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INTERNATIONAL
BOOGIE WOOGIE FESTIVAL HOLLAND 2012 |
Introduction |
The
International Boogie Woogie Festival Holland 2012 takes place on Saturday
March 17th 2012 in Hotel
Heerlickheijd van Ermelo. |
![]() Grande Finale International Boogie Woogie Festival |
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Artists |
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Martijn
Schok Boogie & Blues Band |
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Leon
Blue (piano/vocals, USA) Born in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1931 Leon Blue is undeniably one of the finest blues piano men alive on the music scene today. For over six decades Blue has tickled the ivory and wowed audiences all over the world. The company he's kept speaks volumes about his talent, professionalism, stamina and versatility as a musician. He has spent lengthy spells with artist like The Ike & Tina Turner Revue, Lowell Fulson, Albert Collins and many many more. Leon was first inspired to play piano in 1940 after hearing records of the pounding boogie-woogie of Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons, and also early live performances by fellow Texan Charles Brown. By 1955 Leon and his three brothers, all also musicians, had relocated to Los Angeles and were performing as The Four Scooters. Leon began making connections with the who's who of the bustling L.A. blues scene, and over the next three decades played and recorded with some of the biggest names active on the west coast (and elsewhere), including B.B. King, Albert King (who he says hired and fired him three different times), Roy Milton, Fats Washington, Little Joe Blue, and many others. Leon even played fill-in gig in L.A. with Chicago blues great Muddy Waters, when Muddy's regular pianist Pinetop Perkins missed his plane; he says when Pinetop finally arrived, Muddy didn't want to hire him back! All of this in addition to being a regular member of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue during their most successful years, from 1964 until 1978. Although he relocated to Las Vegas in the early 1990s, he hasn't slowed down bit. He's continued to tour regularly when his old friends like Roy Gaines, Sonny Rhodes or Phillip Walker call, and is frequently in L.A. for gigs and recording sessions, tickling the ivories or pounding out a boogie as needed. But it wasn't until The Mannish Boys sessions in 2004 that Leon got a chance to show off his 'secret weapon' on record for the very first time - a warm and husky blues voice, that we're sure to hear more of in the future. |
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Angela
Brown (vocals, USA) She
was dubbed “The Bessie Smith of the Eighties” and later the
90..s, a deserved title given her strong renditions of vaudeville blues
material. Her powerful voice is also well-suited to more modern blues
and jazz styles, becoming a popular attraction at festivals all over the
world; not only vocally, but for her onstage presence and oomph!! Angela
has been included in The Guinness Book, ..Who..s Who of Blues.., and the
new ..Virgin..s Encyclopedia of the Blues... Making her one of the few
Living Legends in Blues Music today. |
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Christian
Rannenberg (piano, GER) Christian Rannenberg (piano, vocals) was born in Solingen, Germany. He learned his Blues directly from the Blues piano masters Blind John Davis, Henry Gray, Willie Mabon and Sunny Land Slim when he was working as driver/tour manager for Rolf Schubert's booking agency. He was a founding member of "Blues Company", one of Germany's best known Blues bands. He also cooperated with German Blues band "Das Dritte Ohr". With this band, he did tours backing up Billy Boy Arnold, J.B. Hutto and Eddy Clearwater. Encouraged by Eddy Clearwater and Sunny Land Slim, Christian moved to Chicago in 1982, where he fell in with the still hustling and bustling Blues scene. He landed a gig with John Littlejohn's band and worked the Delta Fish Market on Jackson&Kedzie every Friday and Saturday afternoon, as well as working with Jimmy Rogers, Sam Lay, Lefty Dizz and others and touring the U.S. and Canada with their bands. While in Chicago, he teamed up with tenor saxophonist Detroit Gary Wiggins to form the "International Blues Duo", also often working as quartett with bassist Aron Burton and drummer Robert Covington. In 1983, the Duo went to Europe, working the clubs and festivals, quickly becoming an established act on the scene. They did tours with, a.o., Aron and Larry Burton, Charlie Musselwhite, Angela Brown, Guitar Crusher, John Heartsman and Big Jay McNeely and recorded two LPs. In 1990, Christian moved to California and settled in the San Francisco Bay area, where he worked with Cool Papa and the Survival Band, Birdlegg and the Tight Fit Blues Band, Jimi Mamou and many more. He hooked up with the great Buddy Ace with whom he toured the so called Chitlin' Circuit in the American south as well as Europe later on. From 1991 on, Christian was working out of Europe again, recording an award winning duo album with Big Jay McNeely on the Acoustic Music label. He formed his own band, the "First Class Blues Band" with Jan Hirte (g); Thomas Feldmann (Sax,harp); Kevin DuVernay (b) and Tommie Harris (dr). They recorded another award winning album, also for the Acoustic Music label and did many tours backing up Big Jay, Guitar Crusher, Johnny Copeland, amoung others, and joined forces with Bay Area guitarist/singer/songwriter Frank Biner. Throughout the 90ies, Christian kept a busy schedule, working with Keith Dunn, Aron Burton, Angela Brown and a host of others. The turn of the century saw him playing and recording with (once again after many years!) Billy Boy Arnold, Jody Williams, Deitra Farr, Jackie Payne, James Harman, Doug Jay and Junior Watson. He also hosts a regular Blue Monday jam session in Osnabrück/Germany and did the famous Talking Blues show with Richard Bargel in Cologne while it lasted. In 2004, Christian produced an album on the legendary Blues piano player Ernest Lane, the man that recorded all these beautiful classic recordings with Robert Nighthawk in the late 40ies. This is Lane's first full length recording under his own name! -keep on keepin' on, Mr. Lane!!- in 2006, He produced and played on the "Hot Tin Roof" album of the Spanish Blues/Funk band "Los Reyes del KO" (check them out, they are something else!) and has been working with them ever since. He still finds time for a lot of other activities, playing with Angela and Keith, for instance, and recording a tribute to the extremely important and totally forgotten Blues singer and piano player Walter Davis, together with Billy Boy Arnold, Charlie Mussel-white and Jimmy McCracklin. |
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Stephanie
Trick (piano, USA) |
![]() Stephanie Trick (piano, USA) ![]() VIDEO RECORDINGS STEPHANIE TRICK Modernistic (James P. Johnson): ![]() Death Ray Boogie (Pete Johnson): ![]() |
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Stefan
Ulbricht (piano, GER) Stefan Ulbricht was born in Bonn in February, 1982. Already at the age of 5, he became interested in music and started to take guitar lessons. At the age of 14 he switched to the piano and was infected by the „boogie and blues virus“ in 1997 while watching boogie and blues on tv. As an autodidact, he began studying his favoured music style. It didn‘t take long that he learnt to know many famous musicians on concerts and jam sessions. He shares a very special and close relationship with the „grand master of boogie woogie“ in Germany, Leopold von Knobelsdorff. He owes him a lot of music al stimulations. Since 1999, Stefan Ulbricht has been performing on various stages all over Germany as well as other countries in Europe, as there are: Hamburger Jazzmarathon 2002, Zukunftspreis 2006, Frankfurter Musikmesse, Pianistenfestival in Hamburg (Vince Weber, Gottfried Böttger, Frank Muschalle, Axel Zwingenberger, among others), Medienkulturnacht in Bonn, Bonner Sommer, Boogie Woogie Konzertexpress with Axel Zwingenberger, Boogie & Blues Festival with Leopold von Knobelsdorff, International Boogie Woogie Festival in Laroquebrou/Frankreich 2009, several Jazz Nights, regularly concerts in jazzclubs, like Dr. Jazz in Düsseldorf as well as numerous private parties and business occasions. Playing solo piano, or accompanied by other musicians, the audience enjoys his fast and melodious boogies as well as jazz and blues songs from the 30‘s, 40‘s and 50‘s. The rolling bass figures, played with his pounding left hand, and the swinging melody are his trademarks. This is clearly evident in listening to his own compositions or well known classics like „Boogie Woogie Stomp“ or „Lady Be Good“ in the style of Albert Ammons. In January 2003, Stefan recorded a CD called „Shift It Up“ together with Dennis Koeckstadt (he plays piano with B.B. & The Blues Shacks) and brother Jan Koeckstadt on the drums. This CD features 17 driving and swinging tracks played on two grand pianos. With Michael van den Valentyn he founded the boogie duo „4 Hands Shakin‘„ a few years ago. A CD was recorded live in Wiesbaden in October 2004, titled „Live in Wiesbaden“. This is the third of four CDs available. His latest CD „Big, Bigger, Boogie“, was recorded on the world‘s largest grand piano serially produced, the Fazioli F 308, in April 2009 with Moritz Schlömer on the drums, who is a versatile and exceptional boogie pianist, too. The sound of the Fazioli F 308 is oustanding and can be heard throughout the record. On October 24, Stefan Ulbricht was honoured with the 2009 German Boogie Woogie Award „Pinetop“ as best piano player in the category „Rising Star 2009“. „Germany‘s boogie woogie community has been flourished by the awardee‘s unique style, who created something new based on the classical boogie woogie tradition. To do this, he looks further than the classic repertoire player does. Even to songs that are not typical boogie woogies, he adds the infamous boogie woogie groove. The audience will experience new aural impressions.“ According to his fresh and innovative style, not one single foot can resist this irrisistable rhythm. |
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Lasse
Jensen (piano, DK) Lasse introduces himself to you: I was born in 1991 and started taking trumpet lessons at the age of eight and general piano lessons at the age of nine. Back then, my musical idol was American rock ‘n’ roller Jerry Lee Lewis, whose music I enjoyed playing from 2003 until 2006. In 2006, I one day realized that rock ‘n’ roll didn’t have the same fiery and intriguing effect on me anymore, so I decided to search on for a musical genre like rock ‘n’ roll. This was when I discovered boogie woogie. The first boogie woogie tune I ever heard was a 30 second clip of Albert Ammons’ “Boogie Woogie Stomp” on a website, and ever since that day I wanted to play boogie woogie. Having discovered Ammons, I inevitably ran into the recordings by Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson. The three became my new idols and I listened to whatever records I could find with them, for hours and hours. I practiced playing the piano along with their records and learnt a lot, including the 12 bar progression by heart. In February 2007, a friend of mine invited me to go to a concert with Axel Zwingenberger, and I was completely blown away by his playing. That concert remains very special to me, because not only was it my first live experience with boogie woogie, but I also got to play a few tunes with Axel after the concert, which was very thrilling!! His playing had the same effect on me that rock ‘n’ roll did when I was younger, so I decided to have a closer look at his style and records. I had once again found a new idol in boogie woogie.Today, Axel is still my idol and he continues to amaze, impress, and inspire me. He has without a doubt been very, very influential on my style of playing boogie woogie. I have since 2007 met him on several occasions and it remains a great pleasure to meet and play with him each time. In November 2009, I recorded a solo CD, entitled “Energetic Boogie,” which of course has a few Zwingenberger compositions on it as a tribute to him. |
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Martijn
Schok (piano, Holland) Martijn's piano style is characterized by a large dose of swing, a steady groove and a high degree of virtuosity. It is clear he has a great deal of respect and admiration for the music of the early American boogie woogie originators. Martijn is a respected interpreter of the boogie woogie style and appears at famous international festivals, such as the festival in New Orleans (Louisiana, USA), the Queen City Blues Festival in Cincinnati (Ohio, USA), the Motor City Boogie & Blues Festival in Detroit (Michigan, USA), and the international boogie woogie festivals in Switzerland, Belgium, France, England, Spain and the USA. Martijn is founder and Chairman of the Stichting Boogie Promotions Holland, dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Boogie Woogie and Piano Blues in Holland. He is organizer of the annual International Boogie Woogie Festival Holland, together with vocalist Greta Holtrop and Dick and Diana Doorn. |
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Harlem
Hoppers (dance, France) Jelly Germain is a specialist in traditional authentic American tap and jazz dance styles. Jelly
started his career in France at the National Conservatory of Arts and
Mime Followed by studying at the school of Cirque Carre Slivia Montfort.
He performed initially at the Trois Maillets Cabaret and at the Nouvelle
Eve and by 1991 developed his great choreographic skills with the Holland
Show ballet for the first Dutch T.V Channel “veronica”. |
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Greta Holtrop (vocals, Holland)
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Rinus Groeneveld (tenorsaxofophone, Holland)
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Maarten
Kruijswijk (drums, Holland) |
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Hans
Ruigrok (bass, Holland)
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Stephan Jankowski (guitar, Holland) -English text published soon- Stephan studeerde gitaar aan het GIT in Los Angeles, kwam daarna naar Hilversum waar hij het conservatorium volgde. Hij was gedurende 10 jaar elektrisch gitarist in Upside Down, de begeleidingsband van saxofoniste Rosa King waarmee hij de halve wereld rondtoerde. Hij werkte verder met: Georgie Fame, Hans Dulfer, Hans Zilver, Fronk, Arthur Umbgrove, Rick de Vito, P.B. & The Nighttrain, Sofie & Sofour, Skymasters, Hot Bolshevik, Double Brown, Sister Sledge, Jack Clement, the Watchman, All The King’s Roses, Aggieland en vele anderen. Daarnaast
is Stephan actief als producer en runt hij zijn eigen NOPO opnamestudio
te Amsterdam. Program
subject to change. |
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Artists
subject to change. |
![]() The International Boogie Woogie Festival Holland is supported by the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds / Foundation |