If you scroll down a bit, you´ll see some pics of bands I work with regularly. These are BB’s Jazztrio with singer Beer Baart, trio Honey Mizz Eva (yes, that’s Eva on the live portrait) and the sextet High Five.
Mrs. BB sings an exquisite repertoire, consisting of songs in various languages. Our guitarist is Hans Knapp, one of the unsung heroes of Dutch jazz. This band is for listeners.
High Five is kind of ‘Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers meet Ray Charles’. We have a great horn section and singer D.C. Ray, who fronted a local soul band in the 80s.
I’m often asked to do a Chet Baker-tribute, and my regular band for these memorable occasions features Edu Ninck Blok, a trumpeter who worked with Chet both on stage and in the recording studio. Late 2013, we recorded a CD featuring veteran drummer John Engels. He started as a professional musician in 1952 and since then backed virtually every local and visiting artist.
I studied double bass at the Royal Conservatory in 1982 – ’85 and did lots of gigs, in locations varying from concert halls to small bars. After a ten year hiatus, singer Nynke Geertsma asked me to play again. Her band Dutch Treat developed impressively in a few years.
One of our cd’s is called ‘The Great Amersfoort Songbook’, after our hometown, and features the best professionals from the region, a.o. Leo Janssen, Alexander Beets and Thijs Borsten. She loves writing and singing in Dutch and kind of ended her career – for the time being – with our lovely album ‘De Vogels van Holland’, a tribute to Dutch author and lyricist Annie M.G. Schmidt.
My favorite bass players are Charlie Haden (for his soul), Ray Brown (his sound and lines) and Paul Chambers (his swing).
