Saturday, October 01, 2005
Jazz Banjo Rally Netherlands
On Sunday the 6th of November there will be a new edition of the annual Dutch Jazz Banjo Rally. Once again it's an event not to be missed by both banjo players and people who like good old jazz music in general.
Like last year's Rally, which was a huge success, the main focus will be on sharing the love for jazz banjo music. That means there will be plenty of time to jam together, which has proven to be the part people enjoy the most. We'll kick off with a session, have another jam halfway through the programme and finish with yet again as many banjo's on stage as there are banjo players in the room.
Sharing the love for jazz banjo of course also means sitting back to enjoy performances by some of the best players around. Dutch plectrum banjo maestro Tom Stuip will show his skills this year together with Jan van Bijnen, who plays in Chicago tuning. The Two Tenors were the big surprise of last year's Rally and this year they'll be back! Their show was greatly appreciated by everyone present, so it's only natural we've asked them to show us some more of their tricks and licks.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, last year Dutch plectrum banjoist Johan Lammers couldn't make it to the Rally in 2004, but this year he'll be back with a vengeance, sharing the stage with German banjo master Achim Hippenstiel. Very promising indeed!
The latest addition to the program comes from Ghent in Belgium, where I (Remco HJ) moved late June. In the Lazy River Jazz Club I met Leo de Potter, who surely knows his way around on the fretboard of his tenor banjo. He will do some solo stuff as well as share the stage with me, playing plectrum banjo and that tiny, yet ever so loud, darned little banjo-uke.
If there's any other jazz banjo player who wants to perform on stage at this year's Banjo Rally, from the Netherlands or abroad, please contact us at info@jazzbanjo.nl or give us a call at +32 9 32 444 52.
The Banjo Rally will take place in Jazzclub Langs de Lijn in Bussum, Herenstraat 43a. That's the same location as last year. Some visitors had complained about lack of parking space, but now that we've moved the Rally to a Sunday there will be no problem parking your car nearby. In fact, just across the street there is a parking lot that's practically empty on Sundays - and free as well!
Hope to see you all on the 6th of November!
www.jazzbanjo.nl
