BIMHUIS TV | Ack van Rooijen 90!

Ack van Rooyen flügelhorn, Fay Claassen vocals, Paul Heller tenor sax, Bart van Lier trombone, Peter Tiehuis guitar, Juraj Stanik piano, Ruud Ouwehand doublebass, Hans Dekker drums

On January 1st, Ack van Rooyen has turned 90. For his birthday party two days later at the BIMHUIS he has invited his favorite Dutch jazz musicians, including singer Fay Claassen and his lifelong friend, trombonist Bart van Lier. Ack van Rooyen is one of the most personal and unique voices on the flugelhorn and an indispensable player in the history of European jazz. ‘It appears as if the flugelhorn has been invented for him’, said Ack’s brother, the renowned arranger and composer Jerry van Rooyen.

As a trumpet player in The Ramblers, Van Rooyen was already an original and well respected performer in the 1950s. He was part of the first modern jazz generation in Europe and he recorded countless albums with Dutch and international artists. He was one of the founders of the legendary United Jazz & Rock Ensemble, the lead soloist in the orchestras of Bert Kaempfert, the Skymasters and Peter Herbolzheimer’s Rhythm Combination & Brass and he played at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Miles Davis and Quincy Jones Orchestra.

‘One of the most lyrical soloists, he plays with extraordinary fluidity and flexibility, producing immensely long lines and bubbling streams of triplets. He is all quicksilver and wit, and his solos seem as natural as birdsong’ (British trumpeter Ian Carr on Ack van Rooyen in Rough Guide to Jazz, 2004).

Bimhuis | January 3rd 2020