Keep (it) Swinging: De Nazaten and James Carter: A great mix of two music cultures

DE NAZATEN and JAMES CARTER
For Now: A great mix of two music cultures.
Hans Koert

De Nazaten en James Carter: Een geslaagde mix van twee muziekstromingen (Nederlands) De Nazaten and James Carter: A great mix of two music cultures (English)

Recently the Dutch / Surinamese group De Nazaten released its second album featuring saxophonist James Carter. This album was recorded at a studio recording session in Germany (Osnabrück), although, as the liner notes say, playing live is always better according to De Nazaten. And that's true - De Nazaten is a band you should see and hear live in concert, but this record, entitled For Now, will inspire you to tap your toes or swing your feet.... I'm sure! My first impression, when I heard its opening tune Pasportica allochtonica I had to move my feet and it remembered me to the music of New Orleans, especially the contemporary brass bands, like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

De Nazaten. (photo courtesy: Joke Schot)
The Dutch / Surinamese band De Nazaten, ten years ago also known as De Nazaten van Prins Hendrik, features Robby Alberga on guitar, Klaas Hekman on saxes and flute, Carlo Ulrichi Hoop on (Surinamese) percussion, Keimpe De Jong on saxes, Michael Simon on trumpet, Patrick Votrian on trombone and sousaphone, Gregory Kranenburg on snare drums and Chris Semmoh on skratyi and surinamese percussion.
The US saxophone player, James Carter, who joined this popular Surinamese band before in a tour, plays his baritone saxophone.

James Carter (on tenor sax) ( in Middelburg - 2007) ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
The band was founded in the 1990s and named themselves De Nazaten van Prins Hendrik, Purveyors of Bastard Music to his Majesty. Prince Henry of the Netherlands, Prins Hendrik for the Dutch, was the husband of the late Dutch queen Wilhelmina, who seemed to have had several illegitimate childs. The source of the music of De Nazaten van Prins Hendrik is not always clear too, like the Nazaten, the offsprings of the prince. That's how it got its name. Since 2000 the band labels itself as De Nazaten.

De Nazaten and James Carter: For Now. ( cover snapshot: Klaas Hekman)
The music played by the band is called Kaseko. This music style was developed in Surinam as a mix of African, European and American music styles.

James Carter (alto sax) (Middelburg - 2007) ( photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
It developed in the 1930s out of the music played by Surinamese brass bands, like Bigi Pokoe and became popular in The Netherlands in the 1970s by Surinamese expatriates. Its first album in which James Carter cooperated was entiteled Skratyology, a word which illustrates the connection between the two music styles mixed in this band: Kaseko ( the skratyi is a Surinamese percussion instrument used in Kaseko) and Jazz ( Ornithology is a well known Charlie Parker jazz composition). For James Carter, who can play all types of saxophones, but only plays the baritone saxophone in this album with De Nazaten, Jazz and Kazeko have a lot in common and when you listen to the music you will learn that Carter is in his elements.

De Nazaten (photo courtesy Joke Schot)
The album contains six tracks and I realy like the opening tune Pasportica allochtonica, with a great sousaphone bounce by Patrick Votrian and the tune Carter Kaseko, a composition by one of the best known Surinamese flute players and jazz composers Ronald Snijders. I found a fragment where the De Nazaten and James Carter play this tune at an informal meeting in the centre of Rotterdam, August 2010: Carter Kaseko.

The tune When Copy Meets Bu has a great opener by Carlo Ulrich Hoop on conga and Klaas Hekman on flute and the tune Amerindian Connection brings you right into a Surinamese party with a great introduction on guitar, flute and perussion. Great stuff ...........

James Carter- De Nazaten ( photo courtesy: Cees Van Der Ven)

But few jazz fans will dislike this kind of music, a mix of Jazz and World Music. I hope to listen to its first album, Skratyology, once. The records of De Nazaten can be ordered at its website. For Now: A must-have .......

Hans Koert
keepswinging@live.nl

I believe that the snapshot used on the cover of the album For Now by the De Nazaten & James Carter expresses the mix of music styles in a great way: rhythmical Surinamese kaseko and the swinging baritone saxophone by jazz giant James Carter.

A great combination: James Carter and De Nazaten. This is their second album together But few people will dislike these merry sounds which encourage to dance ..... Keep Swinging is always searching for music that surprises and For Now seems to be one of it ....:De Nazaten and James Carter: A great mix of two music cultures.