Canopy by Das B.

Mazen Kerbaj: trumpet
Mike Majkowski: double bass
Magda Mayas: piano
Tony Buck: percussion

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This album is a very dear one for me for various reasons: it is the first album by one of my favourite bands; it was recorded live at one of my favourite festivals; the cover artwork was done by two of my favourite human beings on earth.

Here's my presentation of the band for our first tour in 2016:

In mid 2014 I knew I was going to leave Beirut for a one year DAAD residency in Berlin, starting in July 2015. Since the beginning, and despite all the changes that such a move would imply in my life, my biggest preoccupation was how to form a regular group to work with while in Berlin. After working for 13 years in a row in Lebanon with the “A” Trio (with Sharif Sehnaoui on guitar and Raed Yassin on double-bass), I couldn’t imagine myself not having a regular group to experiment with. Six months before leaving Beirut, I had already contacted Mayas, Majkowski and Buck to propose to them to form this group. They fortunately all said yes.

The choice of these musicians for the group was somehow evident. Especially for Mayas and Buck with whom I had worked already, and whose music I appreciated for years (in solo, in their long-lasting duo and in various other groups). Both musicians have developed, over the years, highly personal languages for their respective instruments, and are very versatile improvisers, always ready to delve into new territories. When I asked them to suggest a double bass player living in Berlin, they sent me some names that included Mike Majkowski’s. I checked them all – many are great musicians that I knew already – but Majkowski clearly seemed the man for this group.

The group was born on paper: a classic jazz line-up, brought together to play free improv, in a rather textural style. But I still had to wait several months before arriving to Berlin and trying to play together “for real”. My expectations were very high, but the result was beyond the expectations.

Kerbaj is a visual artist and musician from Beirut, living in Berlin.

He is widely considered as one of the initiators and key players of the Lebanese experimental music scene where he co-founded
Irtijal festival and Al Maslakh label.

Kerbaj pushes the boundaries of the trumpet and develops a personal language and innovative techniques. His music is often described as "acoustic electronics".