Kika Sprangers / Irene Reig Quintet Alto For Two
Alto For Two is the new project of one of the most creative, young saxophonists on the European scene today. Kika Sprangers (Nijmegen, 1994) and Irene Reig (Barcelona, ​​1993) join forces and create a program with exclusively their own work. They form a quintet with Xavi Torres (piano), Thomas Pol (bass) and Sun-Mi Hong (drums).
Kika Sprangers and Irene Reig.
These two performing composers with both strong artistic visions have their roots in the jazz tradition. They have developed a fresh, unique sound in which they differ, but also find each other. Alto for Two is a challenging combination of two alto players who have completely mastered the instrument. With this project, Kika and Irene want to highlight the role of women within the current scene. There are currently too few female instrumentalists. They hope to see a better balance in the next generation.
Irene Reig leads her own projects such as The Bop Collective. In 2018 she also won the audience prize of the Dutch Jazz Competition. The new album “Iaspis” has just been released from this formation.
Kika Sprangers was the leader of the saxophone section in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. In 2018 she was appointed Young VIP and she toured with her own quintet and Large Ensemble through the Netherlands (Bimhuis, North Sea Jazz), Indonesia and China. Sprangers made her debut with these ensembles in 2019 with her album Human Traits and played a release tour along the Netherlands’ most prominent stages.
Alto for Two bridges the gap between the Dutch and Spanish jazz scenes. The concept for this project is a successor to The Bob Collective XL, which was composed and performed by Irene Reig and the Amersfoort Jazz Festival 2019. In the spring of 2020, this quintet will perform at Jazz de Terrassa (Spain), Amersfoort Jazz (Netherlands) and Babel Jazz (Hungary) stand.
This project is carried out in collaboration with Amersfoort Jazz Festival, Jazz I Am Barcelona, ​​Jazz Terrassa and Institut Ramon Llull.