Dutch Jazz Day

Friday May 16, 2008, I went to Amersfoort to attend the 'Dag van de Nederlandse Jazz', a day for jazz musicians, media, conservatory staff and students, and the music industry to network and to present themselves. This well organized event consisted of seminars, workshops and presentations, a jazz market, and showcases. The main reason for me to go to this 'Jazz Day' was to gather information on jazz education, but also to hear and see some showcases. The focus of this day was definitely on the 29 showcases: promising Dutch jazz bands selected out of a set of more than 150 subscribers. At one of the sites of the event I saw some showcases and I especially liked Lavalu and The Searing Quartet. Lavalu is an exciting young Dutch popjazz formation that presents songs with surprising rhythms and melodies played by excellent musicians (keys, chello, saxes, drums). The Searing Quartet (TSQ) played jazz in a more 'traditional' sense, but like Lavalu the musicians were rhythmically extraordinarily good (you can call it 'funky'). Also the melodies and harmonics of the TSQ compositions and the improvisations of the musicians were of high-quality and therefore great: like Lavalu this band deserves definitely more attention! I especially liked the first composition they played, that is 'Tastenheini'.

As I already mentioned, the Jazz Day was well organized and a great platform for the jazz community to present themselves and to strengthen the community. Hopefully there will be a sequel next year!

Lloyd Hotel Theatresports

On May 9, 2008, members of Remco's Pink Lloyd Theatresports Group played their first theatresports game at the Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam. Two teams were formed: Het Roze Gevaar (the Pink Peril) and Het JA!-team (the Yes!-team). I musically accompanied this fantastic 'sporting event' and it was my job to back up the scenes musically and to provide input for musical games. The teamplayers of the Pink Peril and the Yes!-team played really great. A special remark for the presentor of the game: former co-student 'good old' Perry enthusiastically introduced both players and games to the audience. Also the jury made a good job of their work: both members were hilariously strict. Should be continued!

Bevrijdingsfestival 2008

On Monday the 5th of May we went to the 'Bevrijdingsfestival' in Amsterdam. The weather was exceptional: bright and sunny. For me one of the highlights of the festival was a performance by the New Cool Collective (NCC). Although they have been playing together for quite some time now, their music is still good and definitely not boring. OK, maybe I'm a bit biased since I practically grew up with their Soul-jazz-latin-flavours-nineties-vibes style they have been promoting for years now. Nevertheless, the musicians of NCC played great, groovy and 'strak' and compliments for Anton Goudsmit for his lively performance. Again he was full of beans!

Jazz Art

An interesting exhibition on modern Art and jazz music is now featured by the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen, the Netherlands. This museum exhibits interesting work Dutch painter and sculptor Karel Appel produced from 1958 till 1962. The exhibition highlights the importance of jazz music in the work(processes) of the artist. For me, the two documentaries made by Jan Vrijman on the work of Karel Appel were the most informative sources I saw at the museum. Both documentaries (especially the oldest one) gave a great impression of the way the artist Karel Appel worked. Very inspiring!