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REINIER BAAS, RUBEN SAMAMA & LARS DIETRICH FINALISTS DELOITTE JAZZ AWARD 2010

The final round takes place on Wednesday 14 April at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam.

Check the Deloitte Jazz Award website for more info!

TOOTS THIELEMANS RECIPIENT CONCERTGEBOUW JAZZ AWARD 2009

Toots received the prestigious Concertgebouw Jazz Award during his concert in the main hall of the famous Amsterdam venue on Tuesday 11 August. The Concertgebouw Jazz Award is a Lifetime Achievement Award for Internationally renowned jazzmusicians. It was presented to Toots by Simon Reinink, Director of the Concertgebouw. Toots is the first European musician to receive the Award. Previous recipients are George Coleman, Elvin Jones, Benny Golson, Chick Corea, Eddie Palmieri, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.

Photo's by Ton Lentz, courtesy of Robeco

ROY HARGROVE BIG BAND & RH FACTOR EUROPEAN SUMMER TOUR

Roy will tour both his spectacular big band also featuring Roberta Gambarini and his nu-soul band the RH Factor this summer. Check the concerts page on this site for dates and get your tickets now!

Photo Eddy Westveer

Who's in the Roy Hargrove Big Band:

Roy Hargrove– Trumpet & flugelhorn

Roberta Gambarini- Vocals

RHYTHM SECTION:

Jonathan Batiste - Piano

Ameen Saleem- Bass

Montez Coleman  - Drums

Saul Rubin- Guitar

TRUMPETS:

Darren Barrett

Frank Greene

Tanya Darby

Greg Gisbert

TROMBONES

Jason Jackson

Michael Dease

Vincent Chandler

Max Seigel (basstrombone)

REEDS

Justin Robinson - Alto sax & flute

Bruce Williams - Alto sax & flute

Keith Loftis - Tenor sax & flute

Norbert Stachel–Tenor sax & flute

Jason Marshall–Baritone sax

Who's in Roy Hargrove's RH Factor:

Roy Hargrove - trumpet, vocals

Renée Neufville - vocals, keys

Bruce Williams - alto sax

Jason Marshall - baritone sax

Jonathan Batiste - keys, hammond B3

Todd Parsnow - guitar

Lenny Stallworth - bass

Jason 'JT' Thomas - drums

In France the one and only MC SOLAAR will be featured as a special guest

TOOTS THIELEMANS QUARTET @ NORTH SEA JAZZ

Toots will perform in the Amazon Hall @ North Sea Jazz on Friday 10th July at 10 PM, after the performance of fellow-NEA Jazzmaster George Benson. He will be joined on stage by Kenny Werner on piano, Scott Colley on bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums. So - you don't want to miss this concert!

ROBERTA GAMBARINI QUARTET - 'SO IN LOVE' TOUR - MARCH/APRIL

Grammy-nominated vocalist Roberta Gambarini will be touring Europe late March-early April, singing repertoire from her new cd 'So in Love'. The album will be released worldwide by Universal later this spring. Roberta will bring a great band, featuring Cyrus Chestnut on piano, Neil Swainson on bass and Willie Jones III on drums. Make sure to get your tickets to the shows in the first leg of the tour in Bussum, Amsterdam, Paris, Brugge and Terneuzen. The concert in Porgy & Bess in Terneuzen is a part of the Summertime Mini Festival and will feature a special surprise guest.

Check the Concerts page on this site for information and ticket reservations!

Photo: Angela O'Neill

KAJA DRAKSLER, CLEMENS VAN DER FEEN & MORRIS KLIPHUIS IN DELOITTE JAZZ AWARD 2009 FINALS

Pianist Kaja Draksler, bassist Clemens van der Feen and hornist Morris Kliphuis have been selected to compete in the final round of the Deloitte Jazz Award 2009, to be held in the Bimhuis in Amsterdam on Wednesday 8th April. More info (Dutch only) on the Deloitte Jazz Award Website

GIOVANNI HIDALGO & HORACIO “EL NEGRO” HERNANDEZ

'TRAVELING THROUGH TIME' - FIRST TIME IN DUO IN EUROPE

Two of the music world’s most innovative Latin percussionists will be performing music from their debut CD TRAVELING THROUGH TIME. Prepare to experience some of the most incredible footage of drums and congas in history.
The educational segments include the 2 masters explaining how each duet was conceived, how they approach their individual parts, and their approach to improvising within each piece, giving you a never-before-seen insight into both their technical and musical applications. The program also features two incredible solo improvisations by each player plus an extraordinary presentation by Giovanni of his conga technique, and how the rudiments incorporate themselves into his playing. Giovanni and Negro present a world of music in a casual, friendly, and informative setting that will leave you with a wealth of valuable practice applications and inspiration.

Live at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam for an exclusive performance in Holland on Monday 23 February!

Click here to get your tickets now!

NOMINATIONS DELOITTE JAZZ AWARD 2009

The jury has announced the six nominees that are invited for the preliminary round of the Deloitte Jazz Award 2009, to be held in Comedyclub/Jazzcafé Toomler in Amsterdam on Tuesday 3 March. The lucky few are: Marike van Dijk (alto sax), Kaja Draksler (piano), Clemens van der Feen (bass), Morris Kliphuis (French Horn), Marzio Scholten (gitaar) and Rob van de Wouw (trumpet). During the preliminary round three finalists will be selected who will play the finals at the Bimhuis on 8 April. The winner receives a grant of euro 20.000 and is invited to perform in a number of prestigeous venues such as the Concertgebouw. The Deloitte Jazz Award, powered by Deloitte , is Holland's biggest encouragement award for jazzmusicians. More info on the website

ROY HARGROVE QUINTET w. BBC Big Band @ LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL

Roy will play his music with the quintet and the BBC Big Band on 19 November. Check out the London Jazz Festival Website for ticket information. Check out the new release Earfood on his website.

The quintet just gave a spectacular performance at the Jazz at Midnight series in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. As you can see the place was packed and they brought the house down!

TOOTS THIELEMANS BECOMES 2009 NEA JAZZ MASTER

The highest American distinction - National Endowment for the Arts announces the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters

Photo's Jos L. Knaepen

Washington, DC – The National Endowment for the Arts announced the recipients of the 2009 NEA Jazz Masters Award—the nation’s highest honor in this distinctly American music. The six recipients will each receive a $25,000 grant award, and were publicly honored in an awards ceremony and concert at the Lincoln Center NY on Friday, October 17, 2008, where the Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis dedicated the program to the honorees’ works .

The six 2009 NEA Jazz Masters are: George Benson (vocalist and solo instrumentalist, guitar), Jimmy Cobb (rhythm instrumentalist, drums), Lee Konitz (solo instrumentalist, saxophone), Toots Thielemans (solo instrumentalist, harmonica and guitar), and Snooky Young (solo instrumentalist, trumpet). Recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder received the 2009 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy.

More information is available at :
http://www.nea.gov/national/jazz/press/JazzMasters2009.html

CURAÇAO IN CONCERT 29 JUNE @ CONCERTGEBOUW in AMSTERDAM!

Presenting the new release Dulsura di Korsou

On Sunday 29th June Randal Corsen will host a unique concert in the main hall of the famous Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Randal & Friends will celebrate the music from Curaçao in general and the release of our new cd 'DULSURA DI KORSOU' in particular. The cd will be available in stores as from 30th June.

Click here for Dutch pressrelease

Famous singer-songwriter Oswin 'Chin' Behilia will fly in from Curacao to perform this evening. Other special guests are vocalists Izaline Calister and Francien van Tuinen. The full line-up for the Concertgebouw concert will be:

Randal Corsen (piano), Ulrich de Jesus (guitar, kwarta), Eric Calmes (bass), Enrique Firpi (drums), Eric Brigitha (perc), Cyrill 'Yeye' Bernadina, Shirma Rouse, Arlette Koeijers (voc), special guestvocalists Oswin ‘Chin’ Behilia, Izaline Calister & Francien van Tuinen. Don't miss this unique concert and get your tickets now!! Click here for tickets

SEAN JONES QUINTET's FIRST DUTCH PERFORMANCE

Phenomenal trumpeter and Mack Avenue recording artist Sean Jones brings his quintet to The Hague Jazz on Friday 23rd of May; you do not want to miss this Dutch debut in Louis' Basement at 23.30 hrs. The quintet features Brian Hogans on alto, Orrin Evans on piano, Luques Curtis on bass and Obed Calvaire on drums. For more info on Sean check out his website. When you visit the festival also check out Mona Lisa Overdrive (Fri 23) and Toots Thielemans (Sat 24).

MONA LISA OVERDRIVE

Stefan Lievestro & Jesse van Ruller's new band

The new, cutting-edge band Mona Lisa Overdrive will play around Holland this season. Check the Concerts page on this site for information. Check out their My Space page to hear some music samples. MLOD features Stefan Lievestro on bass, Jesse van Ruller on electric guitar, Arno Krijger on Hammond organ and Hans van Oosterhout on drums. They released their debut CD Picknick at Bikini, featuring all new Stefan Lievestro compositions. For those who only know Jesse from his latest release In Pursuit: you're in for quite a surprise.. Check the Artists page for more band info.

Photo credits: Jos L. Knaepen (Toots Thielemans), Govert Driessen (Roy Hargrove Concertgebouw, MLOD), Jacky le Page (Bert Joris Magone cover) Suzanne Dorrestein (Randal Corsen Armonia cover), Roel van Tour (In Pursuit CD cover)