The Amersfoort World Jazz Festival (AWJF) has recently celebrated its 45th anniversary, making it among the oldest jazz festivals in Europe. During four days 14-18 August, the well-preserved medieval centre of Amersfoort hosted many concerts, both outdoor and indoor.
The festival, which has been run for the last 25 years by Dutch saxophonist Alexander Beets, also hosts an international conference for the partners of the World Jazz Network. Networking is more crucial than ever for the music industry, as it helps professionals build relationships, and this event is a perfect example.
Kicking off on Wednesday evening at the Observant, an ancient monastery beautifully restored in 1982, the festival opened with an evening dedicated to Dutch Jazz legends. The gig could be perfectly summed up as “old folks playing good old standards”. Playing aside, Edwin Rutten even sang, in Dutch, some timeless classics such as Lulu’s Back In Town. The Dutch crooner was indeed back in town, also with his take on Cole Porter’s I’ve Got You Under My Skin – though it was actually guitarist Vincent Koning who got me under his strings with his solo.
Switching from the outdoor patio to the indoor concert hall (Schutter), the second set of the evening featured bassist Edwin Cornelius and vibraphone player Frits Landesbergen for a mix of standards and originals. Keeping the same drummer as the first band, namely Gijs Dijkhuizen, Cornelius and Landesbergen also explored the art of the duo before returning to the quartet format.
Now in his 80s, Hans Dulfer concluded the evening with a funky set reminiscent at times of his famous daughter Candy. Returning to the stage after a period of absence due to health issues, the renowned jazz saxophonist delivered an impeccable set, notably thanks to the bluesy riffs of guitarist Jerôme Hol. With top-notch soloists grooving on very danceable tunes, Hans Dulfer and his white saxophone blew the blues away. What a great way to finish the evening.
Supporting young talented musicians is one of the aims of the World Jazz Network. Selected by the association’s partners, the laureates occupied the various stages on the following days for full-length concerts running in parallel. With musicians giving such high-quality performances, there was no choice but to hop between the various venues, which luckily were close to one another. While the young Dutch saxophonist Femke Mooren was introducing her quartet at the Theater De Lieve Vrouw, the Joy of Africa programme outside – set against the backdrop of the magnificent 15th century tower – featured both South African and Dutch musicians.
That programme was not that captivating but the laureates featured at the Theater De Liewe Vrouw, namely Femke Mooren’s quartet and the quartet co-led by pianist Daniel Bulatkin and vibraphonist Miro Herak, showed a great sense of interplay and musical innovation.
As one of the international artists in residence, US vocalist Deborah Brown – who has spent years living in the Netherlands and Belgium – took part in various gigs and master classes throughout the festival. Not having to get rid of her shoes, as she did at the Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival last year, the Kansas City native played notably on the first night with Peter Beets and Houston Person in a trio format before joining the main outdoor stage on Saturday as part of the Edison Jazz Night. With such guests of honour, the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, also featuring great soloist Teus Nobel (recipient of the Edison prize, not the Nobel one) and crooner Dennis van Aarssen, illuminated the beautiful Lieve Vrouw square with their arrangements of standards from the Great American Songbook.
With musicians coming from 23 countries, it should come as no surprise that some brought their exotic instruments. Such was the case for the Indonesian band Vertigong and their leader’s instrument, the bonang. It consists of a series of small gongs placed horizontally onto strings in a frame that can be easily dismantled for travelling. Playing jazz with an ethnic touch, the quartet – sometimes featuring a guest vocalist – was a nice invitation to Indonesia and its many islands, notably Maratua and its Jazz & Dive Fiesta.
Another unusual instrument was featured at the Sint Aegtenkapel, a venue particularly well suited for intimate concerts. Such was the case with Bulgarian bassist Vasili Hadjigrudev and Hristina Beleva who introduced her string instrument called a gdulka, a sort of lute played with a bow. In a chamber jazz set, they captivated the audience with originals and arrangements of Bulgarian traditional music.
The other central European country featured was Hungary, with two equally good projects. One of them featured the citera, a traditional Hungarian zither played by Helga Debreczeni. As the ethnic backbone of the Vertigo Collective quartet, the strings of the citera sounded just great alongside the saxophone, bass and drums.
Hearing the familiar melody of Bluesette from the city’s carillon, I felt inspired to visit Piet Mondriaan’s house. Just as Hieronymus Bosch came from the eponymous city close by, the abstract art pioneer was born in Amersfoort and his native house has been turned into a museum. Before he discovered jazz during the last years of his life spent in New York, Mondriaan’s art was exhibited by the Nazis as an example of Entartete Kunst (degenerate art); they considered both his art and jazz music as degenerate.
Hoping such dark times would never rise again (though I’m not sure of that), I returned to the festival to attend the only concert hosted at Sint Joriskerk. The Protestant church is a perfect setting for a piano meets organ concert with Peter Beets and Mike Boddé switching roles between the 19th century organ and the Steinway. With no preselected repertoire, the two musicians improvised, inviting to their jam session saxophonists Sanpond and the so-called Mr Saxman. The four-day festival clearly demonstrated the two Thai musicians’ fondness for this kind of exercise.
The sun having been on our side throughout the long weekend, the festival ended on a joyful note, reuniting on stage the Beets brothers, namely Alexander on saxophone, Peter on piano and Marius on bass. Inviting various friends on the main stage for his Director’s Choice programme, Alexander Beets recalled how the festival had grown from being one of many local Dutch festivals to being today a self-named Musicians’ Paradise. To be honest, it’s not only a paradise for the musicians but also for the listeners.
Amersfoort World Jazz Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 14-18 August 2024. amersfoortjazz.nl
