AMSTEL JAZZ
by Bob Pomeroy
I’m counting the days till vacation!
When the temporary liberation of vacation finally arrives, I’m hopping on a jet and heading to Amsterdam! Now, I know what you might be thinking; the red light district, “Coffeeshops” with menus that include ganja, windmills, Rembrandt and Van Gogh. That’s all true, but there is more to the city on the Amstel than sex and drugs and art museums.
My first exposure to the fertile Dutch jazz scene came by way of the Ex, an anarchist post-punk band. On an album called Joggers and Smoggers, the Ex invited a host of jazz guys to play on the record and introduced me to people like Ab Baars. Then when their drummer Katrin took maternity leave, Han Bennink filled in for awhile. Han has played with just about everyone in the European free jazz universe. On my last visit to Holland, I saw Bennink playing with Eric Boeren at the Bimhuis (which is something of a Mecca for European free jazz). From there I checked out Kevin Whitehead’s tome, The New Dutch Swing, and learned just how rich the jazz scene in Holland really is.
To get psyched for my impending trip, I’ve been listening to a lot of Dutch jazz. I’ve been pulling out my ICP Orchestra, Misha Mengelberg, and Willem Breuker CD’s (but nothing by Candy Duffler). My Dutch jazz binge has been aided by some new releases from some old stalwarts and an up-and-comer to the scene.
Han Bennink is a figure of nearly mythic proportions. He is a wild man and clown with a drum kit. He’s as famous for playing against his bantams as he is for his amazing rhythmic skills. He’s also perfected the trick of blowing smoke rings by building a fire in his high hat cymbal. Atavistic’s Unheard Music series recently reissued Nerve Beat, a recording of a Han Bennink solo concert from 1973. This recording is currently the only documentation of a solo performance from a period when Han would bring an astounding amount of gear with him to a concert. Not only would he play a standard drum kit, but he’d also bring along tablas, a trombone, saxes and a primitive drum machine and anything else that he thought would make an interesting noise.
Having seen Han Bennink play a few times, I am sure this would have been much more enjoyable to see live. The bare audio record only gives us the sounds Han made. Missing are the man’s stage antics and the visual element of turning junk into musical instruments. Even the raw audio with its clattering metallic sounds, fractured rhythms and occasional whoops is pretty entertaining.
The next disc up for consideration is Leo Cuypers’ Heavy Days Are Here Again (<a href=http://www.atavistic.com/>www.atavistic.com</a>). The disc was originally released in 1981 by BVHAASAT. The title is a dig at Ronald Reagan’s stump song, “Happy Days are Here Again.” Cuypers figured that people were really letting themselves in for some heavy times.
The players on Heavy Days are some of Holland’s finest. They had all played together in other groups and had some “history” with each other. If tension in a group spurs creativity, this group had inspiration to spare. The Heavy Days band was the first time Cuypers had played with Willem Breuker since he’d left the saxophonist’s Kollektief. Han Bennink and Breuker hadn’t played together since they’d had creative differences years earlier. Bassist Arjen Gorter was the peace maker in the group.
The tunes on Heavy Days cut a wide stylistic swath. Cuypers is capable of swinging like Ellington or rampaging like Cecil Taylor, and sometimes seamlessly manages to do both in the same tune. Breuker’s playing tends toward an aggressive Albert Ayler attack. He easily slips into a warmer, more romantic tone on the appropriately titled “Blue Tango.” What I really like about this set is the way this group is able to blend outside elements into a structured approach. Heavy Days makes a good case for respecting traditions while stomping out borders. In the notes that accompany this reissue, Leo Cuypers laments that this studio recording doesn’t come anywhere near capturing the power of this group playing live. Those must have been some killer shows.
Leo Cuypers came up with the name for Willem Breuker’s label BVHAAST (Hurry Inc.) when they were composing theater music together in the early 70’s. Hunger!, the most recent release from the Willem Breuker Kollektief & Loes Luca is nothing if not dramatic. Breuker’s compositions and arrangements are playful and at times melodramatic. Listening to these tracks reminds me of Carla Bley’s large ensemble work. The biggest difference between Breuker and Bley is that the Kollektief draws from a much larger pallet. While Bley generally stays within the recognizable realm of jazz, Breuker is as likely to pull in theater music, pop tunes and whatever else fits the bill.
Hunger! (<a href=http://www.xs4all.nl/>www.xs4all.nl/wbk/</a>) is a celebration of the Kollektief’s 25th year on the road. On this disc Breuker is fascinated by the sounds of the early decades of the 20th Century. “Hunger” is a set of themes inspired by the deprivations people suffered during and immediately after the Nazi occupation of Holland. The songs featuring Loes Luca bear the unmistakable influence of Kurt Weill. Overall, the whole is less than the sum of it’s parts. Hunger leaves me feeling like I’m looking through someone’s poorly organized scrap book. The pieces are good at what they’re trying to achieve, but they don’t fit together in a coherent way. A period setting for “Yes We Have No Bananas” feels like it’s just dropped in the middle of the record. It seems like there are two records jammed together on Hunger and that doesn’t serve the music very well at all.
Bringing this whole Dutch excursion back home is tenor saxophonist Luc Houtkamp. Houtkamp studied composition and electronic music in Den Haag. As a saxophone player, Luc is mainly self-taught. Like many other European jazz musicians, Houtkamp draws on whatever musical traditions work for the music. He’s an accomplished composer and improviser and often uses settings that are somewhere in between.
Chicago has become a home away from home for a lot of European jazz players. Like Peter Brotzmann and Matts Gustafsson, Houtkamp has put together a group with Windy City players. On his new disc Luc Houtkamp in Chicago (Entropy Stereo), Luc is joined by Vandermark 5 bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Michael Zerang. The tunes on this disc are based on Houtkamp’s impressions of Chicago. The hectic rhythms of the city are mirrored in tunes like “State Street Blues” and “Pershing Ballroom Jump.” While neighborhoods like Wicker Park are bustling 24 hours a day, there are places in town for quiet reflection. “Richard Davis at DuSable” shows us that side of town. This is a worthwhile disc that may be a bit hard to find. If you can’t find it, try e-mailing the label at entropystereo@yahoo.com
I’m sure I’ll have something exciting to tell you about when I get back from Holland. Until then, I’ll keep playing my Amstel Jazz and reading my Lonely Planet guides. If you have any suggestions, drop me an e-mail.
