Jesse Van Ruller Drumless Trio in concert in Porgy en Bess

Jesse van Ruller treedt op met drumloos trio in Porgy en Bess (Nederlands) Jesse Van Ruller Drumless Trio in concert in Porgy en Bess ( English)

The best way to spend a Sunday afternoon, isn't it? JESSE VAN RULLER Drumless TRIO in concert in PORGY EN BESS
Hans Koert

Snowflakes outside Porgy en Bess announce a new snow shower, but the club inside is filled with warmth and good music. The Jesse Van Ruller Trio was scheduled in the club, at the 19th of December, 2010, featuring Joris Roelofs and Clemens Van Der Feen. This Kerstconcert, Christmas concert, was entitled Chambertones.

Snow and a Christmas seem to belong together, like the theme Chambertones - smooth chamber music. The best way to spend a Sunday afternoon, isn't it? one of the visitors asked rhetorical.

Joris Roelofs ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
Jesse van Ruller's new trio, whose first album Chambertones got some good critics, was born years ago, when Jesse, Joris and Clemens played together for the first time. During these informal sessions the idea was born to found a drum-less trio. Drumless trios are rather rare, but not for Porgy en Bess, chairman Hans Zuiderbaan suggested, refering to the Chet Baker Trio that performed in this club twenty five years ago with Chet Baker, Philip Catherine and Jean-Louis Rassinfosse. To compare both trios was of course a fabricated argument to introduce this Supertrio, as Hans labelled it. Jesse Van Ruller ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
The first set started with one of their own compositions, Oh Terneuzen. Als we in Amsterdam spelen heet het Oh Amsterdam (= When we play it Amsterdam it is entitled Oh Amsterdam), Jesse explained. For the next tune, August 30, a Joris Roelofs compositions, Joris took the bass clarinet. The huge bass clarinet, it has a usable range of over four octaves I heard on good authority, is not often used in jazz, but notable swing clarinet players like Harry Carney, Buddy deFranco (1964) and Benny Goodman played the instrument now and then. Benny used it in some of the famous Camel Caravan Broadcasts (1939). For me Eric Dolphy is the maestro on the instrument at albums like Out of Lunch or the Last Date with Misja Mengelberg, Jacques Schols and Han Bennink ( 1964 ), in which Holland wrote jazzhistory!! I remember how Courtney Pine played it in a great way at a concert during the International Jazz Festival in Middelburg one and a half year ago.
During the first set of the Terneuzen concert in Porgy en Bess the "three-oh" played more songs from their latest album, like the Clemens Van Der Feen composition Lovesong for Y and Ruller's Cow Daisy. Clemens Van Der Feen ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
Love to share with you the latter as it was played last month at the VPRO TV program Vrije Geluiden: Cow Daisy.

The first set was finished with a mystery song. Je zult het ongetwijfeld herkennen ( = No doubt, you will recognize it), Jesse suggested, but in my case no bells were ringing. Mind that I missed The Beatles and Rolling Stones craze; I later learned that it must have been Norwegian Wood, a Beatles classic, a tune, as played by the trio, wasted on me. Joris Roelofs ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)

The second set had some great tunes that fascinated me, like the ballad Every Time We Say Goodbye written by Cole Porter for the Seven Lively Arts revue of 1944 and now performed in a great way by Joris Roelofs. It was, together with Just In Time, one of the highlights of the concert.

Jesse Van Ruller ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)

The second set was finished with Circles, a Ruller composition, which was recorded by him on a previous album of the same name. It also played at the VPRO TV program Vrije Geluiden.

Clemens Van Der Feen ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)

It was a pity that, due to the weather conditions, the Porgy en Bess jazz club wasn't jam filled as you should expect - the people who joined the concert can look back upon an attractive performance: Are there better ways to spend a Sunday afternoon?

Hans Koert

keepswinging@live.nl

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"The trio seems to be one of the most common group forms to play in jazz, featuring piano, bass and drums." I recently wrote in a contribution about Tamir Hendelman. Last weekend concert in Porgy en Bess Jazz club ( Terneuzen) ( south west part of The Netherlands) learned that it isn't a hard and fast rule: The Jesse Van Ruller trio, featuring Jesse on the guitar, Joris Roelofs on (bass-)clarinet and Clemens Van Der Feen on double bass learned that more roads lead to Rome. A remarkable combination with a special sound and no-one in the audience missed the percussion. A special Christmas concert in Porgy en Bess. Keep Swinging reviewed it. If you don't want to miss any contribution in future, follow it at Twitter or ask for its newsletter .

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