Festival Amersfoort Jazz
www.amersfoortjazz.nl
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Stormvogel, piano/synhesizer, voice
BOHEMIAN GROOVE ORCHESTRA FT. JOE BOWIE (MR. DEFUNKT)
In 2018, Amersfoort Jazz invites the extravagant Bohemian Groove Orchestra to resurract at the festival. This XL line up plays World Jazz Rock Funk & Avant Garde, inspired by the greats like Sly, Miles, Jimi, Fela and Frank (Zappa). With soloists like Ruud Breuls (trumpet), Twan van Gerven (guitar) and very special guest Joseph Bowie (Mr. Defunkt), the energetic Bohemian Groove Orchestra will certainly enchant and enthuse, if not blow the mind of the audience at De Groenmarkt on May 25. Also a few classic of Defunkt are in the repertoire.
Bohemian Groove Orchestra started as the house band of Festival de Muzen at the festival Amersfoort Jazz (2009-2015), also participating in differing line up the Gateway to Dutch Jazz program. This year’s line up is comprised by top notch musicians, virtuoso and groovy, experienced specialized in all elements of World Jazz Rock Funk & Avant Garde: Stormvogel (keyboards, Alter Ego, Lucas van Merwijk & Theodossi Spassov, Tommy Smith, Niladri Kumar, Nabil Khemir, Eef Albers and Joe Bowie), Arno van Nieuwenhuize (drums, Metropole Orkest, Steve Vai, Daniel Sahuleka), Marco van Os (bass, Alter Ego), Remko Smid (sax, Alter Ego, Naked Ears, Seven Eleven, Defunkt), Ruud Breuls (trumpet, see below) and Twan van Gerven (guitar, see below).
RUUD BREULS & TWAN VAN GERVEN
Ruud Breuls, winner of the prestigious Wessel Ilcken Prize 1988 and the Laren Jazz Award 2013, is a highly acclaimed musician, lead soloist from the Metropole Orkest as well as from the WDR Big Band, also working with the finest jazz players in the Netherlands (Leo Janssen, Simon Rigter, Peter Beets, Tom Beek and so on), internationally recognized as one of the best trumpeters of Europe. In 2015 he shared the stage with Billy Cobham, Michiel Borstlap and Jerome Hol. Another special member of the new Bohemian Groove Orchestra is virtuoso guitarist Twan van Gerven (1969), known for his cross-over of funk, fusion, jazz, pop, rock and chamber music. Van Gerven, influenced by the likes of Zappa, Mahavishnu, Hendrix and Holdsworth, but also by Vernon Reid and ‘musique concrete’, has been chosen as ‘Best Guitarist of the Netherlands’ in 2004, and was nominated as ‘Best jazz/fusion/world guitarist Benelux 2015’ in the polls of Dutch magazine ‘Gitarist’. In 2009 he was the Dutch support act for American guitarist Scott Henderson.
JOE BOWIE
Joe Bowie, the brother of famous trumpeter Lester Bowie, is a living legend from the realm of funk. He lived in Paris and New York, working with Dr. John, Cecil Taylor, Vernon Reid, Ornette Coleman, Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Tyrone Davis, before starting the legendary group Defunkt in New York, 1978. Mixing high energy funk, punk en jazz, Defunkt uncharacteristically has performed at jazz festivals as well as rock & soul venues throughout the world, gaining cult like respect from musicians and underground music aficionados worldwide. Defunkt never gained huge commercial success due to unwillingness to compromise creativity and musical uniqueness and integrity for popular acclaim. The band has traveled throughout the world as an opening act for such artists as James Brown, Prince, Larry Graham and Maceo Parker. The musical journey progressed and Nichiren Buddhism entered the consciousness of Defunkt. After moving to the Netherlands in 2003, Bowie performed with Dutch funk artists like Hans & Candy Dulfer, Saskia Laroo, Monsieur Dubois, Seven Eleven, Licks & Brains and Sax Pistols Allergy, also with Stormvogel related groups Naked Ears and Bohemian Groove Orchestra. In 2013 Defunkt celebrated its 33 year birthday, touring worldwide, releasing albums with current and former members like Kim Clarke, Tobias Ralph, Linley Marthe and Jon Grandcamp. Enter the world of Joseph Bowie: In Groove We Trust a documentary directed by Robin van Erven Dorens (2014).
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BOHEMIAN GROOVE HISTORY
Bohemian Groove Orchestra is an adventurous progjazz group, performing in differing line-ups. BGO started as a joint venture of leading members from previous progjazz projects like Alter Ego Jazzbarock Consort, Onno Witte’s Wildcard, Jeroen Pek’s Pitch White Storm. Between 2009 and 2014, BGO performed at the yearly Festival de Muzen (Amersfoort Jazz) with special guests and internationally reknowned soloists like Tommy Smith, Niladri Kumar, Roman Stolyar, Joe Bowie next to Dutch cats like Rob van den Broeck, Bert Lochs, Ruud Breuls, Leo Janssen and Peter Tiehuis.
Band history
Bohemian Groove Orchestra is founded in 2009 by Dutch adventurous jazzbarock keyboardist Stormvogel, joining forces with some of the most adventurous musicians and artists from the Dutch progjazz & worldfusion scene, mainly members, guests and friends of previous projects like Stormvogel’s Alter Ego Jazzbarock Consort, Onno Witte’s Wildcard and Jeroen Pek’s PitchWhiteStorm.
• Stormvogel (piano, synthesizer, voice)
• Onno Witte (drums, percussion, voice)
• David de Marez Oyens (bass/percussion)
• Wieke Garcia (celtic instruments, giata bagpipes, percussion, vocals)
• Jeroen Pek (flutes)
• Mark Thur (soundscapes).
• Wiro Mahieu (bass guitar / double bass)
• Arjen de Graaf (violin)
• Remko Smid Stlenhoef (sax/EWI/samplers)
BGO Music
With its exceptional line up (including several electroacoustic multi-instrumentalists, two bass players, a realtime sample- and soundartist and a bagpiping vocalist), BGO immediately rose to the occasion at Festival de Muzen (Amersfoort Jazzfestival), performing new works composed by its leading members and guest soloists. A distinguishing characteristic is the “ecclectic method” used by its composers, processing musical elements from genres like jazz, jazzrock, avantgarde, vaudeville, worldfusion, indo-european traditional, medieval, barok, classical, a-tonal, concrete, vintage electronical and contemporary music.
Guest Soloists
Being the final act at Festival de Muzen, (at the yearly Amersfoort Jazz Festival), internationally renowned guest soloists were invited to perform with BGO, like Rob van den Broeck (piano) and Bert Lochs (trumpet) in 2010; Niladri Kumar (sitar) and Niti Ranjan Biswas (tabla), also Roman Stolyar (piano, flute) and David Aguiar (sax) in 2011, In 2012 international artists from the Gateway to Global Jazz Event (©JazzNL) were invited: Tommy Smith and Alyn Cosker (from KARMA, Scotland), Luca Aquino (Italy), Nikolai Ivanov (Bulgary), Alvaro Bello (France), combined with members of the Global Alternative Energy Attack: Arno van Nieuwenhuize, Leo Janssen, Ruud Breuls, Peter Tiehuis (all leading members of the Metropole Orkest). In 2013 Festival de Muzen presented a Dutch Progjazz Marathon, seven hours of non stop jamming, featuring members of Onno Witte’s Wildcard and Leonardo da Vintage – like Volker Winck (sax) and Thomas Martens (guitar), as well as Alter Ego – like Angelo Boltini (guitar), Marco van Os (bass) and Karsten van Straten. In 2014 the legendary Joe Bowie (Defunkt) was special guest, with afro funk and jazzrock inspired Naked Ears (Jasper de Beer and Gil Lopez).
Line Up
The vast members over the years are Stormvogel (keyboards), Wieke Aurora Garcia (percussion, vocals, bagpipes), Jeroen Pek (flute), Onno Witte (drums) and David de Marez Oyens (bass). This major line up is enriched by several guest players and artists.
- Festival de Muzen – 2009
Stormvogel synthesizer, piano, vocal (AE/PWS)
Jeroen Pek flutes, educci, sampler (PWS)
Onno Witte drums, synthesizer, vocal (AE/PWS)
Wiro Mahieu bass (AE/PWS)
David de Marez Oyens bass, percussion (AE/PWS)
Remko Smid Stalenhoef saxophones, ewi, sampler (AE)
Arjen de Graaf violin, vocal (AE)
Wieke Garcia gaita (bagpipes), percussion, vocal (AE)
Mark Thur soundscapes, machines, vocal (AE/PWS) - Festival de Muzen – 2010
Stormvogel synthesizer, piano, vocal (AE/PWS)
Jeroen Pek flutes, educci, sampler (PWS)
Onno Witte drums, synthesizer, vocal (AE/PWS)
Wiro Mahieu bass (AE/PWS)
David de Marez Oyens bass, percussion (AE/PWS)
Remko Smid Stalenhoef saxophones, ewi, sampler (AE)
Arjen de Graaf violin, vocal (AE)
Wieke Garcia gaita (bagpipes), percussion, vocal (AE)
Mark Thur soundscapes, machines, vocal (AE/PWS)
Guests:
Rob van den Broeck piano
Bert Lochs trumpet - Festival de Muzen – 2011
Stormvogel synthesizer, piano, vocal (AE/PWS)
Onno Witte drums, synthesizer, vocal (AE/PWS)
David de Marez Oyens bass, percussion (AE/PWS)
Remko Smid Stalenhoef saxophones, ewi, sampler (AE)
Mark Thur soundscapes, machines, vocal (AE/PWS)
Guests:
Niladri Kumar sitar
Niti Ranjan Biswas tabla
Roman Stolyar piano, flute
David Aguiar sax - Festival de Muzen – 2012
Stormvogel synthesizer, piano, vocal (AE/PWS)
Onno Witte drums, synthesizer, vocal (AE/PWS)
David de Marez Oyens bass, percussion (AE/PWS)
Remko Smid Stalenhoef saxophones, ewi, sampler (AE)
Mark Thur soundscapes, machines, vocal (AE/PWS)
Guests:
Arno van Nieuwenhuize drums
Leo Janssen sax
Ruud Breuls trumpet
Peter Tiehuis guitar
Luca Aquino trumpet
Nikolai Ivanov guitar
Tommy Smith sax
Alyn Cosker drums - Festival de Muzen – 2013
Stormvogel synthesizer, piano, vocal (AE/PWS)
Onno Witte drums, synthesizer, vocal (AE/PWS)
David de Marez Oyens bass, percussion (AE/PWS)
Remko Smid Stalenhoef saxophones, ewi, sampler (AE)
Mark Thur soundscapes, machines, vocal (AE/PWS)
Guests:
Angelo Boltini guitar
Volker Winck sax
Thomas Martens guitar
Jeroen Pek flutes
Marco van Os bass
Arno van Nieuwenhuize drums
Karsten van Straten drums
Wieke Garcia percussion, vocals
Arjen de Graaf violin
Leonardo da Vintage:
Frank Witte synthesizer
Borïk Konfederaaht synthesizer
Remko Kühne synthesizer - Festival de Muzen – 2015
Stormvogel synthesizer, piano, vocal (AE/PWS)
Onno Witte drums, synthesizer, vocal (AE/PWS)
David de Marez Oyens bass, percussion (AE/PWS)
Remko Smid Stalenhoef saxophones, ewi, sampler (AE)
Guests:
Arno van Nieuwenhuize drums
Joe Bowie, vocals, trombone
Jasper de Beer bass
Gil Lopez guitar
Press
“Eindelijk, Bitches Brew revisited!”
Jeroen de Valk, Jazz journalist (2009)
“Een buikgevoel waarbij je hoofd soms van je romp
rechtstreeks naar de zevende hemel vliegt!”
(AD/AC 2009)
“Het hele concert was een spektakel van muzikale zeggingskracht,
met geestverruimende gevarieerdheid in verrassende tinten, tempi,
ritmes en melodieën”
Rene van Delft, MPodia (2010)