Durium

Dear Steve, The 2CD is a release by the Muziekinstrumentenmuseum (MIM) - Hofberg 2 - B-1000 Brussels (Belgium). It has a website ( http://www.mim.fgov.be/home_nl.htm ) but I can't find an email address. Good luck ! Durium

This weekend I might meet one of the compilers of the box - I could ask him where in Germany and how the box is to be obtained !! Durium

It's a very well designed and informative 2CD album!! Jazz in Little Belgium - Robert Pernet collection Durium

LE BOEUF SUR LE TOIT The last part of the Jean Robert triptych. Jean Robert: Le Boeuf sur le Toit Durium

FATS WALLER Fats Waller Memorial No. 2 A five LP set ( RCA) Keep swinging Durium

JORIS ROELOFS QUARTET The Joris Roelofs Quartet, featuring Joris Roelofs as leader, on clarinet and alto saxophone, Aaron Goldberg at the piano, Reginald Veal on bass and Gregory Hutchinson on drums, opened the new jazz concert season of the Porgy en Bess jazz club in Terneuzen (in the south-west part of The Netherlands). Bass players, like piano players and most drummers, don’t bring their own instruments. Ron Carter told in an interview some years ago how he managed this Bass de Jour. The Porgy en Bess Jazz club starts the jazz concert season with its own double bass and during this concert the audience could learn how it sounds in the hands of one of the leading bass players in contemporary jazz, Reginald Veal. Reginald Veal brings new Porgy en Bess bass in use Durium

CGD This is another photo from the Jean Robert archive. What band is this? It is remarkable that this band contained both a double bass and a sousaphone. The third man on the left is Jean Robert on the bass saxophone. It probably was located somewhere in Belgium in the 1930s ....... Some more info and a suggestion at Jean Robert - The European Hawkins Durium

Who can identify this man? Freddy Johnson or not? ... that's the question! ( photo courtesy Jean Robert archive) This photo is from the Jean Robert’s scrap book and it would great if we could identify the man on this picture. I had to rack my brains over the first photo. The written words on the photo read something like: To my best pal from Taylor J…. or Johnson – As I don’t have the original photo, I’m not sure about it. The man on the photo seems to have eyes, cheeks and eyebrows like ( a ripe aged) Freddy Johnson, who passed away in New York City March 1961. But, maybe I’m wrong all together: the wish is father to the thoughts. Any help welcome. Jean Robert - The European Hawkins Keep swinging Durium

Jean Robert - The European Hawkins At the end of a three month gig, fall 1938, the Freddy Johnson Trio made room in the Negro Palace in Amsterdam for the Coleman Hawkins Trio featuring Freddy Johnson at the piano and Maurice Van Kleef, a Dutch musician, at the drums. Jean Robert played during this period as a substitute for Coleman Hawkins. When “Bean had to perform in Paris or elsewhere, where he could make good money , Robert took his place and became known as a great soloist; Coleman Hawkins labelled him once, as one of the best tenor saxophone improvisator in Europe. Jean Robert - The European Hawkins Keep swinging Durium

JEAN ROBERT One of the most important saxophone players of Belgium must have been Jean Robert. Although he played in numerous bands and recording sessions and with a more then 40 years career in music, he seems now complete forgotten by the younger generation. What a shame! Thanks to his grandchildren I can share with you some photos from Jean Robert’s own personal archive. Some people on the photo’s were easily to identify; others not – that’s why we ask for your help identifying the musicians on the pictures. Jean Robert: The start of his musical career Durium

I met him and his wife Ellen four years ago in Copenhagen - real nice persons, full of great stories from his 70 years career (!) in music with all the great names: Fats Waller, Benny Goodman, Oscar Alemán ( this Argentine musician and friend of Svend was the reason of our meeting), Josephine Baker and Duke Ellington, to name some. And it is amazing to hear him play his instrument at this age - incredible - a real entertainer! Still Going Svend Svend Asmussen: Makin' Whoopee ... and Music Keep swinging Durium

HOWARD RUMSEY's LIGHTHOUSE ALL-STARS Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All-Stars Vol. 5 In The Solo Spotlight ( Contemporary C2515 ). The record contained six tracks, all with typical titles: Howard, Claude, Bud, Coop, S & B and Stan; a great challenge to find out what the meaning is for these rather weird titles. Well, I guess, most of you will understand how these titles were born, if you learn that the musicians of this all-star group were: Howard Rumsey, leader and bass player, Bud Shank, alto saxophone; Bob Cooper tenor saxophone; Stan Levey drums; Claude Williamson piano; Stu Williamson trumpet and Bob Enevoldsen valve trombone. Mind that the subtitle is In The Solo Spotlight, so I hope the penny has dropped. Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-stars Durium

SVEND ASMUSSEN When I play, I'm like a child with wondrous toys, it's like ice-skating or skiing when I was ten. This experience of freedom and joy matches perfectly the music recorded on the cd, also captured in the chosen title "Makin' Whoopee ... And Music", I think. (Jørgen Larsen) Ellen Bick Asmussen emphasizes the meaning of "whoopee" as "expressing exuberant joy, rejoicing noisily" especially for the fact that Svend Asmussen is still going strong. And she adds: Perhaps we should create a new idiomatic expression: "Still going Svend!". Svend Asmussen: Makin' Whoopee ... and Music Keep swinging Durium

MAX WOISKI Max Woiski sr. was born in Domburg in Suriname, a small country north of Brazil, February 1911. Suriname was then a colony of The Netherlands. He came to Holland in 1936 and became a sought after musician playing popular music, labelled as Latin or Cuban music. In 1957 he played with his band at a Nescafé promo film, titled Nescafé Coffeeboatsong(sic), which was presented at the Film Festival of Cannes and the Filmdag in Amsterdam (1958). The Nescafé Coffeeboatsong (sic) was released by Phonopress, Heemstede ( The Netherlands) as a card board card, with the song impressed into the surface. On the card a colourful “tropical” photo of a band playing Latin music. Max Woiski - The Nescafé Coffeeboatsong Keep swinging Durium

HOWARD RUMSEY Howard Rumsey celebrated a few years ago his 90th birthday. Most of you will remember Howard Rumsey from the period that he was the leader of his Lighthouse All-Stars and the leading source of inspiration for the west coast jazz scene during the 1950s and 1960s. In A foggy night at the Hermosa Beach Lighthouse you can learn more about the story of the Lighthouse café . Keep swinging Durium

SWEET HOLLYWAIIANS SWEET HOLLYWAIIANS Ticklin' The Strings Tomotaka Matsui, Nobumasa Takada, Takashi Nakayama and Kohichi Tsutsumishita: all playing several string instruments. The Sweet Hollywaiians have probably the best feel for this 20's music of any string band working today. They manage the rare feat of sounding relaxed even when their playing is hot, are top notch musician with tasteful arrangements and a full, rich, warm sound. Plus, they have a nice gamut of tunes, from King Nawahi to Gionvanni Vicari to Bobby Leecan. See them live, if you can, for an unforgettable experience. If you can't buy their Cds. ( Terry Zwigoff, San Francisco) ( liner notes Ticklin' The Strings). Learn more about it ......Sweet Hollywaiians: Ticklin' the Strings Keep swinging Durium

JIMMY ROSENBERG Jimmy Rosenberg - De Vader, de Zoon en het Talent ( = The Father, The Son and the Talent) by Jeroen Berkvens - a very personal and emotional documentary about the rise and fall of a great jazz guitar player in the Django Reinhardt tradition: Jimmy Rosenberg. Jimmy Rosenberg - The Father, The Son and the Talent Keep swinging Durium

JIMMY ROSENBERG Jimmy Rosenberg - De Vader, de Zoon en het Talent ( = The Father, The Son and the Talent) by Jeroen Berkvens - a very personal and emotional documentary about the rise and fall of a great jazz guitar player in the Django Reinhardt tradition: Jimmy Rosenberg. Jimmy Rosenberg - The Father, The Son and the Talent Keep swinging Durium

YAMEKRAW - JAMES P. JOHNSON When James P. Johnson made his first recordings in May 1921 he was in his twenties and became known as a stride piano player, but in fact he started to play the piano in clubs long before since 1913. During the 1920s he developed into one of the best Harlem piano players, a model for numerous followers, but also started to compose more serious(?) works, like the music for the Broadway musical Runnin' Wild. He also started to compose large-scale orchestral works, like the 1927 Yamekraw, which was a piano rhapsody now complete forgotten. The story of this suite is described in a new book, Ellington Uptown, written by John Howland and published at few months ago by the University of Michigan Press in its series Jazz Perspectives. ( ISBN-13: 976-0-472-03344-4 ). The full ttitle of the book is: Ellington Uptown - Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson and the Birth of Concert Jazz – The Story of the African American contributions to the symphonic jazz vogue of the 1920s through the 1940s. Yamekraw - a rhapsody in black and white Keep swinging Durium

HANK JONES TRIO Hank Jones - Georg Mraz - Willie Jones III Hank Jones - a legend on the keys Keep swinging Durium

FRED HERSCH TRIO + 2 Fred Hersch introduced us during his five days tour in Europe, which brought him to Paris, Ghent, Amsterdam and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, to John Hebert on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. For the Ghent and Rotterdam concerts he had enlarged his trio with trumpet player Ralph Alessi and tenor player Tony Malaby up to his Fred Hersch Trio + 2, a group active for five years now. Fred Hersch Trio + 2 North Sea Jazz 2009 Keep swinging Durium

Sorry - can't play it !1 Keep swinging Durium

Dear Michael, I read your critics and I must confess that you're right. Except my appologizes. I've changed to information in my contribuiton and added the following rectification: Michael Weis pointed me to some inaccuracies in the first edition of this blog. I've deleted the wrong information and love to make my apologizes to him and the band. When I composed the contribution I had some doubts about the info, but I didn't check it properly. I should have done that. Michael Weiss wrote about the fact that I pointed the visitors of this blog to the diversity of styles presented at the festival: As you pointed out, there is great diversity among the groups presented by North Sea. But it does little justice to either the VJO or Cecil Taylor to characterize our respective music with the word "versus" in between. Not only are there are more commonalities than you give us credit for, but there is no competition involved. You're right - I deleted the word versus in the subtitle of the blog. North Sea Jazz: Festival of Extremes Durium

Festival of extremes: VANGUARD JAZZ ORCHESTRA versus CECIL TAYLOR On Friday the 10th of July: Two concert being worlds apart – the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and …………. the great master of free-jazz Cecil Taylor. One of the strengths of the festival is its various number of concerts – its various styles and trends – from swing up to free jazz; from soul and world music to fusion and house. All these different styles presented, suit all tastes. North Sea Jazz: Festival of extremes: Vanguard Jazz Orchestra versus Cecil Taylor Keep swinging Durium

NORTH SEA JAZZ FESTIVAL - 2009 Last weekend, the 10th up to the 12th of July 2009 the 34th edition of the North Sea Jazz Festival had been scheduled at the Ahoy in Rotterdam ( The Netherlands) – hundreds of concerts - hundreds of artists and ten-thousands of visitors from all parts of the world. Friday the 10th of July 2009, when I visited the festival, 18,000 visitors made it feel comfortable – on Saturday and Sunday with almost 25,000 visitors each night, the venue was jam-packed. For me it was the seventh or eighth time I visited the festival, so I'm a youngster - but during the festival I picked up somewhere, that a lot of regular visitors don't feel comfortable anymore and long for the The Hague days. North Sea Jazz - a critical note Keep swinging Durium