Christian Marien: Beyond the Fingertips

MARMADE RECORDS (RELEASED DECEMBER 15, 2025)

Imagine listening to a kaleidoscope? It might very well sound like the second release
from the Christian Marien Quartet. Shards of melodies, rhythms and harmonies are constantly in flux as drummer Marien, saxophonist/clarinetist Tobias Delius, guitarist Jasper Stadhouders and bassist Antonio Borghini let things take their shape on Beyond the Fingertips. Perhaps it’s the presence of Delius or Marien’s Han Bennink-influenced drumming that gives this recording an ICP Orchestra feel as the quartet seamlessly transitions between various moods — serene to frenetic, joyful to meditative, swing to abstract and various shapes — the full quartet, trios and duos. To be as authentic and close to the concert experience as possible, Beyond the Fingertips was recorded direct-to-disc which meant a maximum of 18 minutes of recording time per track with no post- production possible. Thanks to their kaleidoscopic way of blending moods and instrumentation, the quartet packs a lot of musical patterns into each track which flows from one tune to the next — Track 1: “Love All. Play!,” Martha,” “Blues in Aspik” and Cordinale; and track 2: “Nantucket Nostalgia,” “For Toby,” “Look Left, Look Right” and “No Place for Illusions.” Like spinning the particles in a kaleidoscope, when the band lands on a particularly vibrant combination they explore it fully before they spin again to investigate another combination. On “Blues in Aspik,” they delve into the blues with Delius’ vocal style of tenor playing. On “Look Left, Look Right,” they revel in the fragmented pattern of free improvisation. There is a hint of Mingus style swing in “For Toby.” It is a joy to hear how four musicians can create such an array of colors and patterns as they explore an ever-changing combination of melodies, rhythms and harmonies to create a mesmerizing music that will keep you listening with every twist and turn along the way.

BOTTOM LINE: The Christian Marien Quartet’s first recording (How Long Is Now, 2023),
was one of the first recordings I reviewed on Papatamusredux. It was also among my top ten picks in Cadence Magazine for that year. I am happy to say, their second release, Beyond the Fingertips, will be among my top ten for 2026 (only because I have already submitted my top ten for 2025.)