Dutch Make The Connection
The Age
Monday January 4, 1999
The week before Christmas is downtime in the jazz industry, which made it the ideal time for the Dutch Jazz Connection, a showcase aimed at promoting international awareness of, and employment opportunities for, Dutch jazz ensembles.
Its primary audience was a group of 50 jazz critics, festival producers and venue managers from around the globe. Over two days in Amsterdam, we were treated to performances from most of the leading names in Dutch jazz. Some, such as the Willem Breuker Kollektief, Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg, will be known to Australian fans, either from their visits here or from their numerous recordings. Others, such as trumpeter Eric Vloeimans, saxophonist Yuri Honing or pianist Michiel Borstlap, are younger musicians who will surely achieve recognition outside their homeland.
Beyond the high levels of musicianship and stylistic diversity on display, a number of common characteristics emerged. The most obvious was a penchant for humor, both musical and visual, that ranged from the slapstick of the Breuker ensemble, to Mengelberg's dry irony.
The influence of the European classical tradition was often apparent, especially in the finely balanced ensemble work of the Amsterdam String Trio. Where the influence of the American jazz tradition was discernible, it was often the legacy of avant-gardists such as Albert Ayler, Roscoe Mitchell or Ornette Coleman that held sway, rather than the Charlie Parker-John Coltrane lineage that defines the orthodoxies of so much of today's American jazz. Above all, the emphasis is on improvisation, rather than on displays of instrumental prowess or theoretical knowledge.
There is no doubt that contemporary Dutch jazz has a distinctive sound. Kevin Whitehead, an American jazz critic who now lives in Amsterdam, has written a book, New Dutch Swing, about the jazz scene there. At an afternoon forum, he listed some of the factors that make for such a fertile environment.
International musicians, whether they are there for weeks or years, freely mix with locals. The fact that players participate in so many different bands means good ideas can spread quickly. The consensus that there is little point in duplicating American jazz encourages independent thinkers and allows players to draw inspiration from the classical tradition, no less than the jazz tradition.
Last but not least, the jazz scene enjoys strong support from both national and local governments. Subsidies are channelled through several organisations, but the most prominent is the Bimhuis, renowned as one of Europe's premier jazz clubs.
The Bimhuis is set up as a compromise between a formal theatre and an informal club; it has a capacity for 400 and typically pulls audiences of 150-200. It receives an annual subsidy of $600,000, to present performances on an average of five nights a week throughout the year. Musicians can expect a minimum fee of $270. (By comparison, the Melbourne Jazz Cooperative receives federal and state grants of $44,000 to present two performances weekly at Bennetts Lane; this allows musicians to earn a minimum $90 each. The MJC's counterpart in Sydney, the Sydney Improvised Music Association, receives federal and state funding of $70,000 and can afford a minimum fee of $105).
The Bimhuis will move to new premises next year, purpose-built by the City of Amsterdam (as part of a Docklands-style development) at an estimated cost of $60 million.
By international standards, the Australian jazz scene is sadly under-funded and underdeveloped, a long way from reaching its obvious potential. But the Dutch example does offer some encouragement.
* Adrian Jackson is artistic director of the Wangaratta and Melbourne jazz festivals, and visited Amsterdam as a guest of the Netherlands Arts Ministry.
© 1999 The Age