New Year’s Eve 2013 Benjamin Herman, Peter Beets, Ruud Jacobs and Han Bennink played together for the first time as The Quartet. Two different scenes and two different generations make this band a unique project. Han and Ruud are Dutch jazz icons. Both in their seventies and both with jaw dropping resumés. Han has been a key figure in the contemporary music scene for five decades now and travels the world as one of Hollands most respected and famous musicians ever. Ruud has worked with everybody in the music business ranging from Louis Armstrong to Cannonball Adderly to Hank Mobley. Besides being a legendary bass player Ruud became a record producer in the 1970’s and since then has produced an amazing amount of million selling albums.
Benjamin and Peter have known each other since they were teenagers but rarely shared the same stage. Both firmly rooted in traditon, Peter is a piano prodigy who can turn any tune inside out. Benjamin has an eclectic alto style blending a wide variety of influences ranging from old school swing to free jazz.
The gig on New Years Eve 2013 was a memorable night and resulted in a chain of bookings. Things really fell in to place when The Quartet performed a series of concerts in 2016 that featured the music of Dutch composer and pianist Misha Mengelberg.
Han and Benjamin are very familiar with Misha’s compositions. Han of course has worked with Misha most of his adult life and is the drummer in Misha’s internationally acclaimed Instant Composers Pool. Benjamin has been playing and recording Misha’s music since he was twenty. Together with the virtuoso keyboard explosions of Peter and the incredible musicality of Ruud’s bass playing this repertoire sounds totally fresh and original. It is this mix of left field and right field jazz performed by such strong players that makes this group so special.
Han Bennink
Han Bennink was born on April 17th, 1942 in Zaandam. He is a visual artist as well as drummer par excellence. Often the two talents converge, when he performs at his exhibitions.
His first percussion instrument was a kitchen chair , and as of late he has returned to the simple instruments and often performs only on a snare drum.
His curiosity with regard to sound has led him to engage in successively more exciting explorations with wood and wind instruments and collaborations with other musicians, expanding the jazz context in the direction of European improvised music. Today more than ever before, Bennink understands how to swing in the traditional way and to master the free jazz sound, as well as to generate collective gusto for playing with his musical partners. Following in the footsteps of his prime model Kenny Clark, as well as Sonny Rollins, Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon and the occasional drummer Johnny Griffin, he has claimed his place at the drums. Along with Misha Mengelberg, Willem Breuker and Peter Brötzmann he has played a vital role in the genesis of European free jazz and his Han Bennink Trio has produced surprising insights into the jazz experience and improvised music. The ICP -- Instant Composers Pool – Orchestra tours internationally which confirm and highlight Bennink's special role as an ambassador for European jazz.
As the Guardian put it “Everybody should, before they die, see Han Bennink”
Benjamin Herman
Benjamin Herman got his first saxophone at the age of twelve. At thirteen he was already playing on the professional club circuit. Within a few years he was appearing with different groups around the world and initiating projects of his own. His fame spread beyond jazz circles in the 1990s when he formed the groundbreaking ensemble New Cool Collective. Having made a name as soloist while still a teenager, Benjamin Herman has appeared on over a hundred records with all kinds of artists, from Candy Dulfer to Misha Mengelberg. Herman has also built a career in Holland and abroad as a composer. With New Cool Collective as well as with his smaller bands his gigs are inspired by dance floor jazz, surf and punk music, free jazz and traditional music from all over the world, attracting music fans of all genres as well as straight ahead jazz aficionados. At the same time he has explored in depth the repertoire of composers such a Byard, Monk and Mengelberg.
Today Benjamin Herman is one of the most original and productive jazz musicians in the Netherlands exploring influences beyond the confines of the jazz world. After signing to DOX Records in 2005 Benjamin Herman produced a series of cd’s and vinyl’s. He also won his third Edison for the album ‘Campert’ (featuring Dutch poet Remco Campert), He recorded and toured with Paul Weller, programmed several festivals, toured in Brazil, Argentina, Kenya, Russia, Britain, Canada, England, Ireland and Japan and worked on numerous projects in the Netherlands. In 2006 he received the prestigious VPRO/Boy Edgar Award and was voted ‘Best Dressed Dutchman of 2008′ by Esquire magazine.
Peter Beets
Peter Beets is one of the most recognized piano giants of our time. He is acclaimed and praised worldwide and his star keeps on rising, while his creativity keeps increasing. In variable musical activities, from the accompaniment of 'first lady of jazz' Rita Reys or guests of the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw to latin-jazz and his timeless arrangements of classical music, Beets' personality and signature are always unmistakably audible. Among the many awards he has received through the years are the Edison (Dutch Grammy, 2010), the Prix Martial Solal (1998) and the Pall Mall Export Swing Award (1988). In spite of his relatively young age, Beets made a substantial number of impressive recordings, most notably 7 CDs for the renowned Criss Cross label, recorded in New York.
Ernst Glerum
Ernst Glerum (1955) studied classical double-bass at the Sweelinck Conservatory of Amsterdam. During his studies he joined contemporary music ensembles (ASKO ensemble) as well as improvised music groups (Curtis Clark, Hans Dulfer, JC Tans, Theo Loevendie). With the Amsterdam String Trio and Instant Composers Pool he played many international stages. Frequently with Han Bennink he performed with such artists as Steve Lacy, Lee Konitz, Uri Caine, Teddy Edwards, Benny Maupin, Jimmy Knepper, Jamaladeen Tacuma, John Zorn, Bud Shank, Art Hodes, Don Byron and many others. He was recipient of the Boy Edgar Prize 2009.
As a composer/arranger he initiated projects like New Klookabilities (NOS Radio Jazz Festival), Universal Metropolitan Music, Omnibus, Continuo Continued (string-project with a.o. Mark Feldman) and recently Jazz Sampler (Ebony String Quartet & Michiel Borstlap). In 1997 his cd `Elbow Room`was released. In 2004 he founded his own recording label “Favorite”.
Besides the Instant Composers Pool [with Misha Mengelberg] and Amsterdam String Trio he performs in the Guus Janssen Trio, Michiel Scheen Quartet, Trio Continuo, Trio Bennink/ Glerum/Moore and Available Jelly. He doubles on piano in Glerum Omnibus with Clemens van der Feen and Owen Hart.
Ernst Glerum is double-bass teacher at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.
