In 2018, trumpeter and flugelhorn player Teus Nobel released Journey Of Man, his fourth album, to all but unanimous critical acclaim. His inspiration came from the book of the same name by anthropologist Spencer Wells, who claims that all of humanity stems from a single man: ‘Y-chromosome Adam’. Nobel (36) also chose the title because he was soon to become a father. He has a predilection for compositions that are structured in a sharp, sophisticated and ingenious way. These pieces are provided by Nobel himself as well as his band members (like pianist Alexander van Popta and drummer Tuur Moens who will be temporarily replaced at the festival by Niek de Bruijn). When Nobel plays, you can clearly hear the influence of his much-admired idol Woody Shaw, whom the trumpeter wrote his master’s thesis on. The name Liberty Group says a lot: among other things, Nobel was a solo trumpeter with the Royal Netherlands Air Force Orchestra but now devotes himself entirely to his solo career.
