Philip Catherine and Bert Van Den Brink - Two Wizards in Improvising

Philip Catherine en Bert van den Brink - twee meesters in improvisatie ( Nederlands) Philip Catherine and Bert Van Den Brink - Two Wizards in Improvising ( English)

Let's see where it brings us ..........
PHILIP CATHERINE and BERT VAN DEN BRINK - TWO WIZARDS IN IMPROVISING
Hans Koert

It is said that there are two kinds of Jazz: good Jazz and bad Jazz.

On Friday the 28th of May, 2010 the Philip Catherine - Bert van den Brink duo performed at Porgy en Bess in Terneuzen, in the southwest part of The Netherlands as part of Scheldejazz'10.

Philip Catherine and Bert Van Den Brink (photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
Philip Catherine and Bert Van Den Brink showed the audience during their concert at Porgy en Bess Jazz Club that they know how to make Good Jazz. Jazz is improvising. As you want to create good music you have to listen to each other and that's what both men did like the best of them. Philip Catherine ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
It's like Bert Van Den Brink visualized during the concert: We zitten allemaal in de bus en Philip is de chauffeur. (= We're all sitting in the bus and Philip is our driver). We zien wel waar we terecht komen. (= Let's see where it brings us). It was great to listen to these two skilled musicians, masters in improvising. In their lengthy one set concert they passed standards like Embraceable You and So In Love With You, but also own compositions like Philip's More Bells, Dance for Victor, Piano Grooves and Letter From my Mother. But they also surprised each other with unannounced themes or phrases ........... Philip Catherine and Bert Van Den Brink ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
In Dance For Victor Philip passed a limit with some atonal licks, which made Bert to create the impracticable possible on the piano: he followed. Ik dacht dat moet ik ook kunnen ...... ( = I thought I can do that too ....... ).The concert was closed with a fast version of My Funny Valentine; a tune often associated to Chet Baker, once a guest at Scheldejazz too. Both Bert as Philip accompanied this famous trumpet player in the past.
Philip Catherine ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)

Philip Catherine, born in London in October 1942, started his career in the 1960s in Brussels in venues like the Rose Noire, where he performed with musicians like Jack Sels and Fats Sadi and developed during these 50 years in music as a sought after accompanist and performer. One of his latest albums contains solo and dubbed duo performances: Guitars Two. His cooperation with Bert Van Den Brink dates from the 1990s when they recorded a live performance at Nick vollebregts Jazz Café for the Tros Sesjun radio program simply entitled Live (Dreyfus).
Bert Van Den Brink ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)

Bert Van Den Brink, born in July 1958 started his career in the 1980s, first as a classical piano player, later as a jazz pianist. Bert was born blind. His first record was mid 1980s with the Amstel Octet and Chet Baker, but soon he made his own (solo) albums. He performed with some greats in Jazz like Lee Konitz, Toots Thielemans, Nat Adderley, Gino Vanelli and toured with Dee Dee Bridgewater to list some. In 2007 he received the VPRO Boy Edgar Award, the most prestigious Dutch Jazz award. Philip Catherine and Bert Van Den Brink ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)

Bert, like Philip, are regular visitors of Porgy en Bess - one of the concerts with Hans Oosterhout on drums and Hein Van de Geyn on bass, recorded at Porgy en Bess, December 2007, was recently released as Reflections ( a cd and a dvd with the documentary: Bert van den Brink - Mijn piano is een spiegel). I hope to review this set once.

The Scheldejazz'10 made a well-thought-out decision to invite these two Wizards in Improvising - Jazz as Jazz should be ......
Hans Koert
keepswinging@live.nl

The Scheldejazz'10 festival is the heritage of the late Frank Koulen, who started it in the late 1960s with a New Orleans Streetparade along the streets of Terneuzen. The festival offers each year in the last weekend of May, three days dedicated to the Jazz. In Porgy en Bess, the Huiskamer van de Jazz, the Philip Catherine - Bert Van Den Brink duo learned the audience how to make good Jazz!

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