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Turning Into Jazz- As Serious As Your Life

I never had had any serious music lessons after my initiation in playing guitar at the age of 10. Many times I’d try to start reading notes in some bass book or whatever. I knew that there was a whole world of music that I had no clue of. But when my psychology study at the University came to a halt before it really took off, my dad told me to take up music seriously if that’s what I wanted to do.

So I went down to the official local Music School. I had a meeting with the bass teacher Rinus Raaijmakers, who had just taken over from Double Bass master Hein van de Gein. Rinus was a fabulous guy. He had humour and was the first one to give me a little bit of confidence. Throughout my career I’ve had many doubts whether I was good enough to do what I wanted, like most professional musicians.
My first lesson was a disaster though. I came in and told Rinus I wanted to go to the conservatory where you could study jazz & improvised music since one or two years. His reply was: “ok, let’s play the blues”. He counted off and I started to play a groovy shuffled Delta -Eric Clapton kind of Blues which I’d played many times. By the way; I still love to play that nowadays! But back then after 2 bars Rinus stopped me….he said this is not the blues for the conservatory….you have to learn the jazz blues with several different chords. I had no clue what he was talking about. He gave me “Au Privave”, which is a Charlie Parker blues, and told me to learn the head by heart and the walking bassline which he wrote down for the next lesson. I jumped to it and of course I could play both tasks flawless the next lesson. That’s when he gave me my 1st real compliment: well…..this might be possible….
I practised my bass guitar and learned songs from Jeff Beck and Charlie Parker and another jazz standard “Blue Bossa”. I went to the Conservatory in Rotterdam to do the entry exam and got kicked out head first with the comments from both bass teacher Koos Serierse and the classical teacher saying “what the hell are you doing here? You can’t play shit”. Down again with the little self esteem I’d grown. They were right of course but it still hurt bad….and since I’m a lot of things but not a quitter I decided to go for it even far more dedicated than ever before. And it would pay off.

I started to get lessons from a true music guru. Steve Clover is without a doubt the most important teacher I’ve ever had. His background as a drummer that worked with Paul Bley, Fred Raulston and Gary Peacock when he used to live in Seattle made him like the true messiah of Jazz. Born in Elmhurst, Indiana but since the late 70’s an American Music Apostle in Europe.
His knowledge, being a ethno-musicologist, and dedication to his pupils was such an inspiring aspect of my musical upbringing that I owe him more than I can imagine. He was the one to give me a little bit of confidence by giving me time to really learn to play the Double Bass to which I had recently switched to. And it was damn tough: blisters on all fingertips, day after day after day.
He made me read books and the back of jazzalbum covers where they used to write whole stories on the recorded music and artists,  to digest the history of the only music which contains really everything: jazz. Through Steve I experienced what an enormous joy and how fullfilling it is to completely submerge in music. If it’s theory or ensemble playing, Steve was on it. I learned so much from him. I owe him a lot. His motto was: “You did it, so you can do it; so you will do it!” I use it still.

He told me to go out and buy one LP and listen to it so often that I could dream every note of it. So I went out to our local record store “Tommy” which was a legendary good record store by the way, and bought 2 albums: Thelonious Monk “Sphere” and Charles Mingus “Live”. And I stated to listen to the music. At first I couldn’t tell head from tail, but after several times I started to like the relaxedness of Thelonious but also the raw energy of Mingus. With him I had the feeling that all what I liked in music was played at the same time, as if all boundaries were gone. It was as if someone had given me an insight in how the music had become a tool of all comprehensive expression. I was drawn to this monstrous Double Bass player that steered his band in any direction he wished, right here and now. The Mingus seed was thoroughly planted. His band was the ultimate vehicle to express any musical emotion at the speed of light. And it still is…..

I dug deep into jazz and had a few fellow students around me that had the same mission. We started to study solfege & music theory. I have, to this day  a somewhat reluctant relationship with music theory. I sincerely believe in a naïve approach to music. Theory can help but it can never overtake your heart. If it feels right; it’s right but if it’s theoretically right it can feel seriously wrong and forced.
But at that time I was engulfed in all the things I needed to learn to get admitted to the conservatory. I started to play workshops with a local tenor madman Henk Koekoek, who was and is one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever come across.  He enjoyed working with young new musicians and quite soon I started to play around Tilburg learning jazz with him and my fellow students. Most of them  were much further in their devellopment than I was but since there weren’t too many double bassplayers  I started to play a lot.
It’s also around that time that I saw my 1st jazz concert in the local jazzclub Paradox, which would have an important place in my musical carreer.

Jasper van ’t Hof & Pierre Courbois played a whirlwind freaky duo concert that was just amazing. It was a burning energetic concert with nothing I’d heard ever before. It was free, loud-being electric-, but most of all it was as if I witnessed Deep Purple’s  Ian Paice & Jon Lord in full flight but then way more delicate and virtuoso at the same time.

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The Crown & Lobster Trilogy Part I: PTM (xs) Modus Operandi out on November 27 2021

During one of the mini versions of the festival Better Gert Hit 2021 on November 27 the album The Crown & Lobster Trilogy Part I Private Time Machine (XS) Modus Operandi was released. The band consists of Jeroen van Vliet on keys, Aron Raams on guitar, Dirk Peter Kölsch on drums and myslef, Eric van der Westen on electric bass.
The material was written in 2020 and heavily inspired by the great funk & soulband The Meters. I mixed it with my admiration of a great new band Kruaghbin.
On October 24 2020 I invited Jeroen, Aron and Dirk Peter for a recording session which would be a little different from their usual modus operandi. Without any rehearsals and with only minor preparation this album was recorded in the way our great jazz and soul ancestors used to work in the 50’s and 60’s before dubbing and editing was readily available.

It was enough to explain the “traffic” (meaning how to deal with intros, choruses, verses, repeats and endings) and to do a onetime, even partial, run through. Then we recorded all the pieces 2 or 3 times and selected the best takes. Using this process enhances the spontaneity , originality and outspoken tone of voice.
Improvising simultaneously, effortlessly grooving, sensing, phrasing and modelling the music on the spot is the best way to get an insight view of the top quality of these musicians. I’m convinced that if you dare to take the time to really dig deep into  our music, you’ll find the beauty, joy and warmth we encountered while recording it.

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Eric van der Westen’s The Crown And Lobster Trilogy Part III: New Quadrant released on October 1 2021

Eric van der Westen’s  The Crown & Lobster Trilogy Part III: New Quadrant was supposed to be recorded during May and June 2020 but due to the Corona Crisis it’s been impossible to be together in the recording studio without violating the strict regulations. This caused the date for the album presentation concert to be switched to October 1st 2021. The concert took place in Paradox Tilburg The Netherlands.

The album contains mostly Van Der Westen originals plus a cover of one of his favorite J.J. Cale tracks: Magnolia and a reworked version of Charles Mingus ” Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. Being a sucker for a touch of melancholy and pretty melodies there’ll be plenty of music to dream away with since the absence of drums will give the band a very open musical character. The album was recorded in the spring of 2021 and contains the music exactly as the way it was recorded: no dubs. The initial plan was to release it as a vinyl but the length of the pieces made that impossible. The amount of editing is absolutely minimal contrary to general contemporary custom. Yannick Hiwat is his violinist virtuosos who brings a great depth and ease to the music , Efe Erdem his trombonist with his legacy of Turkish background makes his mark, well known from his work with Private Time Machine as is Joël Botma; the trumpet player who counts for a tremendous sound and very sensitive musical input. Last but not least his good old friend and co-Pastis- lover Homey guitarist Aron Raams who combines his incredible bluesy jazz chops with his taste of  country & americana. Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3AhEtz7HDsmexVsltDksLF?si=JzACrG4VRoWyJlgRwiCZVw&dl_branch=1

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Private Time Machine debut album “One” out now!

Private Time Machine’s 1st album is available now.
The double LP  & CD are sold for €20,- per unit and contains both the Vinyls and the CD. Check the Greenbag shop!

Private Time Machine is a band that blends 70’s rock, funk  & soul with jazz and anything that works. It’s Van Der Westen’s vehicle to mix all his life long influences in one go. From Led Zeppelin to Charles Mingus via Urban Dance Squad to John Coltrane passing by Sly Stone to stop @ Deep Purple and Miles  Davis. But most of all it’s really Van Der Westen’s music. His signature of lyricism, melancholy melodies combined with heavy, hard funking & rocking  grooves plus clear harmonies deliver what you may expect from a band full of high powered players with an attitude. The poetry of Jimmy Rage and the leader’s ability to deliver a song are a fine mix. Young hornplayers Joël Botma, Donald Simoen, Efe Erdem, Koen Smits blend well with the experienced lead tenorman Guido Nijs. Martin Fondse – here on super 70’s synths- and Rhodes monster Jeroen van Vliet form an indestructible backbone with drummer Marc Scheck, Guitarist Aron Raams &  Van Der Westen on bass guitar. It’s a true powerhouse.
In the past few years Private Time Machine has been able to thrive because of the regular gigs at Paradox in Tilburg, The Netherlands where the band developed and grew and where ideas were presented and discarded when not up to standard. The work in progress drew a growing audience during the “Playground”  evenings where a two hour concert was followed by grooving  DJ sets to entertain the audience ’till closing time.

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Switching To Bassguitar….

But it was my fascination for Deep Purple that got me going. As soon as I learned a few chords I’d record music on my cassette player while I told my friends to play drums on chairs and window boards simulating snaredrum and high-hat. Smoke On The Water was probably the first riff I learned to play and Woman From Tokyo the second.  I worked my way through Ilja Croon’s Guitar method book 1 and 2 and when I had learned the barre chords I was ready to try everything on my own. I must have been about 13 years old when I played with my friends Ad Ghering -a hockey-playing-drummer whose father was an (upright)  jazz bass player where I first saw a real huge impressive double bass- and Rene Samuels the guitarist that I met when I had my first guitar lessons with Peter van de Par who’d become a successful antique trader later. My first electric guitar was an Eco semi acoustic that I bought from Peter. It had a huge feedback and was a nice, easy to play guitar.  But It was my Rokkoman Les Paul copy that I would play on for some time. It didn’t take long before I’d switch to bass guitar and bought myself a Hondo Precision Bass and an Ibanez Cube Amp. In our local music shop “Bill Coolen” I’d spend hours and hours just looking at the most fabulous basses and guitars that were way out of my league. Especially real Fender Precisions or Rickenbackers like the one my hero Roger Glover in Deep Purple used to play like a wet dream. In fact they still are: an old ’62 Precision or a good old Rickenbacker are still worth a fortune.

I started to write songs for my band. Of course they didn’t sound like anything serious but I loved the process of coming up with melodies and chords to make something slightly new, at least according to me….. Another thing that works with me is stamina; I’m not a quitter… I kept looking for my voice both in songs and playing. I’d record ideas with my cassette-recorder and then rehearse them with the band. We got of playing as a school band at the bar and meeting room under the school. We played covers like “Somekind Of Wonderfull” from Grand Funk Railroad and “All Right Now from Free”…that stuff beside some originals.  One of the first songs I wrote was “Never Coming Home”, on which I played harmonica as well, slightly based on “Heroin” by Lou Reed from “Rock ‘N Roll Animal”.  “Babi Yar”was another original song inspired by “Hard Lovin’ Man” from Deep Purple about a massacre of the Jews in WW2;I was way too serious those days….
As time passed I started to find different musicians to play with and I became -in retrospect- overly serious: I wanted it to be a success and drove my fellow musicians to elevating levels to the moment they’d quit. Ronald Voskens started to be the drummer of the band; he was probably the loudest drummer around and exactly what I liked. He was, and is still a very good drummer though he never worked as a professional musician, as far as I know. My friend Rene Wouters played the guitar and we were a real band for about 5 years. We started of rehearsing on Friday afternoon at our former primary school. Later on we rehearsed in the attic of a barn of Ronald’s farm. We build a room of  blocks of hay to isolate both for sound but also for temperature. Of course all in vain…. In summer it would be extremely hot and in winter there was no way to heat anything up but coffee and booze, but at least we wouldn’t have to carry our gear in and out the room every time.  I remember we’d go to some ponds at night after rehearsal and have a great time. I taught a good friend Ben Doomen how to play functional organ in an old chapel- de Hasseltse Kapel-  in Tilburg,  opposite his home. We had a vocalist Robert Sauvé, who had a lot of nerve, not such a great voice though, and had an excellent sense of humor.  They came and went. We eventually added a guitarist Ashna Vishnudat who was a real virtuoso to our standards. He loved Al DiMeola and that jazz rock stuff that was extremely popular with musicians in the late 70’s, and could play like that too.  My eclectic spirit didn’t help to find a musical course though…. We tried several musical styles; Deep Purple and Rainbow like hard rock (Axe) , U2 and Joy Division type new wave (Transmitted Tears)  etc. to get even a bit of success but it wasn’t really happening in the end. We played some loud and nice gigs but never enough to get a working band ethic that I longed for so much. To this day I regret that we didn’t play more gigs back then to really get the hang of touring in a Rock And Roll Band. I’m always looking for a working band atmosphere; I still do. My efforts to enroll Conservatory put an abrupt end to my band efforts in contemporary pop music. I had the idea that I couldn’t continue in the same way and had to start to go my own way though I had no clue in what I was doing. Instead of focusing on a band effort I took a shot at diving in a new music genre that soon would completely change my musical environment.
My fellow band members were starting to study in different cities and the former close friendship fell more or less apart. I kept in touch, on an off and on basis, with both Ronald Voskens – who got into Solar Energy- and Rene Wouters-who has become a successful photographer and film maker: he produced a portrait of mine called “Tales Of A Traveller” in 2016- they are both still playing music; I still meet up with Ad Ghering every now and then and who started to play double bass too; just like his dad.

 

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Sezen Aksu: The Conquest Of Carnegie Hall, New York USA 2010

We started to work our way through the concerts in Europe scheduled before the trip to the USA. It was a real treat: I’ve always carried around my own flight case with the huge 7/8 scale Père Pillement Bass from the early 1800’s -Père died in 1830- build to last centuries. And believe me a bass weighing over 30 kgs and a flight case of the same weight is not something to travel light. Many times my bass wouldn’t fit the airplane and would be send later. Often taxis wouldn’t take me because it simply didn’t fit and they wouldn’t bother to call for a van  or anything. But now we had a crew that took care of everything…….my bass stood, in its case, ready behind my place on stage. All I had to do was to take him out of the case and play. Very luxurious for a jazzman used to make ends meet and twist every penny.
We had a stopover in Istanbul before we flew to the US. We landed in New York and were guided through customs by our US hosts; a lawyer firm that sponsored and organised the tour. The bus stopped in Manhattan after a scenic route that tok us across the Brooklyn Bridge  and we were booked in a new 5* hotel across the world famous Waldorf Hotel. Everything was funky, flashy and very hip. Electronic control on the minibar meant you couldn’t even open the drawer without paying for it. Welcome to New York! I had been in New York before and the city is exciting but after my stints in Johannesburg and Istanbul New York was a reasonably quiet, decent city; a far cry from the Soprano’s, Taxi Driver and Hill Street Blues image that I’d kept in my mind. We had a few days off and I got a free chance to go check out the vibe of the inner city. I went looking for traces my ancestors had left when they colonized the first inhabitants in the early 1600’s. I’m very interested in history and my imagination takes over when I look for traces of events and happenings that occurred generations before me, in a different world with different attitudes. I’ve always had a weak spot for the indigenous people that were invaded and decimated by my European ancestors and even when walking though a city like New York I try to imagine what it must have looked like when the first Europeans charged into the New World. For me growing up in post war Europe, the US was both our liberator and role model but also the arrogant superpower and supporter of the dictatorial regiems of Pinochet, Allende, The Shah of Persia, Videla a.o.. The Vietnam catastrophe also had a serious impact on the image of the US. Human rights and democracy didn’t match the ambiguous ambitions of the US in the 70’s and the 80’s.   But even with all that in mind New York and the rest of the US are still images that thrill me. “Blue Highway” by William Least Heat Moon has been a favorite book for a long time.  I’ve never been able to travel there for a long endless trip but it’s still very much on my bucket list. American music however I take to as essential nourishment for my musical well being. In recent times I’ve grown more and more fond of Country, Folk, Bluegrass, Cajun etc. I love the music of Bill Frisell, John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen alike. It’s a a well that never dries.When I was in New York with Sezen, I knew we were going to play the famous Carnegie Hall. For the rest of the band it was like the regular gig because they’d been there before but for me it was a temple of music. The place where all the illustrious jazz stars and singers had performed when they were at their top. The place where Glenn Gould worked his way through the Goldberg Variations on Bach. A magical monumental place. And me, the guy from outskirts of the small industrial town in the south of The Netherlands that nobody heard of, was going to play for a sold out house. In itself a lifetime achievement.
We spend some days hanging around Manhattan but when the time came we were anxious to play. Our tour bus took us to the artist entrance and when we came in there was a small stairway with a big photo of Frank Sinatra climbing the same stairs…. It was a great experience and though the hall, with its classical acoustics, had a hard time with all the percussion in the band the audience was exuberant, loud -like always-, and out of their heads. The broke down the temple. And Sezen was both Lucifer and the Madonna. It was hilarious. People running and shouting, singing out loud and clapping ferociously; turning the chique Carnegie Hall into the Bazar of Istanbul. The conquest was complete: Sezen came, saw and won. And as always after the show there was Turkish food for everyone. That would become the staple diet of the years to come. The delicious and rich flavors of the Turkish cuisine, always, always, always; no matter where we were. If we’d toured India, Mexico Japan or China only Turkish food would be served.
When the food and drinks were finished we were ready to go but….outside it was like stepping into a scene of Hill Street Blues – I immediately got the picture- because there were hundreds of people waiting and while many police cars were flashing their lights, trying to control the crowd that wanted to get a glimpse of Sezen. Being such a star takes a huge toll. It takes away your identity and changes your environment fundamentally. Since I wasn’t a Sezen disciple – I didn’t really know anything of her before I joined the band- I could joke and talk with her on an equal basis. I still take her serious as a person, not as a star and I love her for that. Sezen is a special person with a special place in my heart. Over the years I’ve come to understand that being a superstar is both a bless and a burden. Drugs and alcohol are available anywhere, anytime and as Sinatra didn’t want to sing Randy Newman’s song….it’s lonely at the top.

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My Sezen Aksu Story. Istanbul

My Sezen Aksu story

Istanbul 9-5-2015

Sezen Aksu Acoustic Band

Sezen Aksu; The Grand Dame Of Turkish Pop

It’s after another corporate concert in Izmir that percussionists Jarrod Cagwin, Mustafa Boztuy and myself hang out in Zebik, a small but good local restaurant in Beyoglu Istanbul after the 2nd public concert was cancelled due to reasons you can only expect to happen in Turkye. Things in Turkye don’t always happen along understandable lines…. We’re tired because of the lack of sleep which always hunts us in circumstances like these. But in Beyoglu sleeping is not possible before 4 a.m. So we surrender to the flow of this eye of the hurricane.

Beyoglu is an extremely busy and noisy old neighborhood in the European Part of Istanbul. The city quarter is filled with restaurants and all sorts of hotels and is everything you’d imagine a busy oriental metropolis would be: it’s dirty, smelly, joyful, loud, beautiful and very vibrant all at the same time. It’s most famous avenue is called Istiklal on which an old tram rides up and down the slope to either Tunel or Taksim Square. The area used to be a mix of cultures and resembles the time when the Ottoman Empire had more cultural diversity in its capital than it does now. It must have been a vibrant area when Jews, Greeks, Armenians, Western Europeans, Americans, Arabs and many more from all different places, tried to make it their home. Traces of eviction are still apparent in the old 20th century buildings that have deteriorated since they were abandoned. Nobody knows who’s the owner and nobody cares; leaving the once aesthetic buildings turn to ruins.

 

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Percussionist Jarrod Cagwin

 

Jarrod, Mustafa and myself are part of the rhythm section of Sezen Aksu’s Acoustic Band and have become good friends which happens if you share so many ups and downs while working as a team with one of the most exceptional stars of Turkish music. Having said that it’s obvious that many of you may never have heard of her just  as I did when I was invited to come to Istanbul for the 1st time . How did I get to play with this Turkish phenomena? As a musician I always had a big taste for African music. Especially South Africa was a country that since I was a kid had been of great interest to me. I think it started when I was in primary school where I learned old “boere” songs like “Sarie Marais” which  sound I embraced. Little did I know about the despicable political system in which the majority of the SA people suffered until I was about 13. The  Soweto uprising in 1976 showed the disgraceful character of the Apartheid regime and my political awareness arose with me witnessing that on TV. There was no excuse for shooting children my age who wanted to learn English instead of Afrikaans. I became a supporter of the anti-apartheid movement in Holland. And since I sincerely believe that music is a great tool in spreading political awareness, South Africa became even more a focus. And by the time I started to study jazz I got to know Abdullah Ibrahim or Dollar Brand as he was called earlier. What a treat his music was and is: blues, jazz, larded with happiness and joy of life. Of course he became one of my heroes and the seeds planted by my early attempts to sing a song in school were transformed into a music style that I can truly call my own. I loved the melancholy of the African melodies and the chord structures which accompanied them: I used them and transformed them and became a bit of an expert on African music. At least that was the way the critics and audience conceived it. For myself I quickly realized that my roots were so different that I could only comprehend parts of it. In all collaborations with African musicians I’ve tried to do what I do best: make my own brand of music. Like the answer my ultimate jazz hero Charles Mingus replied to the question:” what kind of music are you making? Mingus Music! What else? That became a thought for me to hold on to. And so I kept taking influences I liked into my music. Being eclectic handed me the right tools to find my own voice – the most important element in music- and become more and more interested in different cultures and use whatever I liked. I bought many records from Peter Gabriel Real World label that opened my ears to new things time and time again. Remy Ongala, Ayub Ogada, the drummers of Burundi, Cecile Keyirebwa, Ali Fatih Kahn, a.m.

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Sezen Aksu Acoustic Band Royal Albert Hall London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So slowly word got around that this bass player who grew up in Tilburg West had a liking for many different tastes and after having spent the latter of the 90’s playing and touring Africa and Europe was a force that was reliable and professional.

Then the call came that changed my life. It really did…. Are you interested in a project concerning traditional Ottoman music? Being opportunistic as any professional musician must be, I answered: sure? OK, what do you charge per concert? I was taken by surprise since it was not the usual way to immediately talk money. I named my price and the other voice said ” fine” which meant that I could have asked much more…. Cursing myself we agreed to do it and they would get me all the music and notes and shit in time. Click and silence…..Jeezz! I said to myself: get a grip man! Next time negotiate properly and be prepared! Then time passed and I heard….nothing. It took time and I was about to accept other gigs for the dates reserved when I received a package with audio material and notes. As I opened it, I realized I was getting into something that was way beyond anything I had ever done. First of all: the notes were wrong: the sharps and flats were turned around sometimes as if someone had never ever written proper signs in music. But other were correct! Hmmmm. I put on the music and started to look at the music charts with the audio material. And then it occurred to me what it was. This was micro tonal music. I had ( and have – as every double bass player-) a problem playing in tune on a Double Bass and worked hard to find the right notes on the fingerboard. You may know that a Double Bass has no frets like a guitar or bass guitar. And now they want me to play music that is actually in tune when it’s out of tune! This was something else! For the first time in my musical life I really doubted whether I could do this. But time was short and rehearsals and concerts were in two weeks. So I did what I always do when it comes to it: I put in all my effort to play up to the level I expect for myself. In saying that, I can truly say that there is no greater critic about myself than me. I have burned myself down more often than people have lit a cigarette. So I studied and studied frantically. And I mastered the material. It had a connection to the East African music I was into lately. The old Anatolian music was hard and very difficult to play but I managed.

I met cellist Ugur Isik and the Farkin brothers, who are percussionists, in Amsterdam for the rehearsals and first concert in the Tropen theater which unfortunately has vanished from budget cuts of our dear highly overrated government. We played the concert and I was relieved I didn’t fuck up too much. The micro tonality was everywhere and I followed Ugur in every step he took. I was like an eagle spotting his prey.  They were the gentlest of people and after a week said they music wouldn’t sound right when I wouldn’t be there anymore back in Turkye. It was a complement of a lifetime. Luckily I had received a few more in the passing of time, but this one was really special.

After the concert in the Zuiderpershuis in Antwerp we split up and wished all of us goodbye. That was it. I thought…….

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Kemence Master Derya Türkan

Then a year later I got a call from the same guy that had offered me the Ugur job. And now I was prepared. He said can you please do concerts with Derya Türkan and Ugur Isik. Yes, I replied again and after we’d cut the deal I was happy. Riza Okcu and his brother Alp who started the agency StageArt have become the dearest of friends since that first collaboration. Then the music charts came again…..all Arco ( bowed) bass parts but no micro tonality this time. Peshrevas and other music from the rich Turkish Medieval music history. Our first concert was in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. I met Derya and immediately knew I had met a very special person. The gentle but strong man mastered the music like I’ve never seen anyone do before. He played seemingly effortless and enjoyed every second of it. It was utterly beautiful music and it was one of the most special moments of my musical career. I was more courageous, feeling more at home with the type of music and confident enough because I had mastered the prior Turkish music task. So I took solo space when possible and played introductions to pieces and we all had a great time. Had I known I had to replace Renaud Garcia Fons in a trio in advance I’d probably wet my pants!!! They hadn’t said that!!!!! Very few bass players are so intimidating as him. Without a doubt one of the most virtuosos on the instrument and simply a great master. He’s the Messi of double bassists so to speak-though a bit older. But luckily I didn’t know…..so I embedded in the music and even now remember many details of what we’ve played that evening.

The next thing is that I got a call from Riza asking would you want to play with Sezen Aksu? With my previous experiences and new self-confidence I naturally answered positive again and then there was the silence for about half a year. Nothing. No email, no call. I even didn’t know who she was as I hadn’t really gotten her name properly. As Riza had called me, I misheard and thought it was Sezen Okcu, probably his wife- I thought. I didn’t check anything because as usual I was running around playing and working as hard and much as I could. As jazz musicians do I’d do it on the spot when it would come down to it.

Then I got the call. Could you be in Istanbul in February? Sure? And are you available in March to tour Europe and the US? Surprised as I was I got on the plain- no we’ll supply a double bass for you here: you don’t have to bring your own! I went to Istanbul for the first time and got picked up by Riza at the airport and drove me to the Asian side of Istanbul which to me looked like the equivalent of a beehive. He treated me, knowing I like good food, on a delicious meal and brought me to the hotel. It was nothing what I ever had expected. With Jasper van ’t Hof I had had nice, mostly good middleclass hotels but this was a different ballgame. A wellness and medical five star hotel residence with a room that was as large as my whole house in Holland. What time is the rehearsal, I said. Are there charts available for me to practice? Relax! This is Turkye! Riza replied: tomorrow we’ll start at 18.00 and the music is not complicated. You’ll get everything there.  Your transport will be here at 17.00 so now relax and enjoy the Turkish hospitality. He didn’t need to tell me twice of course….I embraced the luxurious surroundings.

So I headed of to the rehearsal with Mustafa and Jarrod who were in the same hotel and to whom I got introduced to. We got into rehearsals and there I got to meet the other members of the Acoustic Band: Fahir Atakoglu, Özer Arkun, Fatih Ahiskali, Göksun Cavdar and Nurcan Eren whose names I couldn’t remember in the first place, which is a whole different story. I didn’t speak a word of Turkish yet. But that’s how I got to play in Sezen’s band though I wouldn’t see Sezen for a couple of days yet. It was as if I had landed on a different planet.

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