Route 3
Groene Route

The 42-strong North Pole Orchestra will play the opening concert Who s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue on the stage of Zummerbühne in Maarhuizen. With Oene van Geel, Steven Kamperman, Maripepa Contreras, Suzan Veneman and Farid Sheek. CLARINETtist Steven Kamperman wrote pieces during his residency at the Van Doesburghuis in Paris, which he specially adapted for the ZomerJazzFietsTour for the 42-piece North Pole Orchestra. In addition, multicolored pieces by Oene van Geel, oboist Maripepa Contreras, TRUMPETtiste Suzan Veneman and Daf Drum player Farid Sheek.

he Zummerbühne Quartet is an instant formation in the truest sense of the word. The idea for this concert came up during the first conversations with Zummerbühne. And we have found the ideal location for the discovery of these four musicians: the church of Obergum. Maripepa Contreras is one of the best jazz oboists in the world, Suzan Venemanenchanted by her soulful and energetic playing, Sergej Bolotny can express his virtuosity in impro and Farid Sheek completes the exceptional sound palette of this quartet with his classical Iranian Daf Drum. After the opening concert with the North Pole Orchestra at Maarhuizen, the musicians race to Obergum to play immediately upon arrival: world-class instant impro.

photo: Petra Beckers

In 2009 Rudi Mahall was on the Niehove stage with pianist Aki Takase’s Aki & The Good Boys. Fourteen years later this hard-as-nails bass clarinetist shares the stage again with a pianist’s project. This time Uwe Oberg concerns himself with the music of Steve Lacy. As a jazz improviser, Uwe Oberg can be regularly seen with the likes of Gebhard Ullmann, Silke Eberhard, Joe Fonda and Gerry Hemingway. For the Lacy Pool project, the works of Steve Lacy are centre stage. The American from Paris is best known for his interpretations of Thelonious Monk’s music, but he has written a great many original compositions, too. His extensive oeuvre consists of no less than 130 albums. That’s enough to choose from, for the Lacy Pool.

In 2010 the Swiss saxophonist Omri Ziegele visited the ZJFT in the company of pianist Irène Schweizer. For their Intakt CD Where’s Africa they were inspired by South-African music. They have planned a new Intakt album for the summer. The Zürich born and self-taught musician has a saxophone sound that is reminiscent of Ornette Coleman or Eric Dolphy. At the beginning of a short tour, Omri Ziegele will come to Garnwerd for a unique concert in the Netherlands, with Han Bennink on drums and Christian Weber on double bass. The Tomorrow Trio can bring things to the boiling point, but has also mastered the art of letting off steam.

The British pianist Veryan Weston used to be a ZJFT regular. His performances with vocal artist Phil Minton, and his bands with Luc Ex (Roof, 4Walls) are legendary. But this was all long ago. High time to witness Veryan Weston’s current duo with Trevor Watts at work. The 84 year old saxophonist Trevor Watts was one of the earliest active members of the English improv scene with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble (John Stevens) and the London Jazz Composers’ Orchestra (Barry Guy). In the late 1960s he started his own band Amalgam. Later he delved into African music with his Moiré Music. The Trevor Watts/Veryan Weston duo has been going for 20 years now. Their musical dialogues may be witnessed at the Feerwerd church.

The Nijmegen saxophonist and bandleader Bo van de Graaf comes up with new ideas all the time, but his regular orchestra I Compani has been a mainstay since 1985. He has done everything, from instrumental versions of songs from the Dutch TV series Ja Zuster Nee Zuster to spoken word with Dutch poet Simon Vinkenoog or Gato Barbieri’s film score for Last Tango in Paris. He will now present Het Artis Orkest (named after the Amsterdam zoo), offering a combination of poetry and animal stories, recited by vocalist Monique De Adelhart Toorop, accompanied by four musicians playing compositions by pianist Guus Janssen and Bo van de Graaf. Their pieces bear names like Muizenblues (Mice Blues) and Pigs in Love. And of course Misha Mengelberg’s De Sprong o Romantiek der Hazen (Romantic Jump of Hares) is on the repertoire, too.

THE SURPRISE ACT OF ZJFT 2023 WILL BE: GUY SALAMON GROUP
The Israeli Guy Salamon from Amsterdam has put together a spectacular group especially for the ZJFT, consisting of a new crop of young jazz musicians. The percussionist learned to clap the whip at jazz schools in Tel Aviv and New York. His inventive compositions show a colorful range of influences. From Kurt Weil via klezmer to South American music and back via jazz. Weblog Jazzenzo is about his recent CD Creatures! creatures! to the following conclusion: “a listening party: free and extremely lively sounding music that makes you happy! “.

Garnwerd will once again feature a ZJFT tent as a central meeting point, with scrumptious food stalls. The tent also functions as a music stage during the daytime and for the final party in the evening. This year, it features Naked Ears, the jazz funk band of bassist Jasper de Beer, best known for his work with the Amsterdam Klezmer band. Co-led by guitarist/producer Gil Lopez, this eight piece outfit presents an exciting mix of funk grooves, P-funk, ska and Afro beat. The American singer/trombonist Joseph Bowie (Defunkt) will be featured as a special guest.

And extra: DJ Swoolish in the tent.