Le Jazziste by Mary returns with a new exploration of women in jazz: immersive and meditative music from the guitar scene of Amsterdam.
Let me introduce you to Corrie van Binsbergen: guitarist, composer, and visionary creator – one of the leading figures of Dutch jazz. Born and based in Amsterdam, Corrie carries a long-standing career and a remarkable ability to transform silence, sound, and electronics into a language that is both intimate and universal.
Today, I want to focus on a single album: Self Portrait in Pale Blue (Brokken Records, 2013/14).
It’s a solo guitar project, born “almost by accident“: Corrie entered the studio without any preparation, embracing a “tabula rasa” approach.
The album reflects a difficult period in her life: recovering from a broken hand, moving from the city to the countryside, and the loss of her mother. From all this emerged a deeply introspective and reflective work, made up of very few, but meticulously crafted, sounds.*
The album consists of thirteen numbered tracks, with no descriptive titles. The invitation is to listen without preconceptions; to let yourself be carried by the reflective and meditative atmosphere.
Self Portrait in Pale Blue is a journey through fragility – of memory, of the body, of time – but also through the quiet beauty that comes from accepting oneself. Each track is a miniature sound poem: a few short phrases, a gentle arpeggio, an echo stretching into space, a single harmonic resonating*. The guitar tone is clean, the use of effects is subtle, and the structure drifts between suspended moments and more melodic fragments.*
I invite you to explore the album through two complementary listening paths:
The first is to let the thirteen “parts” play from start to finish, uninterrupted, perhaps with your eyes closed, in a meditative or even yogic position.
The second is to select tracks at random, continuing this way until the full album has unfolded.
Amsterdam revealed itself to be a perfect setting for this kind of music: quiet canals, changing skies, soft light falling on pastel brick walls, and silence after sunset.
Corrie van Binsbergen brings all of this into the sound of her guitar.
Until the next journey.
Happy listening and happy Jazz! 💜
Mary 🌹
