Wester-Amstel’s first ‘Sunday Jazz at Wester-Amstel’ took place just over nine months ago and what a journey it has been. The concerts, which featured professional jazz ensembles, took place on the first Sunday of every month and were organised by our volunteers, in close collaboration with the Beroepsvereniging van Improviserende Musici (BIM).
In the last edition of De Buitenplaats, we covered all the musicians who performed between September and December and now it is time to update you on the most recent performances.
But before we cover the musicians who have already played, we want to bring to your attention a very special group that will be performing at this year’s Amstelland Day on 4 June 2023 at 15:00. It will be none other than the Damien Mehldau Quartet.
Damien Mehldau Quartet
Damien Mehldau (15) met his bandmates within the Young Talent Department of the Amsterdam Conservatorium of Music (CvA). Damien has been attending the CvA since the age of 12.
The Damien Mehldau Quartet will perform at Wester-Amstel for Amstelland Day, offering audiences a unique chance to enjoy a special edition of Jong Talent on Stage. The quartet consists of: Joep Grotendorst (18) on tenor sax , Kasper van Kempen (16) on guitar, Damien Mehldau on drums, and Anja Gottberg on double bass. They will perform classical jazz repertoire from the Great American Songbook.
The start time is 15:00. They will perform on the outdoor stage if the weather is good. If the weather is not ideal, they will perform inside the Park Hall.
About the musicians
And now let’s recap who has performed at Wester-Amstel since the last edition of De Buitenplaats.
The first artist we had the pleasure of welcoming in the new year was Henriette Andersen on Sunday, 5 February 2023. Henriette is a singer, improviser and vocal coach. She loves storytelling in word and sound, giving existing pieces their own colour. During her performance Henriette was accompanied by Thomas Winther Andersen (double bass) and Walter Lamp (piano).
The next performer to take the stage was singer Henk Kraaijeveld and pianist Daan Herweg on Sunday, 5 March 2023. Henk captivated our audience with his warm voice and charming stage personality. He brought compelling music together with poetic lyrics and surprising improvisations. Henk Kraaijeveld won both the jury and audience award of the Dutch Jazz Vocalist Competition.
On Sunday, 2 April 2023, Wester-Amstel welcomed its 7th artist, renowned jazz (transverse) flutist Ronald Snijders. Ronald took the stage and instantly grabbed the audiences attention with his amazing talent for improvisation and his ability to bring together musical styles within jazz, funk, soul and Surinamese rhythms. But he didn’t do it alone, he was accompanied by singer Heliante Redan, pianist and accordionist Elisabeth Fadel, drummer Walther Muringen, and bass guitarist Randissimo Winterdal.
With this wonderful lineup of musicians, each of whom represented a different style of jazz, the tradition of high-quality, intimate concerts at Wester-Amstel was restored. We would like to thank all the people who bought tickets. With your support, all the shows were absolute successes. Looking to attend more? Stay tuned, because we are already planning the next lineup of musicians for the 2023-2024 ‘Sunday Jazz at Wester-Amstel’ season.
By: Fleurine Verloop en Taylor Blades