin Air’ (Wig 14) 2006
This international trio’s newest disc is as exciting and diverse as the music on which it is loosely based. (…) Each track mixes conventionalities with the recent codified language of Eurofree improv, and the juxtapositions prove that these three musicians are as comfortable “in the tradition” as with the full range of sonic possibilities their chosen instruments offer. The brevity of the dics is welcome, only as it cuts down on the chances of aimless meandering that can cloud otherwise succesful improvised music. While many have approached the classics in the spirit of decomposition and failed, Thin Air is a sprightly and continuously engaging achievement.
--Marc Medwin Cadence May 2007
(…) As the longstanding duo Queen Mab, bass clarinetist Lori Freedman and pianist Marilyn Lerner have developed an unique rapport that is both rigorous and nurturing. They hold each other’s feet to the fire in their exacting ensembles, but there is also the palpable sense that they have each other’s back when they go out on a limb in an improvisation. It’s a very specific chemistry that Henneman supplements rather than disrupts, even when the two Canadians are at their most explosive, an occasional occurrence over the course of this scintillating album.
--Bill Shoemaker www.pointofdeparture.org Issue 9 - January 2007
(…) Something is up. I listen to the piece a few more times and at every turn I’m surprised at how easily they shift between styles. They’re like a sly fox who’s trying to outrun a wolf. Throughout the record, they take sudden shifts in direction at least half a dozen times. Every time this happens, you’re left with a question mark smack in front of your face. Is theirs an exercise in confusion or are they deliberately playing every imaginable style of sound they can get their hands on? Regardless, interplay with each other is marvellously stated. From the crow-like clarinet guffaws, through to the pointed viola clicks, through to the understated piano caresses, these women are working on a higher plane in terms of communication.
--Tom Sekowski thewholenote.com/discoveries_march 2007
This is a fabulous trio of two Canadians and one Amsterdam native. Made up mostly of carefully composed pieces that shift textures and feature intricate group interplay, “Thin Air” is a great example of how many musical situations are possible with only three creative musicians.
--Picks of the week for January 29, 2007 Chicago Sound Radio WNU
Each piece on this marvelous disc is a thoughtful and provocative work, endlessly fascinating in many ways. -
--Downtown Music Gallery NY February 17 2007 BLGallanter
(…) With several records already in their discography this band's compositional style is strong, as is the communication between the players, making for an excellent and recommended release.
--Unusual & Experimental Music www.squidco.com
See Saw (WIG 11)
From the Reviews:
Portland May 13, 2005
(...) a magnificent improvising chamber trio of the highest order. Utilizing ideas and energies from a wide array of musical disciplines they presented an exciting program which was very original and accomplished.
--Brad Winter Cadence July 2005
Seattle May 14, 2005
(…) One of the beauties of this band is that it combines qualities stereotypically associated with women - cooperation, deference and blending in - with ones assigned to men - aggression, structural rigor and a lack of sentimentality. It's an unbeatable combination.
--Paul de Barros Seattle Times May 2005
Ottawa Jazz Festival July 1, 2005
(…) At times intensely cerebral, elsewhere more purely visceral, Queen Mab was an interesting counterpoint to Evan Parker's waves of sound and Roscoe Mitchell's more Afro-centric quintet performance. A fitting conclusion to a short but intriguing series that has hopefully been successful enough to encourage festival organizers to continue bringing this kind of left-of-centre music to the festival in future years.
--John Kelman All About Jazz
Montreal Festival International de Jazz July 4, 2005
(...) Other festival highlights included Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava's radiant Quintet, Zakir Hussain's stunning duets with guitarist John McLaughlin, Randy Weston's trio, and the exquisitely edgy Queen Mab Trio.
--Larry Appelbaum Jazznin Japan
(...) Questions of composition and improvisation aside, what defines See Saw is the level of minute interactions, the devastating passion motivating each note, and the number of ideas per minute, all key traits of Queen Mab's music.
--François Couture All-Music Guide
(…) Queen Mab Trio have a well-defined identity, yet the music is continuously allusive, evoking diverse compositional styles extending from Erik Satie to Louis Andriessen, suggesting awareness too of non-European musical traditions. There's an indebtedness to free jazz energies and techniques as well as more preconceived jazz structures and conditions of virtuosity.
--Julian Cowley The Wire September 2005
(...) Pour évoquer ce qu'on entend là j'aimerais convoquer Gérard de Nerval dans son poème le plus célébre, parlant des "soupirs de la sainte et les cris de la fée".
--Noël Tachet ImproJazz Mai 2005
(...) Queen Mab is famous for raising eyebrows. In their ten year existence, they have solidified themselves as a driving force in the Canadian avant-garde music scene.
--Sarah Petrescu, the Martlet, November 2002
(...) Henneman fits nicely into this modest, though skillful scheme of things (...) she draws a useful variety of unconventional sounds with the gentle bounce, scrape and stroke of her bow. Some are scrawny, some have a Dietrich-like smokiness. Some sound like a squadron of mosquitos, some create tension with their flirtatious intonation.
--Mark Miller, The Globe and Mail, November 4, 2002
HENNEMAN STRING QUARTET reviews
Freshness, verve highlight Vancouver jazz fest
(...) Highlights of this 400-show, 40-venue extravaganza so far have included a three-day residency by award-winning composer/trumpeter Dave Douglas; a glorious string quartet performance by Dutch violist and composer Ig Henneman; and the opening salvos of a reprised festival theme — electronically-inspired club jazz from the exciting new Scandinavian scene.
(...) No such defection occurred at the mesmerizing, sitting-room-only concert at the Western Front Sunday. Henneman, who has performed at the festival before, substituted New York bassist Mark Helias in this edition of her quartet, which played a suite of rhythmically vigorous, muscular, thematically juicy compositions inspired by Italian music and culture. That rare composer who can explore the conceptual nature of her instrument — the "string-ness," if you will, of the violin family — while also offering witty structures and evocative sonic textures, Henneman offered the most memorable concert in a weekend of strong performances.
--Paul de Barros Seattle Times jazz critic July 2004 USA
(...) There exists a romantic formality, perhaps due to those historical references, with a spontaneous edge that only improvisers can bring to music, an individuality that shines in the most formal of situations. The romance of the Renaissance is in the air, but this beautiful recording is of now and does not reside in history.
--Bill Smith, about the CD Piazza Pia, Coda Magazine Januar/Februar 2004 Canada
(...) The tension between composition and improvisation and between tradition and innovation creates an uncommon music that knows few equivalents in the world of contemporary jazz music.
--Emanuel Wenger, about the CD Piazza Pia, Jazz Live 131/2003 Austria
(...) A program between well-mannered and cheeky. Chambermusic punctuality and powerstrokes with charm. Everything without disturbing mysteriousness.
--OÖNachrichten 14 Februar 2003
(...) As the evening progressed the dutch Henneman String Quartet winded it’s way surprisingly into very interesting string-music routes like classic, italian folklore, jazz or improvisation.
--sura, Kitzbüheler Anzeiger 13 Februar 2003
(...) pero también existe un equilibrio entre los integrantes de este cuarteto con onze piezas ejecutadas con una admirable estilización que no envidia nada un Nancarrow por Kronos o a unos Arditti en una noche afortunada. Un bello disco que no evita ecos de melodías popularesde baile. Una epifanía menor.
--E.Fuente, about Piazza Pia, Cuadernos de Jazz nov/dec 2002
(...) Ig Henneman’s String Quartet was the best performance, in terms of sheer quality and fun. The pieces were defamiliarized Sicilian madrigals, Neapolitan folk music or inspired by Monteverdi - the performance breathed fresh air.
--Bruce Carnevale, about Rome - Controindicazioni 2001, Coda Magazine July/August 2002
(...) The program reached its artistic height during the second concert of the night with the string quartet of the Dutch viola player Ig Henneman: a contemporary string quartet that looks at the Italian tradition of the middle ages and madrigales with irony and refinement, performed with pathos: themes like Cassetone and Semipiaci (a delightful mix between a gigue and a blues) confirm the dutch métissage classic - improvised as one of the most original of the european panorama.
--Francesco Màndica, about Rome - Controindicazioni 2001, Musica Jazz 10 Italy
(...) Innovative, full of vivacity and complex irony was the result of the concert of the Henneman String Quartet a string quartet led by Ig Henneman.
--Luigi Onori, about Rome - Controindicazioni 2001, Il Manifesto 21 november 2001
(...) The difficult task of integrating composition and improvisation is carried out with aplomb by this group: they actually make it sound easy. A nice combination of male and female energy exists in this group, as well as a combination of Dutch musicians and so-called ex-patriot Americans who have settled in the Netherlands. The players are comfortable working in a traditional, melodic, and harmonic manner but also can and do go way out. Everything that happens makes logical sense, and this is music that reveals rich layers of detail upon repeated listenings.
--Eugene Chadbourne, about Pes Wig 05, All Music Guide
(…) Though they are closer in temperament to 20th-century string quartet literature than the jazz tradition, Henneman’s works incorporate improvisation, which yields unexpected pleasures; the notated passages veer and change gears like an improvisation in mid-flight.
--Bill Shoemaker Strings Magazine about Pes Wig 05 May/June 2000 nr 86
Freshness, verve highlight Vancouver jazz fest
(...) Highlights of this 400-show, 40-venue extravaganza so far have included a three-day residency by award-winning composer/trumpeter Dave Douglas; a glorious string quartet performance by Dutch violist and composer Ig Henneman; and the opening salvos of a reprised festival theme — electronically-inspired club jazz from the exciting new Scandinavian scene.
(...) No such defection occurred at the mesmerizing, sitting-room-only concert at the Western Front Sunday. Henneman, who has performed at the festival before, substituted New York bassist Mark Helias in this edition of her quartet, which played a suite of rhythmically vigorous, muscular, thematically juicy compositions inspired by Italian music and culture. That rare composer who can explore the conceptual nature of her instrument — the "string-ness," if you will, of the violin family — while also offering witty structures and evocative sonic textures, Henneman offered the most memorable concert in a weekend of strong performances.
--Paul de Barros Seattle Times jazz critic July 2004 USA
(...) There exists a romantic formality, perhaps due to those historical references, with a spontaneous edge that only improvisers can bring to music, an individuality that shines in the most formal of situations. The romance of the Renaissance is in the air, but this beautiful recording is of now and does not reside in history.
--Bill Smith, about the CD Piazza Pia, Coda Magazine Januar/Februar 2004 Canada
(...) The tension between composition and improvisation and between tradition and innovation creates an uncommon music that knows few equivalents in the world of contemporary jazz music.
--Emanuel Wenger, about the CD Piazza Pia, Jazz Live 131/2003 Austria
(...) A program between well-mannered and cheeky. Chambermusic punctuality and powerstrokes with charm. Everything without disturbing mysteriousness.
--OÖNachrichten 14 Februar 2003
(...) As the evening progressed the dutch Henneman String Quartet winded it’s way surprisingly into very interesting string-music routes like classic, italian folklore, jazz or improvisation.
--sura, Kitzbüheler Anzeiger 13 Februar 2003
(...) pero también existe un equilibrio entre los integrantes de este cuarteto con onze piezas ejecutadas con una admirable estilización que no envidia nada un Nancarrow por Kronos o a unos Arditti en una noche afortunada. Un bello disco que no evita ecos de melodías popularesde baile. Una epifanía menor.
--E.Fuente, about Piazza Pia, Cuadernos de Jazz nov/dec 2002
(...) Ig Henneman’s String Quartet was the best performance, in terms of sheer quality and fun. The pieces were defamiliarized Sicilian madrigals, Neapolitan folk music or inspired by Monteverdi - the performance breathed fresh air.
--Bruce Carnevale, about Rome - Controindicazioni 2001, Coda Magazine July/August 2002
(...) The program reached its artistic height during the second concert of the night with the string quartet of the Dutch viola player Ig Henneman: a contemporary string quartet that looks at the Italian tradition of the middle ages and madrigales with irony and refinement, performed with pathos: themes like Cassetone and Semipiaci (a delightful mix between a gigue and a blues) confirm the dutch métissage classic - improvised as one of the most original of the european panorama.
--Francesco Màndica, about Rome - Controindicazioni 2001, Musica Jazz 10 Italy
(...) Innovative, full of vivacity and complex irony was the result of the concert of the Henneman String Quartet a string quartet led by Ig Henneman.
--Luigi Onori, about Rome - Controindicazioni 2001, Il Manifesto 21 november 2001
(...) The difficult task of integrating composition and improvisation is carried out with aplomb by this group: they actually make it sound easy. A nice combination of male and female energy exists in this group, as well as a combination of Dutch musicians and so-called ex-patriot Americans who have settled in the Netherlands. The players are comfortable working in a traditional, melodic, and harmonic manner but also can and do go way out. Everything that happens makes logical sense, and this is music that reveals rich layers of detail upon repeated listenings.
--Eugene Chadbourne, about Pes Wig 05, All Music Guide
(…) Though they are closer in temperament to 20th-century string quartet literature than the jazz tradition, Henneman’s works incorporate improvisation, which yields unexpected pleasures; the notated passages veer and change gears like an improvisation in mid-flight.
--Bill Shoemaker Strings Magazine about Pes Wig 05 May/June 2000 nr 86