On Stage: Snarky Puppy @ Paradiso

I've been trying to catch the jazz collective Snarky Puppy for quite some time now, but never managed to. Either I wasn't able to visit their show or it was already sold out. This time they are playing two nights in Paradiso and tickets went on sale a long time ago. Still I managed to miss out on tickets, because I forgot about it and didn't remember before it sold out. Ticketswap to the rescue! Finally I was going to see this exciting jazz band.

Snarky Puppy at Paradiso Amsterdam, June 6 2017

The group has established quite a name by now which explains the two sold out shows in Paradiso. Wherever they play, people are blown away by their amazing talent and creative compositions. Add to that the amount of fun they put into it and you have an explosive combination that aims to please. Leader of the pack is bassist Michael League who will make sure it all stays together. He will point to his colleagues to indicate they can start a solo, when to go back into the song's theme or end it.

But most important of all, he allows the band to play freely with dazzling solo's, inventive breaks and virtuoso playing. It is wonderful to see how League can sometimes watch his colleagues in awe or look surprised with excitement when he hears something he likes. This goes for everyone, where they all watch each other and really enjoy each other's playing. It is this electrifying chemistry what lifts this band to a stellar level, of course combined with a lot of talent.

Since these guys are amazing musicians, no question about it. Every single one of them excels on his instrument. Out of this world keyboard and synthesizer solo's, finger licking guitar licks, splashing percussion, mind blowing drumming, sparkling horns and incredible bass grooves. Zach Brock' violin will knock you off your socks and sometimes you can't tell it apart from an electric guitar. Percussionists of the Metropole Orkest join the group on a track from the collaborative album Sylva which won them a Grammy.

The crowd loves it tonight and goes nuts when the band is going wild, but will stay very quiet in the lush slower pieces. This is how a band and crowd find each other and feed on each other's energy until electricity is in the air. This band is simply one of the best and most exciting groups in the jazz world today. Judging from the many young people in here tonight, they are also making sure jazz music is appealing to a younger generation as well.



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On Stage: Jazz in Duketown

The beautiful city of 's-Hertogenbosch hosts a free jazz festival annually with a great variety of artists including some big names. Since we have friends living there it was about high time to visit it. This year the line-up included some of my favourite musicians Joshua Redman, Benjamin Herman and Han Bennink, so we definitely couldn't skip this year's edition.

Jazz in Duketown 's-Hertogenbosch June 4+5

We are already very lucky with this line-up but to make things even better the sun also joined us. The festival takes place on several stages around the city centre. We head down to one of the smaller stages and warm up with a cold beer and some bebop jazz by Bop This, which is quite a good way to start the day. After that we slowly make our way to the market square for the first highlight of the day.

The Quartet NL
The market square has a big stage and no one less than sax player Benjamin Herman, drummer Han Bennink, pianist Peter Beets and bassist Ernst Glerum, simply called The Quartet NL, are taking the stage. I've seen this band play before although today bassist Ernst Glerum fills in for Ruud Jacobs, so I kind of know what to expect. They are playing compositions by famous pianist and composer Misha Mengelberg, who sadly died only a few months ago. You can leave it up to this group to do him justice and honour him in the way he deserves.

Herman's sax sound only seems to grow every time I see him. With his energy and enthusiasm it is always a delight watching him. The ever cheerful Peter Beets adds more energy and the legendary and colourful Han Bennink spices things up. Glerum is watching things approvingly while plucking his bass and making sure the other lads don't lose each other. Bennink turned 75 earlier this year but still looks like a naughty school boy who is always looking for trouble. He comes to the front of the stage a few times to play on the floor like we've seen him do many times. He's moved to tears when a fan brings him a violin as a present.

All of the musicians get plenty of room to play some fine solos and we get treated to top notch jazz music here. It's sparkling, exciting and we can only watch in awe. This quartet will go on tour after summer so be sure to catch them when you can. I know I will!

Sons of Kemet
This band has a few The Comet Is Coming members in it, who are playing later on. Now they are playing with two drummers, a sax and a tuba. It's quite a spectacular combination although the formula is identical for every song. The tuba and drummers lay down a groove where Shabaka Hutchings is playing his solos on top of. I liked it in the beginning but they need a bit more variation to keep it interesting all the way through.

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Kris Berry
Today is Kris Berry's birthday and she's celebrating it over here on the biggest stage of the festival. Her voice is nice and very suitable for the soulful pop songs. Her back-up band is doing a fine job but are also quite unnoted. It is alright for a Sunday night while the sun is setting, but it is all very safe and not really exciting.

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We pass by a small stage where things are a lot more exciting and a latin band called La Descarga Cinco are stirring things up. With a lot of heart the combo is playing a wide variety of latin tunes, inspired by the likes of New Cool Collective. Quite a nice intermezzo for the evening if you ask me.

Room Eleven
Back at the biggest stage, Room Eleven have already started playing. The band around Dutch singer Janne Schra was quite successful a few years ago and is doing a reunion tour at the moment. Today is the last show of that tour and the band will seize to exist again. Schra has a wonderful voice, something I already knew of course, and with her charming appearance can wrap any crowd around her finger. The rest of the band are all very skilled musicians, that can play the light jazzy pop songs seemingly with great ease. During solo's or instrumental parts Schra is watching them with a smile on her face. I guess it means it's a good end for the band, at least one that ends in style.



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The Comet Is Coming
Shabaka Hutchings has caught his breath and is now playing with The Comet Is Coming, a band that is gradually making a name. Their music is very original, a mix of jazz and electronic music. Some people are calling it a jazz version of techno, which works for me except is cutting them a bit short. Since they also incorporate psychedelic elements and are taking you to a place where comets actually are flying. I like their danceable sound a lot with the groovy music and the spacey electronics. The stars at the back of the stage are blending with the stars of the nightly sky which makes it a perfect setting for this exciting band.

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Cubanismo
Despite the cooling night, things are about to heat up at the market square with Cubanismo. It's not hard to guess what kind of music this huge band is playing. It's all about Cuba of course and we get treated to a swinging Cuban style party. It's quite remarkable how disciplined the musicians are playing so things don't end up in a mess. Even without a sound check things sound great and the lovely Cuban music easily finds its way to the hips of the people watching. On stage the musicians are breaking a sweat and are showing their salsa moves. I wish the same could go for me, but my stiff moves won't make much of an impression. For a moment though I am back in Cuba where I spent two holidays in the past.



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Vuma Levin Quintet
The last day of the festival is a short one so we head back to the city centre to see some of the last performances. Vuma Levin's name is buzzing around the jazz scene as one of the upcoming young artists. The guitarist is playing with his own quintet. Mostly with his eyes closed he's treating us to some of his own wonderful compositions. These are very creative, complex and full of exciting and inventive musical pieces.

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Joshua Redman Trio
It's been quite a long time since I heard and saw Joshua Redman for the first time. He simply blew me away and I think he is one of the most exciting jazz musicians of the moment. On this sunny afternoon it is wonderful seeing him again with this amazing trio that also consists of bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. Once again he blows me away with his incredible sound and dazzling solo's. He's lacing up the notes so easily and makes them flow together. He can go around the whole spectrum seemingly without an effort and plays high and low notes back to back. Rogers and Hutchinson are an incredible rhythm section that give the songs exactly what they need.

The performance is full of musical highs. It simply can't get much better than this. Jazz standards and Redman's own compositions all are simply of the highest level. Led Zeppelin's 'The Ocean' gets an almost unrecognizable arrangement with out of this world drumming by Hutchinson that would make John Bonham proud. With this incredible performance we leave the festival on a high.



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With so many wonderful and exciting performances this festival is a true gem. It's easy to navigate between the stages and even with this lovely weather it is not over crowded. I will definitely be back next year.

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On Stage: Hallo Venray 30th Anniversary @ Paradiso

It feels a bit weird typing posts like this about Dutch bands in English, since hardly anyone outside our country will know about them. I guess even within our country many people never heard of Hallo Venray, since in their 30 year existence they never really became big. But they are an important chapter in the Dutch musical history, one definitely worth celebrating.

30 years Hallo Venray at Paradiso Amsterdam, May 31 2017

The band thought it would be nice to celebrate it in Paradiso and more and more bands wanted to join and offered to play as a support act. In the end the support show is a cheerful parade of Dutch bands playing two songs, one Hallo Venray song and one of their own. Bands like Canshaker Pi, zZz, St. Tropez, Apneu and Floris Bates climb the stage. St. Tropez is joined by Common Linnets' guitarist and overall musical master mind JB Meijers. During change overs a screen keeps playing the song 'Hot Pants' of their Pinkpop performance 25 years ago, showing front man Henk Koorn on a pogo stick and stripping down his yellow suit to just net stockings and hot pants. A trip down memory lane for most of us in here tonight and hilarious to see of course.

For the occasion almost all musicians are wearing the special anniversary shirts that simply read "Hallo Venray since 1987". It is typical for this no-nonsense band that always went there own way and don't care about hypes, trends or an easy scored hit. Tonight the group plays the first half of their own show in the original four piece line-up. It's nice to hear the songs of the beginning back again. Of course they still play some of them during gigs now too, but tonight we can enjoy a complete set of their music from that early period. Dutch saxophone icon Hans Dulfer joins them on 'Las Vegas' like he did on the original recording and it's great to hear their big hit 'Slow Change' played by the original members.

When the current line-up takes over, it means drummer Henk Jonkers replaces Dim Veldhuizen, guitarist Toon Moerland leaves the stage and the band continues as a trio. This time we get treated to newer songs including some of their latest record Where Is The Funky Party?. It is clear how much this band has grown and changed in 30 years and still keeps getting better. The band is very tight, their songs are more to the point, have more dynamics and more impact.

It has always been a band that requires a long attention span of their audience. They don't make music that will make a venue explode but you have to allow it to get under your skin. This is why they never broke through to a large audience. But when you let their music get to you, you will notice how rich it is as they prove tonight. For their final song Henk Koorn takes off his t-shirt to relive his days in stockings and invites people onto the stage. It doesn't turn into a huge stage invasion but it does end the night cheerfully. Where is the funky party? Well, it's here of course.

I think every Dutch band that makes their 30th anniversary should be treated to a celebration like this, especially unique gems like Hallo Venray. Let's celebrate their hard work to keep going this long and their musical legacy. I hope we will be able to celebrate many Hallo Venray anniversaries in the future and look forward to all the new music they will be making.

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