Keep (it) Swinging: Ferdinand Povel-Pete Christlieb with the Rein De Graaff Trio at the Bimhuis

Ferdinand Povel loves the music but hates the business
Hans Koert
Ferdinand Povel-Pete Christlieb met het Rein de Graaff Trio in het Bimhuis (Nederlands) Ferdinand Povel-Pete Christlieb with the Rein De Graaff Trio at the Bimhuis (Engels)

In May 2011 the Dutch tenor saxophone player Ferdinand Povel was granted with the prestigeous VPRO / Boy Edgar award at a concert at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam. At this concert bands like the Amsterdams Conservatory Big Band, the Ferdinand Povel/John Marshall Quintet, the Sanna Van Vliet Trio and, last but not least, the Ruud Jacobs Quintet were scheduled.

Ferdinand Povel & Pete Christlieb with the Rein de Graaff Trio: Good Bait ( Timeless CDSJP484) ( cover design: Joost Leijen)
Ferdinand Povel, born in Haarlem (The Netherlands), February 1947, was granted with Hollands most prestigious award, the VPRO / Boy Edgar award. The jury's report reads, ... een verfijnd stilist die een aansprekend breed geluid koppelt aan een vloeiende, melodieuze manier van soleren. (= a refined stylist, who combines an attractive, broad sound with a fluent, lyrical approach.). Zijn improvisaties zijn helder gestructureerd en toegankelijk zonder dat ze daarbij aan avontuurlijkheid inboeten. (= His improvisations are accessible, clearly structured and yet adventurous) ( translation: Jeroen De Valk). Ferdinand Povel is one of those typically sidemen who seem to be well-satisfied with their place in the band, being just one of the musicians, hidden on stage ..... Since his first recording, as part of the Kwartet Martin Haak in a live concert at Oud-Loosdrecht, in the centre of Holland, August 1964, he was present as a sideman at a hundred recording sessions, with US and European musician like Peter Herbolzheimer, Dusko Goykovich, Boy Edgar ( the legendary Dutch band leader who gave its name to the award), Toots Thielemans, Slide Hampton, Stan Getz, Sarah Vaughan, Ack Van Rooyen or John Marshall ( to list some), but his own recordings are seemed to be few and far between: I found some, like the Ferdinand Povel Quartet (1969) at a small Cat EP ( with Henk Elkerbout, Fred Pronk and Eric Ineke) and two 1983 albums ( Beboppin' and a VARAjazz lp) with his Quintet.

Pete Christlieb ( Porgy en Bess - Terneuzen: 2nd of November 2008) (photo courtesy: Hans Koert)

He loves the music, but hates the business .... Jeroen De Valk, a Dutch jazz journalist

characterizes him in the booklet of the recently released album Good Bait. This album, which is now in my cd-player, was actually not planned at all. In November 2008 Rein De Graaff organized a small tour with his trio, enlarged with guest players Ferdinand Povel and the American tenor saxophone player Pete Christlieb at a series of concerts at Dutch jazz clubs. The 2nd of November, 2008 this quintet was scheduled at the Porgy en Bess Jazz club in Terneuzen, in the south-west part of The Netherlands. The next week the quintet joined a concert at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam. When we were at the Bimhuis, a recording engineer asked if he could record the whole night as a try-out for a concert he had to record the next day, Rein told Jeroen: I told him to do whatever he wanted, as long as he gave me a copy, perhaps not realising the night would be that great.

Ferdinand Povel ( Porgy en Bess - Terneuzen: 2nd of November 2008) (photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
And the concert was more then a dime a dozen; both guests enjoyed playing together. Pete and Ferdinand formed a kind of a mutual admiration society, Jeroen de Valk quotes Rein in the informative liner notes. They liked each other and inspired each other. After the concert Rein got his tape, which sounded so well that Timeless records, the label where all recent Rein De Graaff recordings are released, decided to produce an album, entitled: Ferdinand Povel & Pete Christlieb with the Rein de Graaff Trio - Good Bait - Live at the Amsterdam Bimhuis ( Timeless CDSJP484). Rein De Graaff (Porgy en Bess - Terneuzen: 2nd of November 2008) (photo courtesy: Hans Koert)

The soloists do their jobs well, like the trio that accompanies the two talented reed players. The Rein De Graaff Trio features pianist, and producer of hundreds of interesting concerts with almost forgotten legendary US jazz musicians; bass player Marius Beets and drummer Eric Ineke. As usual Rein's repertoire during these short "Americans in Europe" tours are the US standards, most from the bebop period, like Good Bait, a well known Tadd Dameron composition recorded by Dizzy Gillespie in 1945; the Gershwin classics All The Things You Are and Embraceable You.

Pete Christlieb ( Porgy en Bess - Terneuzen: 2nd of November 2008) (photo courtesy: Hans Koert)
The tune Milestones, used for this concert, is the first version, Miles Davis recorded it in 1947 with his All-Stars - a great timeless bebop tune, you don't often hear played live like that nowadays ....... In 1958 Miles would record another version of Milestones, not related to the first one, with his famous Sextet featuring the crème de la crème of 1950s jazz: Cannonbal Adderley, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. Both Milestones #1 as the seldom heard Parker 51, part of the Stan Getz repertoire in the early 1950s, belong to my favourites. This fall, in November 2011, Rein will introduce us to Sam Most, the legendary flute player, who performed in the bands of Paul Quinichette, Teddy Wilson, Buddy Rich and Red Norvo. It's a pity that Rein won't perform in concert with this great flute player in Porgy en Bess in Terneuzen or elsewhere in the south west part of The Netherlands next season.

Rein De Graaff, still going strong, puts Ferdinand Povel with this great album in the spotlights and if you wonder why Ferdinand deserved this VPRO/Boy Edgar award, please listen to this concert ......... and enjoy it.

The album Ferdinand Povel-Pete Christlieb with the Rein de Graaff Trio - Good Bait - Live at the Amsterdam Bimhuis can be ordered at Timeless or at your local record shop or online web shop.
Hans Koert
keepswinging@live.nl

Some musicians don't love to be spotlighted - they love to play their music somewhere hidden in the band. Ferdinand Povel is one of them - he has to come out of the shadows ...... Six weeks ago he received the prestigious VPRO/Boy Edgar award, a appreciation for his long career as a tenor saxophonist and teacher of the instrument; a complete generation of Dutch saxophone players learned from him the tricks of the instrument. In the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, November 2008, a concert was scheduled by the Rein De Graaff Trio with Ferdinand Povel and Pete Cristlieb as guests and this concert was, accidentally, recorded and released on a great Timeless album, which learns why Ferdinand was granted this award: a must have ..... Keep Swinging loves to point you to this kind of records - hope you love to follow the blog. Follow it at Twitter or ask for a registration to its newsletter.