The experimental jazz scene in the Netherlands has thrived since the 1960s and Misha Mengelberg’s role in its creation and evolution has been inestimable. In 1967, with Han Bennink and Willem Breuker, Mengelberg founded the Instant Composers Pool to foster Dutch creative music and culture. Saxophonist and composer Benjamin Herman, whose quartet featuring leading Dutch jazz musicians Anton Goudsmit, Ernst Glerum and Joost Patocka will be performing at Philadelphia Art Alliance on Wednesday, November 10, exemplifies the perpetuation of this rich tradition started by Mengelberg and the ICP.
Herman has performed with Mengelberg on several occasions and in 2008 released an album of Mengelberg’s compositions titled Hypochristmastreefuzz (More Mengelberg). Likethe ICP, Herman’s vast body of work obeys no genre limits, mixing styles such as punk, salsa, jazz, surf music, and Afrobeat. Guitarist Goudsmit, who named his son Misha, is a former student of Mengelberg’s who earlier this year won the Boy Edgar Award. This annual award honors those who have made a significant contribution to Dutch Jazz music and was received by Mengelberg in 1966. Bassist Ernst Glerum also has deep connections to Mengelberg, as he’s performed with him in the ICP Orchestra for many years, along with leading Dutch musicians such as Ab Baars, Wolter Wierbos and Michael Moore.
For this performance, the Benjamin Herman Quartet will be paying homage to Mengelberg and the diverse, flourishing tradition nurtured by the ICP. In preparation for the ICP Orchestra’s three-day takeover of the Philadelphia Art Alliance on April 1-3, 2011, we invite you to join us for this special evening of music and to welcome these superb Dutch artists to Philadelphia for what is one of only seven live US dates.
Herman has performed with Mengelberg on several occasions and in 2008 released an album of Mengelberg’s compositions titled Hypochristmastreefuzz (More Mengelberg). Likethe ICP, Herman’s vast body of work obeys no genre limits, mixing styles such as punk, salsa, jazz, surf music, and Afrobeat. Guitarist Goudsmit, who named his son Misha, is a former student of Mengelberg’s who earlier this year won the Boy Edgar Award. This annual award honors those who have made a significant contribution to Dutch Jazz music and was received by Mengelberg in 1966. Bassist Ernst Glerum also has deep connections to Mengelberg, as he’s performed with him in the ICP Orchestra for many years, along with leading Dutch musicians such as Ab Baars, Wolter Wierbos and Michael Moore.
For this performance, the Benjamin Herman Quartet will be paying homage to Mengelberg and the diverse, flourishing tradition nurtured by the ICP. In preparation for the ICP Orchestra’s three-day takeover of the Philadelphia Art Alliance on April 1-3, 2011, we invite you to join us for this special evening of music and to welcome these superb Dutch artists to Philadelphia for what is one of only seven live US dates.
