CD Review: Metropole Orchestra, Arakatak

Eight decades in, the Metropole Orchestra remains one of Europe’s most remarkable musical institutions — and Arakatak, their 80th anniversary album, is a celebration that never loses sight of the future. Conducted by Miho Hazama and featuring compositions by eight of the most distinctive voices in contemporary jazz, this is a confident, cinematic, and thoroughly absorbing record from an orchestra with nothing left to prove and everything still to say.

It is worth pausing, on an anniversary like this, to consider just what the Metropole Orchestra represents. Founded in 1945 by decision of the Dutch government and the Royal Family in exile in London, the ensemble was conceived as an act of cultural renewal — a deliberate counter to the music of the occupation, something that spoke of liberation, energy, and optimism. That original mission — to elevate popular music to the highest possible level while continuously exploring new directions — has shaped everything the orchestra has done in the eighty years since. From Dolf van der Linden’s long stewardship through to the international prestige of the Vince Mendoza years and beyond, the Metropole has consistently refused to stand still. Grammy Awards, Edison Awards, collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock — the roll call is extraordinary. Arakatak sits squarely in that tradition.

The choice of Miho Hazama as conductor for this project is inspired. Hazama is not merely a guest; she is also one of the eight composers represented here, contributing “Splash the Colors” to the programme. Her presence gives the album a coherent interpretive centre even as the music moves through eight strikingly different sound worlds. What is particularly pleasing — and this is something I want to underline — is how rarely the Metropole sounds like a backing orchestra on Arakatak. This is fully integrated ensemble playing: the orchestra is inside each composition, not arranged around it.

The album opens with Morris Kliphuis’s title track, an eight-minute piece that sets the agenda immediately. Percussion ostinatos drive the track forward with a propulsive, almost ritualistic energy — there is something genuinely cinematic about the sound world Kliphuis has constructed here. Paul van der Feen contributes a lucid soprano saxophone solo, and the percussion interplay between Murk Jiskoot, Eddy Koopman, and drummer Martijn Vink is one of the album’s first genuine pleasures. It is a confident, immersive opening that draws you in rather than announcing itself.

Vince Mendoza’s “Bright Lights and Jubilations” follows, and the continuity of atmosphere is striking — these two opening tracks share a sound world that would sit comfortably as consecutive movements in a larger suite. Van der Feen returns, this time on alto saxophone, alongside a fine guitar solo from Peter Tiehuis. The writing is big and the arrangement is built for this orchestra: it does not feel scaled up from a smaller conception.

Donny McCaslin’s “Luminosity,” arranged by Tim Davies, marks the first significant shift in character. Maxime Le Minter plays the melody on English horn — a haunting, beautiful choice of instrument — and the piece has a dynamic architecture that builds with real purpose. Where the opening tracks had energy and forward momentum, this one breathes more slowly and reaches further. It is among the more emotionally affecting moments on the record.

Hazama’s own “Splash the Colors” is, again, cinematic in character — there is a thread running through this album of music that thinks in large visual spaces — with the trombone of Robinson Khoury and the alto saxophone of Marc Scholten sharing the solo responsibilities. Both soloists rise to the occasion. Tineke Postma’s “Into The Dawn of Light,” arranged by Damiano Pascarelli, takes the music somewhere altogether different: a more introspective, textured piece that showcases David Kweksilber’s bass clarinet alongside Khoury and Leo Janssen’s soprano saxophone. For me, this is one of the album’s highlights — a piece that earns its intimacy within this large-ensemble context.

Miho Hazama | Photo by Merlijn Doomernik

Mark Guiliana’s “The Most Important Question,” arranged by Jochen Neuffer, brings urgency back into the picture. There is an accumulating intensity to this track, a sense of pressure building through the ensemble until it resolves in a full orchestral tutti that arrives with real impact. Janssen returns on tenor saxophone, and Martijn Vink’s drumming is given space to breathe and push simultaneously. It is the album’s most visceral moment.

Shai Maestro’s “Crown Jewels” is, by some distance, the most rhythmically complex piece here — the track with the most edge, the most in-your-face character. Hans Vroomans on toy piano is a genuinely surprising solo voice, and the combination of Rik Mol’s trumpet, van der Feen’s alto, and Tiehuis’s guitar gives the piece a restless, multi-directional energy. It is the moment on Arakatak where the orchestra is most clearly looking forward rather than reflecting backward.

Louis Cole’s closing “Doesn’t Matter” — remixed by Cole himself — is the most orchestral track on the album in the traditional sense: a string introduction of real beauty, a broad and generous sound, and a sense of arrival that makes it entirely right as a closing statement. The English horn makes a further appearance from Le Minter, though it is the orchestral writing itself that carries the track. I enjoyed the broad strings, a generous ensemble sound, and a sense of careful arrival that makes it entirely right as a closing statement. It is, simply, one of the best tracks on the record.

Arakatak is a strong album — genuinely strong. The Metropole’s original mission was to take popular and jazz music to the highest possible level. On this evidence, that mission remains very much alive. Highly recommended.

Release Date: 6 March 2025
Format: CD | Streaming
Label: Metropole Records

Featured Image: Reinout Bos

New Release Spotify Playlist

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