By Frans de Rond
What interests me about recording a duo is how much depends on the relationship between two people. There is space to hear the smallest musical gesture, but also very little to hide behind. Each musician shapes the other’s playing.
Pianist Rob van Bavel and trombonist Ilja Reijngoud have found each other in repertoire that moves across jazz and classical music. Both are masters of their instruments. For me, the attraction of recording them was hearing what they would create together, and finding a sound that would allow that musical relationship to come through.
We had planned their session in our familiar Studio 2. Then an unexpected opportunity arose.
An invitation to Studio 1
During the summer, new carpet was being fitted in the audience area of Studio 1. With the renovation taking place on weekdays, the room became available to us at weekends.
I suggested moving the session there. Rob and Ilja agreed immediately.
A piano and trombone duo seemed particularly well suited to this larger space. Studio 1 has a distinctive natural acoustic and a beautiful Steinway D. With repertoire reaching into both jazz and classical traditions, there was good reason to explore what this combination could offer.
Changing rooms also meant leaving behind some familiar reference points. I know Studio 2 well: how instruments behave there, where I usually begin with microphone placement, and what I might need to add later. In Studio 1, I had to find those relationships again.
That is part of the pleasure of recording. A different room asks you to listen afresh.
Choosing the piano for the music
The Steinway D in Studio 1 is 274 centimetres long. Our Steinway B in Studio 2 measures 211 centimetres. The difference is significant, although the larger piano is certainly not the better choice for every session.
In a jazz ensemble, I often appreciate what a smaller grand brings to the balance. Other instruments can mask some of the tonal richness of a concert grand, and its additional weight may not serve the music as well as expected.
With this duo, there was room for those qualities to be heard.
The piano’s resonance could develop alongside the trombone, while the studio supported both instruments. It gave us a promising starting point for music in which tone, phrasing and the space around a note matter so much.
Finding their place together
We used our trusted Josephson C700S as the main stereo microphone, recording in pure DSD256.
Much of the balance therefore had to be established physically: through the positions of the instruments and the microphone. This is the part of our One Mic Recording approach that continues to fascinate me. Moving something in the room changes what you hear, and every adjustment asks for another careful listen.
But the microphone’s preferred position is only part of the equation.
Rob and Ilja needed to see each other. A glance can carry a cue, confirm an intention or help two musicians move into the next phrase together. An arrangement that produced a beautiful recorded balance would be of little use if it made their communication difficult.
We spent about an hour moving, listening and adjusting. Towards the end, the changes were tiny: genuinely millimetre work.
Eventually, we found the sweet spot. The tonal balance worked through the microphone, and the musicians had the contact they needed.
Letting the room be heard
Alongside the C700S, we placed a pair of room microphones to capture more of Studio 1’s natural reverberation.
I added their contribution gently. The main microphone carried the musical image; the room microphones brought a little more of the surrounding acoustic into it, giving the recording a soft glow.
Had we stayed in Studio 2, I would probably have relied more on artificial reverberation for the sound I wanted. Here, the room itself offered something worth preserving.
When you listen, pay attention to how a piano chord decays around a trombone phrase. Those moments give you a sense of the space the musicians shared.
A day worth capturing
The session brought together existing compositions and original pieces, with all the concentration and physical effort a full recording day demands. For Ilja, maintaining his embouchure throughout was a considerable task.
For me, recording these two musicians was a gift. Their craft, their repertoire and their connection gave the day its meaning. The equipment and the room helped me capture it.
Dual Impressions will be released in the coming weeks. We’ll let you know through the Sound Liaison newsletter when it is ready. I look forward to sharing this meeting of piano and trombone with you.