Ab Baars

Ab Baars (born November 21, 1955 in Axel, Netherlands) is a Dutch jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who has had an active performance career since the 1970s. He has recorded several albums for the Geestgronden Records, Atavistic Records , and WIG records.

Baars began studying the piano and music theory at the age of 5. At 15 he began pursuing studies on the tenor saxophone and was soon after playing in wind ensembles. At the age of 18 he entered the Rotterdam Conservatory where he pursued saxophone studies in both classical and contemporary styles of music like jazz and rock. He later pursued clarinet studies in Los Angeles with John Carter in 1989. Baars' 1997 album A Free Step was dedicated to recording previously unheard compositions by Carter who had died in 1991.

While a student in Rotterdam, Baars became a member of the Orkest de Volharding under leader Theo Loevendie. His participation in that group introduced him to several of his long time musical collaborators in concerts and on disc, including tubist Larry Fishkind, violinist Ig Henneman, keyboardist Guus Janssen, composer/pianist Misha Mengelberg, cornetist Butch Morris, and trombonist Wolter Wierbos. In the 1980s he expanded his repertoire to include performances on the soprano and baritone saxophones in addition to the tenor saxophone. In 1986 he became a member of the ICP Orchestra. With bassist Wilbert de Joode and drummer Martin Van Duynhoven he formed a jazz trio in 1989. Beginning in 1996 the trio occasionally added a fourth guest member in concerts and recordings, trombonist Roswell Rudd.

Baars

Baars is a Dutch language patronymic or toponymic surname. Notable people with the surname include:

See also

Ken Vandermark

Ken Vandermark (born September 22, 1964 in Warwick, Rhode Island) is an American jazz composer and saxophone and clarinet player.

A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered compositions, which typically balance intricate orchestration with passionate improvisation. He has led or been a member of many groups, has collaborated with many other musicians, and was awarded a 1999 MacArthur Fellowship. He plays tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet and baritone saxophone.

He was also a member of NRG Ensemble.

Biography

Boston and Montreal

Vandermark grew up in Massachusetts, graduating from Natick High School. His father, Stu Vandermark, was the Boston correspondent for Cadence Magazine and currently is a noted essayist on jazz issues, primarily concerned with improvisation. After graduation, Ken Vandermark led or co-led groups (including Lombard Street and Mr. Furious) in Boston. Compositions/arrangements for the Boston-based groups set the groundwork for and predicted approaches to recordings and live performances developed in Chicago. Although a trio, Lombard Street incorporated “suite forms” characteristic of later arrangements for groups of both substantial and limited instrumentation. Vandermark’s “dedication pieces” are found first in Lombard Street performances, as in the case of “The Politics of Sound,” which was dedicated to the musicians in Boston-based ensembles Shock Exchange, The Fringe, and the Joe Morris Trio. Works performed by Mr. Furious, such as “Cold Coffee,” include some of the most convincing early examples of Vandermark’s signature free-ranging charts. Developed further in Barrage Double Trio (e.g., “Agamemnon Sleeps”) this simultaneously linear and episodic perspective on arrangement broadly has been the overarching architecture in most of his works for large-ensembles since that time.

Ig Henneman

Ig Henneman (b. 21 Dec 1945) is a Dutch composer and bandleader. She was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, and took music lessons as a child. She studied viola and violin in Amsterdam and Tilburg, and composition with Robert Heppener.

After completing her studies, Henneman worked as a violist in orchestras, and then co-founded the rock band FC Gerania where she began to compose. In 1985 she founded the Ig Henneman Quintet. She also improvises on viola with Henneman Sextet, Duo Baars-Henneman and the Queen Mab Trio.

Works

Henneman has composed for orchestras, ensembles and soloists, plus pieces for film and theater.

Her work has been recorded and issued on CD, including:

References